Learn About: Land Use

Bend is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. This page is intended to help the community learn how to get involved in the land use process as Bend grows.

WHAT IS LAND USE?

Land use is defined as what is built or developed, or what activities take place on, a piece of property. There are many moving parts to planning for land use in a City, and it can get quite complex!

The City’s role in land use planning is to ensure that both public and private development are aligned with the standards set out in the City’s guiding documents such as the Bend Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Map and Development Code. The community’s role in land use is to advocate for appropriate development in their neighborhoods.

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE IN DEVELOPMENT?

Public involvement is the first goal listed in the state’s land use system. But how can you participate, and when?

You’ve been notified of a development happening in your neighborhood and want to participate. Start with these tools.

You want to get involved in planning Bend for the long term.

Learn what role you can play in planning the City’s growth for the next 20 years in our Growth Management division.

You have heard about a project happening in town and want to be involved but you’re not sure where to start.

Find answers to commonly asked questions below. You can also use the Public Involvement Flow Chart to understand when and how to get involved.

Depending on the type of application, notices will be mailed to property owners and residents within 100, 250, 500, or 750 feet of the project site. The most common is 250 feet for a land use application.” A Notice of Development sign must also be posted on the site during the public comment period. Land Use Chairs of neighborhood districts also are notified of new development, and often will disseminate information to the members of the neighborhood districts.

Different proposed projects have different requirements when it comes to notifications.

For example, some projects do not require any notice to neighbors, such as a new single-unit house, accessory dwelling unit, duplex, triplex or quadplex. Others, like building a new school or a new masterplan that plans out where different development will be in a large area, require property owners living within 500 feet of the proposed project to be noticed.

Reference this table to learn more about how notices work.

If you did not get notified, it is probably because you do not live within the required radius for a notice, or you are not a member of your neighborhood district.

There are two great tools to use to learn about a project:

Using the Community Data Explorer tool
Joining your Neighborhood District

Get familiar with a tool called Community Data Explorer. This interactive mapping tool lets you see what applications have been submitted for projects on a given plot of land, the status of those applications, project plans and details, as well as a record of what other people from the public have commented.

Learn how to access the tool here.

Neighborhood Districts are recognized in the Bend Municipal Code (Chapter 1.70) as playing a role in land use by offering members an opportunity to participate in the decision-making for their neighborhood. The City of Bend notifies Neighborhood Districts of land use applications and decisions within their association boundaries. This unique partnership helps members gain the information they need to advocate for appropriate development of their neighborhoods, and allows district leaders to organize members to respond to land use proposals and follow up through future meetings or public hearings.

Very few land use applications require a public hearing. Major projects like a Master Plan, zone change or annexation require public hearings. Most other application types have a period of time (12 or 14 days) when public comments can be submitted.

Sometimes there is no opportunity to give a public comment — if your neighbor is building an Accessory Dwelling Unit near you, for example. A process to change a zone, however, would include a public hearing before the Bend Planning Commission and Bend City Council.

Follow this chart to learn when and how you can give public comment.

“There could be many reasons for this. A primary reason that nothing may change is when a project follows the rules and development standards as proposed and does not require a change. Sometimes concerns expressed by community members are very valid but may not be applicable to the development being proposed and so the project applicant is not required to change anything.

Due to changes in state law, several housing types, from accessory dwelling units to quadplexes, are allowed in single-unit zoning districts – which generally look like one home on a lot with a yard – are now allowed with just a building permit and no land use application.

This doesn’t mean the community can’t voice their opinion to effect change or give suggestions. Follow this guide for tips on how to give effective public comment in person and in writing.

HOW DOES AN APPLICATION GET REVIEWED AND APPROVED?

Use the table below to locate where the development might be at in the land use planning process and the areas where you can get involved!

PRE-APPLICATION MEETING

The pre-application meeting is an optional meeting between City staff and applicants who are considering a development project in Bend. This meeting is informal, and typically consists of the applicants asking questions about Bend’s development code to better understand the feasibility of their project.

GET CONNECTED

At this point in the process, it is likely that the applicant is preparing to submit a land use application to the City. Because the meeting is optional and intended to ensure project compliance before the project planning takes place, there may not be any recorded information in the public record.

Here’s what you might consider doing to get involved:

– Get connected with your Neighborhood Association!

Neighborhood Associations play an important role in communicating land use matters with their members. They will be informed when an application is submitted to the City within their boundaries.

– Find your Neighborhood Association Land Use Chair

If you have questions about a project or how your Neighborhood Association distributes information about land use applications, get in touch with the Land Use Chair!

NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC MEETING

Certain applications require the applicant to make a presentation at a publicly noticed meeting with the affected neighborhood. For these applications, the earliest and potentially most influential opportunity comes before the actual submission of the application to the City. This opportunity is at the Neighborhood Public Meeting.

LEARN & ASK QUESTIONS

The Neighborhood Public Meeting is the most direct opportunity that the public has to converse with the applicant before they have finalized their development proposal. By attending, you will have an opportunity to ask questions, provide comments, and meet other neighbors. Comments given to the applicant at the Neighborhood Public Meeting are not recorded in public record, but may encourage action and/or changes to the final application they submit.

