Bend City Council Meeting Summary: June 7, 2023
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Bend City Council Meeting Summary: June 7, 2023
The Bend City Council met on June 7, 2023, in a hybrid format (work session at 5:30 p.m. and regular meeting at 7:00 p.m.) to address a range of topics including hate crime reporting, fee adjustments, a master planned development, affordable housing initiatives, and various code amendments. The council approved several major items, including the Timber Yards Master Planned Development and the Simpson Avenue affordable housing project, and discussed fiscal year 2023-24 fee adjustments and the Visit Bend budget.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes from May 17, 2023 work session and regular session.
- Accepted the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) report.
- Approved monthly financials for April 2023.
- Authorized an agreement with Olson, LLC for backflow testing and maintenance services (not to exceed $326,286.24).
- Approved a sole source contract with Karen Yank, LLC for roundabout art at Columbia and Colorado (not to exceed $130,000, funded by the Bend Foundation at $136,500).
- Authorized a fuel purchase agreement with Ed Staub and Sons (up to $980,000 for FY 2023-24, renewable annually through 2028).
- Approved a contract amendment with HDR Inc. for Neff and Purcell Intersection Improvements (not to exceed $227,644).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Chuck Hemingway (community member): Urged creation of a special zone on Huddle Clausen to manage homeless camping, citing county plans to remove campers from Juniper Ridge and potential liability concerns.
- Rita Sinkelberg (community member): Expressed dismay at county commissioners' and sheriff's comments about treating long-term residents, urging the city to take a different, compassionate approach.
- John Halen (resident and business owner): Criticized a neighborhood association meeting where a group called "Bend United" presented false information about homelessness; called for transparency and accountability in neighborhood associations.
- Public testimony on Timber Yards: Five speakers supported the project, including John Halen (YIMBY), David Welton (YIMBY, presented petition with ~30 signatures), Chris Martin (YIMBY, advocated for energy efficiency), and Larry Sidor (Crux Fermentation Project owner) who expressed support but requested planning to ensure business access during construction; one commenter asked for tree preservation.
- Public testimony on Simpson Avenue affordable housing: Five speakers supported the project, including Chris Martin (noted Westside has diverse housing), David Sullivan (Rooted Homes board member, stressed need for workforce housing), John Halen (business owner offering to help employees with closing costs), and David Welton (YIMBY); one commenter, Kristen Tone, requested tree preservation.
Discussion Items
- Council Schedule Request – Hate Crimes and Speech: Councilor Perkins proposed a work session for late summer/early fall to hear from a coalition of impacted community members and the Human Rights and Equity Commission on bias reporting and resources. Council unanimously supported the proposal.
- FY 2023-24 Fee Adjustments (Work Session): Staff presented proposed fee changes across departments: development fees (12-20% increase), system development charges (SDCs) (2.2% ENR index increase, plus 11.4% for parks by Bend Park & Rec), utility fees (3.5% increase), cemetery fees (73% increase, from ~$3,000 to ~$5,200 for a full grave site, including a new 15% admin fee), solid waste (12% increase, ~$2/month for 32-gallon can), and other fees (airport +3%, fire, lab, etc.). The council noted the general fund subsidy for cemeteries (~$800,000 per biennium) and requested more information on revenue impacts. The formal adoption and public hearing will occur on June 21, 2023.
- Visit Bend Business Plan and Budget (FY 2023-24): Kevin Dugan (Visit Bend) presented the $5,111,974 budget, highlighting a projected 10% drop in transient room tax (TRT) collections due to softening travel demand. The plan shifts marketing focus to the Portland/Seattle area and reduces allocations to the Bend Cultural Tourism Fund (from 10% to 7.5%) and the Bend Sustainability Fund (from 20% to 15%). Councilor Norris expressed concern about the cuts and requested future presentations include year-to-date actuals. The council approved the budget unanimously.
