OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Bend City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - August 21, 2024

City Council — Wednesday, August 21, 2024
BodyBend, Oregon
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, August 21, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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2:30

Okay.

2:30

So we'll get started with our Ben City Council work session.

2:34

Everyone crack crack your pop all at once.

2:38

We are fear.

2:40

Now we're ready.

2:41

All right, we're gonna start with our legislative update with um Eric.

2:54

Good evening, everybody.

2:56

For the record, here at Councillor, City Event Lobbyist.

3:00

It's good to see you, as always.

3:03

And tonight we are gonna spend I think twenty-five-ish minutes or so doing a very preliminary, very cursory, high-level overview of some of the broad legislative themes that have taken shape and are taking shape ahead of the twenty-five-long legislative session, which of course will officially get underway.

3:27

Um first week of January, or first week of February.

3:32

First week of January for me.

3:34

And I've got five overarching topics that I want to talk about.

3:38

Um just to mention what they are.

3:40

Housing production, shelter operations and governance, uh the statewide transportation package, infrastructure funding, including but certainly not limited to transportation, mostly around uh supporting housing.

3:54

And then lastly, local government revenue needs.

3:58

So starting with housing production.

4:02

It's an interesting point in time on housing production because going back to 2016, we have seen session after session, big new bold ideas on housing production, including a lot of framework changes with the climate-friendly equ and equitable communities, work and housing needs analysis, big broad systematic changes that require a lot of adaptation from cities.

4:25

Uh and local governments and others.

4:28

However, I think we're kind of hoping that the big systems changes are done, and we're focusing on implementation at this point.

4:35

Um I think this city is much, if not more, than any city.

4:40

Uh in regards to how seriously we take housing knows how intensive all of the reorientations have been to the new systems, and we need help accomplishing the goals.

5:00

Um I don't yet know what the big ideas are going to be, but I do think that we are not alone in having a preference for the big ideas being about follow-through, being about implementation, being about uh funding in a lot of regards.

5:10

So a couple early notes on where the energy uh might be coming from.

5:15

Obviously, the governor's office, and we do have uh at least one LC in our hands for review around middle housing.

5:23

And um, I don't know what more we're going to see.

5:26

I will say that I believe that this session the House is going to broadly handle housing production related issues, and the Senate housing committee is more expected to handle uh rental issues, shelter and and things of that nature.

5:41

So we clearly will have uh interest in both of those processes and and both of the chambers the entire session.

5:49

The housing innovation partnership, the HIP as uh we call it, which is where the revolving loan fund originated from, has started meeting a little bit to see if they have any new ideas.

6:02

Um Representative Marsh, also the chair of the House Housing Committee is largely uh facilitating that.

6:07

Um I'm a part of that.

6:09

Um I think it's about to kick into gear.

6:12

I don't yet know if we're gonna get any new ideas out of the hip, but it's possible.

6:16

Representative Marsh is also, as you all know, because we were the first city she visited after she was given that gavel.

6:24

Um there is gonna there's gonna be a lot of policy ideas that she is working through.

6:29

I do believe in some concert with the governor, but I'm sure there will be independence there as well.

6:34

So we have uh strong relation and interaction with Representative Marsh, our chairmarsh, and with the governor's office, and I do expect that that's where most of the ideas are going to be vetted and and given legs.

6:46

Uh there's always things on every topic that come out of left field, uh sometimes last minute where we need to play defense, and there's always things where we see an opportunity.

6:57

At this point, I don't see anything worthy of discussion other than paying attention to these areas of interest, uh the you know, sort of the energetic centers of of uh housing policy.

7:10

Um quite honestly, I said it was going to be high level so far, and that's pretty high level, but I'm curious if you have any any questions on specifics, just particular to housing production.

7:22

Sounds like there's not a lot of specific policies out there quite yet to react to.

7:26

Not quite yet, but on this and other topics, um we will have uh September legislative days, three, four days of committee hearings at the end of next month, and there will be uh noticeable change in energy, I'd say, and then the week ahead of that, and then the week after that we'll have a lot more to talk about.

7:46

Okay.

7:47

Just just to know we did though uh post kind of an outline of middle income housing strategies to the packet.

7:53

So if you're interested in just seeing some of the concepts that are being discussed, the there's additional details.

7:58

Yeah, and some of those came out of the round table we had with uh Red March while she was here.

8:02

Yes.

8:03

And we passed those along term as ideas from our community.

8:06

So those are in the mix, I think.

8:08

One quick question.

8:09

Sure, go ahead.

8:10

Uh there's a lot of really great stuff on here, and you know, I recognize that it's all pretty fluid at this point.

8:16

But one thing that I haven't seen on here, and I didn't see in the League of Cities um uh ballot guide either was uh this idea of um construction liability reform.

8:25

I worry that we're just seeing so many neighborhoods that are built exclusively for renters or very few opportunities for homeownership, and if we can have a path to building equity through multifamily in the state of Oregon, I think that would be really desirable.

8:41

Have you heard any uh possibility on that front?

8:44

I do think there is possibility.

8:46

I think we're facing difficult political circumstances on that issue uh, quite frankly, with the trial lawyers.

8:54

Um but there is enough interest from this and other cities to explore that that I would be surprised if there wasn't legislation on it.

9:02

I have not yet heard that there is sort of a critical mass ready to move that forward, but it's certainly a concern that that we have voiced in multiple venues and we'll continue to do so.

