Bend Current, Newsletter for the Community, July 2024

The longest day of 2024 has come and gone, but summer is here! In this issue, you’ll learn about fireworks regulations in Bend (hint: just don’t), how to navigate the new intersection design at Third Street and Wilson Avenue, and a great infusion of federal funding for affordable housing here in Bend.

(Sidenote, if you haven’t signed up for Deschutes County Alerts, just do it – visit this site to sign up. You’ll receive emergency notifications about threats to your safety, like wildfires.)

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Accessible and Effective City Government City Council Updates

An Update from Councilor Anthony Broadman

Councilor Broadman gives an update on some of the work that the City Council accomplished this past month. You’ll learn about the City of Bend’s new tree code, a grant that will put more affordable housing on the ground in Bend, and an upcoming opportunity to influence the design of a pedestrian bridge connecting Bend’s eastside with downtown.

Watch the video update.

Listen In: How Development Helps Fund Infrastructure

This month’s Inside Bend podcast dives into the world of development with Chief Operations Officer Russ Grayson. City Council recently approved changes to System Development Charges, and this episode demystifies how they work and why they’re so critical to our City’s growth. (In case you don’t listen – and you should! – System Development Charges are fees that are charged when development happens to help pay for the impacts of expanding, operating and maintaining vital core services such as sewer, water and roadways.)

Listen at bendoregon.gov/inside-bend or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Public Safety

Fireworks: Just Say No

Summer (and fire season) is here, and with the July 4 holiday around the corner, it’s time to revisit the rules regarding fireworks use in Bend and surrounding areas. First – and most critically – City Ordinance bans the use, sale and possession of fireworks in the Bend city limits. As an alternative, check out the Pilot Butte public fireworks display at 10 p.m. on July 4!

If you want to report the use of fireworks in the City of Bend, you can do so by emailing fireworks@bendoregon.gov. Reporting will not prompt a police or fire response, but will allow us to collect data about illegal firework use throughout the City. If you see illegal use of fireworks that is creating an imminent danger to people or property, call 911.

Independence Day is one of the busiest days of the year for first responders. The Bend Police Department will have additional patrol teams on hand to deal with the influx of calls, but we ask the Bend community to help our officers by following the local ban on fireworks, which will allow quicker responses to emergencies and avoid a flood of calls to Deschutes County 911 dispatch.

Learn more at bendoregon.gov/fireworks.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Navigating Third and Wilson: A How-To

When the Wilson Avenue Corridor fully reopened in May, it featured some major design changes. Those design changes encourage users to drive a little differently – namely, slower than you might be used to when approaching the intersection at Third and Wilson. The protected intersection provides more separation and visibility between different modes of travel, which is ultimately aimed at improving safety.

For the protection of the design and its users, there are some basic rules to navigating the intersection. First, if you’re in a car, don’t drive in or on the bike lane (it’s both curb protected and painted green). Second, if the size of your vehicle or trailer demands it, you can drive over the lower curb (that’s why it’s there!). Third, do not drive over the highest curb (it’s there to protect cyclists).

If you’re interested in where this new design originated, check out this link to learn more about ‘protected intersection’ design.

Save the Date! Hawthorne Bridge Open House

You are invited to an open house to review four bridge type options for the new Hawthorne Overcrossing pedestrian and bicycle bridge and learn more about project plans. If you’re not able to join us on July 10, there is a virtual option to provide feedback and access information.

The City will soon select the design of a new bridge for walking, biking and rolling on Hawthorne Avenue between Hill Street to Second Street, for safer passage over US 97 and the railroad. 

Project designers and City staff will be available to provide information on the bridge type options, answer questions and listen to feedback.

• 4:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 10

• Campfire Hotel, Outpost Meeting Room, 721 NE 3rd Street – Park on Greeley Avenue – the meeting room is located across Greeley Avenue from the main hotel.

An online open house is available July 1-17 at bendoregon.gov/midtowncrossings.

Affordable Housing & Sustainable Development

In October 2023, The City of Bend applied for the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD received over 175 applications from 47 States and territories, and we were recently notified that Bend has been selected to receive $5,000,000! Bend is one of 21 winners (and the only winner selected in Oregon).

With this funding, the City of Bend will identify and address barriers that have resulted in historic underproduction of affordable housing and widespread housing cost burden in Bend. The work, to be completed by 2029, is three-fold; remove systemic barriers through planning within the city’s control, increase housing production through streamlined processes and incentives that are within the City’s control while still operating within Oregon’s land use system, and fund the construction of new units.

Environment & Climate

Tree Code Changes:
Preserving Trees in Bend

When City Council charged a community-based committee with developing and recommending a new tree code, they provided an overarching goal: figure out a way to balance the need to preserve trees with the need for additional housing in Bend.

The Tree Regulation Update Advisory Committee started working in March 2023 to do just that; you can read more about the updated code, which will go into effect August 16, by visiting this link.

Approved changes generally require a developer to:

• Preserve 20% of trees that are 20 inches in diameter or larger, or
• Preserve 25% of what is called the total “diameter at breast height” (the measurement of a tree’s diameter measured at 4 ½ feet off the ground) on a site. This means diameters of all trees that have a 6-inch diameter or larger on a development site would be added together, and 25% of that total would need to be preserved, or
• Preserve at least 5% of the total “diameter at breast height” of all trees 6 inches in diameter or greater on a site, and then either plant new trees on site and/or pay the fee in-lieu of preservation.

Development projects on sites that are one acre or less have more flexible standards. All housing projects on sites one acre or less are exempt from tree preservation requirements altogether.

City Council will review the tree code regulations annually and will use data to help assess the effectiveness of the regulations and whether community needs are being met.

Upcoming Event: 

Save the Date for CityFest!

Don’t miss out on raffles, activities, and opportunities to connect with your local elected officials! Join Mayor Kebler, Bend City Councilors, and City of Bend staff to celebrate our City and talk about planning for Bend’s future.

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