- Timber Yards Master Planned Development (PLSPD20230065): A 32-acre major community master plan (former Core Pine particle board plant and Hooker Creek property) proposing 1,600 housing units (including 250 senior affordable units), a 180-room hotel, 120,000 sq ft office, 70,000 sq ft retail, and 3.2 acres of open space. Code deviations sought: height increase from 65 to 75 feet, exemption from on-site loading standards, and removal of "transit station" language from mobility hub code. The Planning Commission recommended approval unanimously. The project will generate an estimated $25.8 million in SDCs, $2.5 million in construction excise tax for affordable housing, and over $75 million in tax increment for the Core Area. Public comments were largely supportive, with Larry Sidor (Crux) requesting routine detour planning. The council approved the first reading, including staff-proposed language to minimize construction impacts on existing businesses.
- Transportation System Development Charge (SDC) Project List Amendment: Updated the fiscally constrained project list to add projects from the Timber Yards development (roundabouts at Bond/Industrial and Division/Ani/Scale House, collector upgrades on Seissmore) and Parkside Place (Bear Creek improvements), and removed projects funded by other sources (9th Street/Wilson, 15th Street sidewalk infill, Simpson/Colorado). Councilor Norris recused due to conflict of interest (Hayden Homes). Approved.
- SW 17th Street Right-of-Way Vacation (PLMISC20220927): Vacated an undeveloped 60-foot by 140-foot right-of-way to allow affordable housing development on 7.12 acres at Simpson Avenue. Conditions include a 20-foot utility easement for a water main, a pedestrian path, and a deed restriction for affordable housing at 80% AMI. One written comment in opposition. Approved.
- Simpson Avenue Statutory Development Agreement (PLRPDA20220926): Partitioned 7.12 acres into two parcels for affordable housing: 40 single-family cottages by Rooted Homes (formerly Core Community Land Trust) and 59 apartments by Housing Works, serving households at 30-80% area median income. The development agreement allows phased infrastructure improvements. An emergency clause was added to expedite construction. Approved unanimously.
- Code Amendments:
- BMC 9.40.030 (Affordable Housing Fee): Removed the 10% administrative cost cap goal and revised indirect cost cap to 15% of annual fee revenue, consistent with other city funds.
- BMC 12.15.005 (Fee Setting, Cost Recovery): Removed the 50% cost recovery cap for sign permits and planning general services, allowing full cost recovery; ambulance fees remain at 50%.
- BMC 15.90.030 (Sewer Rates): Added a per-pound rate for high-strength wastewater (BOD and TSS) for industrial/commercial customers, enabling more equitable billing and incentivizing pre-treatment.
- Southeast Area Plan Pump Station Project (1SEMP): Authorized a progressive design-build contract with Slayden Constructors, Inc. for pre-construction services (not to exceed $1,697,505, with city manager authorized to approve change orders up to $170,000). The project will provide sewer capacity for the Southeast Expansion Area, supporting future development. Councilor Norris recused. Approved.
Key Outcomes
- Timber Yards Master Plan: First reading approved; will proceed to second reading and final adoption.
- SW 17th Street ROW Vacation: First reading approved; vacation will be recorded upon completion of conditions (affordable housing development, easement, path).
- Simpson Avenue Development Agreement: Ordinance approved with emergency clause, allowing immediate recording and partition.
- Visit Bend Business Plan: Approved for FY 2023-24.
- TSDC Project List: Resolution adopted.
- Pump Station Contract: Authorized.
- Code Amendments: First readings approved for all three ordinances (BMC 9.40, 12.15, 15.90).
- Appointments: Council approved several appointments to boards and commissions (Affordable Housing Committee, Economic Development Advisory Board, ECC, Landmarks Commission, and reappointments to TBOK).