Welcome to a Neighborhood Public Meeting goes into detail about these meetings and provides questions you might consider asking if you choose to attend a meeting in your neighborhood.

Additionally, there is a Guide to Public Meetings with Neighborhoods for Developers & Applicants that is full of best practices to encourage successful meetings between developers and neighborhoods.

Other helpful resources:

APPLICATION COMPLETED

Once the applicant has gathered all of the required project information, they will submit an application to the City. City staff then reviews the application and issues a notice of completeness to the applicant when the requirements in Bend Development Code Chapter 4.1 are satisfied.

REVIEW THE PROJECT DETAILS

If you know the project address or file number, you can search for land use applications online using the Community Development Data Explorer. Applications can be long and have many attachments. The sooner you are able to review the application, the better prepared you are for public comment opportunities.

Path to Reviewing a Land Use Application

MAILED NOTIFICATION OF APPLICATION & POSTED NOTICE

Once the application is deemed complete by the City, City staff mail notice to adjacent neighbors and email the Neighborhood Association notifying them of a 14-day (Type II) or 20-day (Type III) public comment period for the application. The applicant also posts a notification sign on the subject property as an additional notification to the public of this comment period.

Learn more about who gets notified and when in Frequently Asked Questions on Land Use Notifications.

SUBMIT COMMENTS

Once the public comment period has begun, the public can submit comments in writing. By providing written comment you become a party to the public record.

– Tips for Providing Written Comment

STAFF REPORT

Once the 14-day public comment period is over, City staff prepare a report with project recommendations for the applicant. At this point, the steps differ depending on the application type. For simple applications a decision is automatically made once the report is finalized. For more complex applications there is a public hearing with a hearings officer, Planning Commission and/or City Council before a decision is made.

Learn about the application types and their requirements in Frequently Asked Questions on Land Use Applications.

SHOW UP & SPEAK

For the applications that require a public hearing with a hearings officer, Planning Commission and/or City Council, the public has an opportunity to provide oral comment in front of the decision-makers.

– Tips for Providing Oral Comment at a Public Hearing

MAILED NOTICE OF DECISION

Following all public comment opportunities, a decision is made. City staff mails notice of approval or denial of the application to adjacent neighbors and emails the Neighborhood Association.

BE INFORMED

At this time, community members who are adversely impacted have 12 days to submit an appeal. Appealing a decision can be a time-consuming and costly process. Be sure to study what you can and can’t appeal. In a nutshell, if the project follows what is outlined in Bend’s guiding documents such as the Bend Comprehensive Plan, Development Code, and applicable zoning criteria – an appeal might be unsuccessful. How Development Works explains at a high-level, the process City staff use to make decisions.

APPLICATION APPROVED

An application decision is deemed final after a 12-day appeal period. Projects who were not appealed, or appealed unsuccessfully, may move forward with construction.

KEEP LEARNING

The current project may be final, but being one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, there will be more opportunities for you to help shape the future of Bend.

WHAT IS BEING BUILT IN BEND AND WHERE?

The City has several interactive mapping tools to help you learn what development is being built around the City and where.

To learn about the history and proposed future plans of a property: Community Development Data Explorer is a community-friendly interactive mapping tool that can be used to perform common search functions such as finding property zoning, getting information on land use applications, and accessing permit and licensing information for any tax lot within Bend city limits.

To see where development activity is currently happening or recently completed: Visit the Development Activity Tracker to see active and recently completed permits for new construction.

To understand zoning: Want to better understand the lay out of the City and why certain uses get built where they do? Learn the Zoning Basics with this interactive mapping tool.

Not great at navigating these tools?

Watch this training video to learn the common functions of the Community Development Data Explorer and Online Permit Center!

RESOURCE LIBRARY

The Comprehensive Plan

Zoning & Development Code

Land Use Applications & Notifications

WHY ARE WE HERE

Land use planning in Oregon is quite different when compared to other states. The Oregon land use planning program was created in 1973 when the Legislative Assembly passed the Oregon Land Use Act (Senate Bill 100) in response to Oregon’s rapid population growth. Under this program all cities and counties throughout Oregon have adopted comprehensive plans that meet 19 statewide planning goals that deal with land use, development, housing, transportation, and conservation of natural resources.

Of these 19 goals, the first goal serves as the foundation of Oregon land use. Goal 1 calls for community members to be involved in all phases of land use planning.

The 2019-2021 Council Goal for Effective and Efficient Operations called for increased community participation in local government, including participation in land use planning. In partnership with the City of Bend, the Neighborhood Leadership Alliance (NLA) took the lead on developing a plan that would help Bendites easier understand land use.

The Land Use Education Plan was developed following information-gathering efforts and a survey conducted in Spring 2020 to better understand the knowledge of land use planning among community members. The plan boasts a lengthy list of education resources that are currently being rolled out. Future surveys are planned following the roll out to aid in a review of the plan’s success.

The resources developed through the plan were directed by a subcommittee of the NLA called the Land Use Working Group, through public meetings between 2019-2021. Minutes for these meetings can be found at bendoregon.gov/nla.

STILL HAVE GENERAL LAND USE QUESTIONS?

Please note, for specific property questions, you will need to contact the Planning Division.