Bend City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting: April 19, 2023

On April 19, 2023, the Bend City Council held a 3:30 p.m. work session focused on housing, homelessness, permitting, and water resources, followed by a 7:00 p.m. regular meeting. The regular meeting included the consent agenda, public comments, several first-reading ordinances, a reimbursement resolution, a public hearing on a progressive design-build project, construction and design contract approvals, and two second-reading votes. All votes taken during the regular meeting were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

• Approved unanimously:
  • Minutes from the April 5, 2023 work session and regular meeting.
  • OLCC report.
  • Contract amendment with RiverFlow Psychology Services, Inc. for mental health wellness practitioner services, not to exceed $60,000, with two annual renewal options.

Work Session: Housing and Homelessness

• Staff provided a Council goals update: six goals, 19 strategies, and 45 actions; 24% are complete and 76% are on track, with many housing-related actions expected to carry forward into the next biennium.
• Over the current biennium, about 2,100 residential units had been completed and about 1,500 were under construction. Staff said the market is shifting significantly toward multifamily development.
• Market conditions were described as mixed: demand remains high, but rising interest rates, tighter credit, inflation, supply chain delays, and high construction costs are shrinking developers ability to make projects pencil. A median housing price around roughly $675,000 was cited during the discussion.
• Staff reviewed recent housing policies and programs, including the pre-approved ADU program, middle housing code changes, reduced parking requirements, SDC deferrals, and efforts to support development in the core area.
• Board and committee representatives spoke during the work session. The Core Area Advisory Board representative encouraged continued incentives for core area mixed-use development, including the new development assistance program and the tax exemption program. A development industry board representative said they understand the financial need for the proposed permit fee increases but want the city to monitor turnaround times and fees quarterly and explore alternatives to funding city development charges. The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee representative supported the consolidated plan priorities, said homelessness is a top priority, and noted that permitting delays and higher fees both add financial pressure to housing projects.

Housing, Homeless Shelter, and Consolidated Plan Work Session

• City staff reported on shelter and homelessness work:
  • The 2022 Point-in-Time count showed 785 people experiencing homelessness in Bend, which staff said is a significant undercount. About 396 shelter beds were reported in the community.
  • The Navigation Center, one of four state-supported navigation shelters operating, opened and has provided almost 30,000 nights of shelter over about nine months. More than 26 partners provide services there. Staff reported 70 guests moved to permanent housing and 75 to other more permanent housing arrangements.
  • Stepping Stone Shelter renovation was completed; together with other shelter programs, more than 13,000 nights of shelter were provided at about $21 per night. 50% of guests transitioned to more permanent housing.
  • The city has six safe parking sites, with 55 people supported by REACH, and 26 moving to more permanent housing in the last 18 months.
  • A temporary outdoor shelter on 27th Street and Bear Creek Road is expected to begin with pesticides and grow to 20 sites.
  • Staff warned that if all shelter beds remain open a $4.4 million operating deficit could emerge within about two years, and they are seeking state and county funding to help cover operations.
• The five-year CDBG Consolidated Plan was presented for future council approval. The plan is required by HUD, is online, and HUD staff met with 31 agencies and surveyed 97 people. Bend lost more than 2,000 naturally occurring affordable housing units from 2015 to 2017. Over a quarter of residents report severe cost burdens, spending more than 50% of income on housing. The community experienced a 373% increase in unsheltered families with children since 2018. Proposed goals include shelter funding, preserving rental housing, assist public services, affordable homeownership, and infrastructure for affordable housing.

Permitting Process Improvements and Fee Updates

• Staff shared permit processing data and new efforts to be more transparent. Average residential first-review time was 57 days against a 35-day goal, and the month of March was below target. Commercial new construction was closer to the 90-day goal at 88 days. Existing total permit issuance time continues to include many days spent waiting on applicant corrections.
• New improvements include plan pre-screening, clarified separate review tracks, 90% engineering plans, pre- and post-review consultations, a residential master reissue program, a three-week re-review commitment, and a 30-day wastewater and water analysis target.
• Staff projected that without fee changes the building fund would drop from 13 months of reserves to about 6 months by the middle of the biennium then to 1 month by the end of the next biennium. The proposed fee increases were 20% each year for building safety, 30% each year for planning, and 10% each year for private development engineering. Staff requested first-year fee approval as part of the budget process and said they are discussing implementation with the development community.