- Next Steps: The fee adjustments and public hearing will be on June 21, 2023. The council will hold a joint meeting with Parks & Rec on June 14 to discuss Mirror Pond. A work session on hate crimes and bias reporting is planned for late summer/early fall.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. All right, welcome everybody to our work session for this evening. First, we are starting with a council schedule request from Councillor Perkins. This is actually um a pretty timely uh schedule request. Um surveys done by Oregon State, by Embrace Bend, you know, show that a majority of our Black Brown and queer communities do not feel safe in Bend. And this also includes uh much of our Jewish population, our Spanish speakers, our AAPI community, and more. Um, and just in the last week alone, we've had the son of a state representative from Central Oregon post a picture doing a Nazi salute next to a plane with a swastika on it. We've had a raccoon with a racially explicit and threatening note left at the door of the mayor in Redmond and addressed to the one black elected city councillor in central Oregon. And at a Ben Middle school, assistance had to be brought in because a group of kids were posting American flags over the pride flags and harassing LGBTQ kids physically and with homophobic slurs. Uh will be and could include uh hearing from a coalition of impacted community members that is being formed right now and being facilitated by a local nonprofit. This coalition would come and tell us what they need from city council and from the city for a potential resolution with specific actions, a timeline, and an accountability process. And this coalition would also work with the city and the human rights and equity commission helping investigate public agency coordination in this effort and a public community campaign. And going along with this would be hearing from the Human Rights and Equity Commission about the work that they've been doing on bias reporting and resources for people who have had a bias incident happen to them. So we could be working with between the city, the coalition of community members, and HREC to determine what our next steps would be and if we should do a campaign with the public and how we can keep people safe. So I was hoping to get your support on all of that for the end of the summer, early fall. I support it. Yes. I think everybody fully supports that. I think thank you for the background work that you and I think Council Riley have been doing to get this item ready for us to put on the schedule and working with staff, and so I think there's full council support for that. One one just uh we have been talking about potentially unveiling a dashboard to show our incidents of bias crime and reporting and really provide more information about access to resources that we currently have. I know we need to be doing more, but love to be able to integrate that into that work session as well if possible. Sounds good. Okay, great. Um then we will move on to our fee adjustments discussion. And I think everybody has in really tiny type a printed out version in front of you. Of all of the changes, and then um staff's just gonna highlight what we want to pay attention to here. So thanks. Yeah, thank you. So good evening, Council Sharon Voida, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, and I'm here with Clayton Getzinger, who is a senior financial budget, budget and financial analyst in the finance department. So he's gonna go through kind of a summary of kind of the primary across the board changes, and then as the mayor mentioned, there's also a matrix with a teeny tiny font of the summary of all the changes. So you have an electronic copy of that. We emailed that out yesterday. It's also on the website, and we will get on the we don't have on the website right now the full whatever 40-page resolution. Um you should have a copy in that your in your email from yesterday. You can send that out again if you need it. Um, and we'll get that on the website for the public tonight, so or tomorrow. Um, so Clayton will walk through kind of a slides of all the um the main changes, and we'll kind of walk you through the matrix and just explain what information we have in that summary. And as a reminder for the public or information for the public, um, we're going through all of these proposed fee changes tonight and work session, and then they'll be presented for formal adoption with a public hearing at the next meeting on the 21st. So there will be an opportunity for public comment on the 21st. Well, thank you, Sharon. I'll just add that I have a couple copies of the full resolution if people do want to see a large printout, but it's small type and printed. Um, so starting off, Sharon already introduced me. This is the kind of summary of what I'm planning to walk through. So this presentation right now covers the overall across the board changes that we were proposing for the fees. And then, as mentioned, that specific change matrix in front of you shows each uh individual fee change. Tonight we'll go through the development fees, system development charges, utility fees, cemetery fees, and solid waste fees, and then there's a short slide on summary of other city fee changes. And these are all consistent with what we've discussed in with budget committee already. So starting off, we have the development fees, uh, which are the building, planning, and private development engineering fees. We're proposing a 12%, 20%, and 10% increase to these, which again is consistent with what we discussed with budget committee and is to align with cost of service for the departments. We've included the long-range planning surcharge fee on here just because it's been discussed, but we're not proposing any change to this fee, so it's here at zero.
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