Water Resources Work Session

• Snowpack was reported around 200% support normal and precipitation is near normal in the current water year, improving drought conditions. The city relies on surface water for about 60% of annual supply and groundwater for about 40%.
• The city operates 20 active wells ranging from about 800 to 1,150 feet deep. Groundwater level measurements show little or no decline west of the Deschutes River and a 1-2 feet per year decline east of the river. The aquifer remains deep enough to provide substantial buffer.
• Conservation program updates: since 2013 the city added about 20,000 customers while total consumption is lower than in 2013. A suite of conservation measures is forecast to reduce peak summer demand from 45 million gallons per day without conservation to 38 million gallons with conservation, offsetting about $21 million in infrastructure costs.
• Water quality topics included lead service line inventory work, which may include inspections at about 350 private service lines to meet a later 2024 date; PFAS sampling was starting because EPA draft drinking water rules; no PFAS was found in 2014. A water quality consumer confidence report will be published starting in May.
• The Forest Service is expected to publish public notice to begin the sale of 50 acres for a pre-sedimentation water treatment facility needed for wildfire resiliency. No council action water resources was requested.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Katie Anderson, Bend Chamber, expressed concern that proposed permit fee increases will significantly affect the community's ability to meet housing needs and future housing inventory goals.
• Morgan Greenwood, Central Oregon Builders Association, said members are extremely concerned about permit fee increases, particularly the proposed 20% effective July 1, and asked for more time and more exploration of alternative revenue sources.
• Todd Dow, who said he lives in Sisters and works for High Desert Frameworks in Bend, supported the city's special event process when it works broadly, oppose individual small street closures that heavily affect nearby businesses, and thanked the special events outreach team.
• Jennifer Lingard expressed concerns about the coordination houseless services strategic plan, called homelessness an emergency, said the plan has undergone many recirculations and may be too broad, and asked for more immediate/focused results.

Regular Meeting Discussion Items

• Roll call was followed by a land recognition statement by Councilor Riley and a declaring Crime Victims Rights Week, April 23-29, 2023. A representative from the District Attorney's Office said the victim advocacy team supports about 3,100 victims per year.
• First reading approved unanimously:
  • An ordinance amending Bend Municipal Code Section 1.40.060 to align municipal court appeals of civil infractions with state law by replacing the writ of review with a new trial in circuit court.
  • An ordinance amending Section 1.60.015 to remove the requirement that the City Manager submit emergency declarations to Deschutes County for approval, leaving the city council with the declaration review process.
  • An ordinance amending Section 1.50.040 to add a process for selling city-owned real property to develop affordable housing. Under the new process, the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee would review Proposals and the Council would make final decisions. Renters would target households at or below 80% AMI; homeownership units would target households at or, at, or below 120% AMI.
• The Council approved a resolution declaring official intent to reimburse allowed property acquisition expenditures from future debt. The Finance Director said this consolidated debt issuance for property purchases.
• The Council held a public hearing on the Midtown Multimodal Connections and Streetscraping project and approved findings authorizing the progressive design-build delivery method. No sign-up public comments were offered at the public hearing. Staff noted the project will address drainage, note bike and pedestrian connections, and includes design work for the Hawthorne Avenue overcrossing because current funds are insufficient for construction.
• The Council authorized a Knife River Construction Agreement for the 2023 Neighborhood St Shown Safety Program for construction not to exceed $942,544.
• The Council authorized an AKS Engineering & Forestry design agreement for the 2024 Neighborhood Street Safety Program for design work not to exceed $476,707. The design scope includes remaining first-round Neighborhood Street Safety projects plus the Archie Briggs Trail Crossing and a second crossing on Century Drive.
• Second-Reading: approved, on roll EQ votes, an ordinance to move 4.8 acres in the Wildflower Master Planned Development from the Mixed Employment (Edge) District to the Residential Medium Density District and to amend the corresponding Wildflower development code text.
• Second-Reading: approved, on the roll call vote, the vacation of an undeveloped north-south right-of-way segment in the Skyline west subdivision and NW Sky and Pl Sky Place.

Key Outcomes

• All consent items, first readings, resolutions, public hearing findings, contracts, and second readings were approved unanimously.
• The wildlife, for the water resources updates was informational and no council action was required.
• Next steps: the consolidated plan and proposed fee funding requests will come back in the budget process; a Forest Service public notice for the 50-acre water treatment facility will enter the planned announcement process; and the city will continue outreach with stakeholder groups on permit fee issues.