9:14

One of the the big changes that's been happening lately within it, well, LOC has just uh they've lost two staffers, um uh RIO uh Nelson, who is gone over to the City of Hillsborough, uh, was the housing person.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Vehicle Camping Regulation█████████████████████21%
Homelessness█████████████████17%
Legislative Advocacy██████████████14%
Energy Policy███████7%
Parking Management██████6%
Community Engagement█████5%
Transportation Safety████4%
Procedural████4%
Public Safety████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Bend City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - August 21, 2024

The Bend City Council held a work session starting at 5:00 p.m. and a regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. on August 21, 2024, in a hybrid format. The work session covered legislative priorities, electrification of city facilities, and proposed changes to vehicle camping regulations. The regular meeting included public comment, a consent agenda, and a public hearing to amend the historic sites inventory.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from August 7, 2024.
  • Accepted the OLCC report.
  • Authorized contracts: RingCentral, Inc. for phone and contact center services (5-year subscription, not-to-exceed $505,200.40) — pulled for discussion and later approved; Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc. for network security software (3-year subscription, not-to-exceed $593,475.53) — approved.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jessica Gamble (Home Ward Network): Opposed stricter vehicle camping rules, citing that forcing relocations disrupts survival-mode individuals and can lead to loss of shelter. Urged council to focus on housing, not enforcement.
  • Smokey (unhoused resident): Said more rules are not needed; called for rent control and criticized shelters as inadequate.
  • Foster Fowell (activist): Submitted a petition against recent sweeps along Watt Way, arguing the city should wait until managed facilities open; requested a humanitarian pause.
  • Kim Mander (resident): Urged adoption of electrification policies for new construction, citing health impacts of gas stoves (50,000 pediatric asthma cases linked to NO2).
  • Cameron Alderson: Expressed safety concerns about the former Crusher Site for managed camping, citing fire hazards near the Sotera facility and lack of maintenance on city-owned properties.
  • Noel Nelson (volunteer, 350 Deschutes): Highlighted links between climate change, drought, and wildfire; urged restricting fossil gas infrastructure.

Legislative Update (Work Session)

  • Housing production: Emphasis on implementation over new systemic changes. Eric (city lobbyist) noted potential focus on middle housing (LC 0358) and condo liability reform. Councilor Campbell expressed interest in construction liability reform. The Housing Innovation Partnership is exploring new ideas.
  • Shelter operations: Top priority is sustainable funding for shelters. City staff (Amy Fraley) is leading a statewide inventory of shelter facilities and needs. Discussion of evolving the Coordinated Houselessness Response Office (CHRO) to a regional model.
  • Transportation package: State highway fund insolvency driving need for new revenue. Council agreed to form a small group to craft Bend's project priorities for the joint transportation committee hearing on September 12.
  • Infrastructure funding: Governor's office proposed $100M/year for public works infrastructure (grants/loans). Council stressed need-based allocation, noting Bend's high per-capita housing production.
  • Local government revenue needs: Property tax reform unlikely for 2025; lodging tax reform focused on local flexibility is gaining traction.

Electrification of City Facilities (Work Session)

  • Staff presented a draft resolution declaring council intent for city buildings to be fossil fuel-free.
  • Four parts: (1) Exclude fossil fuels in new city buildings, with exceptions for technology limitations, emergency backup, or cost (lifecycle cost increase >10% requires council approval); (2) Comply with state 1.5% green energy technology program; (3) Ensure new buildings are ready for additional solar/EV chargers; (4) Evaluate retrofits of existing buildings when replacements occur.
  • Council supported bringing the resolution for adoption at a future meeting, with minor wording clarifications.
  • Timeline for community-wide building electrification policy: draft options by October, ECC recommendation in November, council work session in Nov/Dec.

Sheltering in Vehicles (Work Session)

  • Staff presented challenges with current code: tent camping (24-hour limit, movement required) vs. vehicle camping (72-hour limit, no movement requirement) create inconsistencies.
  • Current enforcement: 5,000 parking-related calls per year; 10 notices to move issued; zero citations given; city has not towed any vehicles but is prepared to do so if needed (72-hour notice, no fees for retrieval).
  • Staff recommended:
    • Align vehicle camping with tent camping: 24-hour maximum, add movement requirement.
    • Define "vehicle habitation" while preserving ability to sleep in a car.
    • Base proximity restrictions on actual residential uses (not zoning).
    • Apply same place restrictions (including water overlay zone) to both.
  • Council discussion: Councilor Campbell opposed reducing time limit, called for more stakeholder input; majority supported moving forward with proposed changes. Council supported including the water overlay zone for vehicle camping. Staff directed to return with an ordinance on September 18.

Public Hearing: Amend Historic Sites Inventory

  • First reading of ordinance to remove the A.J. Tucker Blacksmith Shop (200-202 NW Greenwood Ave) from the comprehensive plan as a structure, reclassify as a site with a plaque. Approved unanimously.

Council Action and Reports

  • Endorsement: Unanimous support for Measure 9-173 to expand Deschutes County Commission from 3 to 5 members.
  • Letters: Authorized letters supporting Oregon Department of Energy's comments on Hanford Holistic Agreement (with addition of concern about liquid waste) and supporting Commute Options' grant application for e-bike rebate program.
  • Appointments: Mayor Pro Tem Perkins appointed to Regional Housing Council (replacing Campbell).
  • Schedule change: January 2025 meetings moved to second and fourth Wednesdays (Jan 8 and 22) due to holiday; motion and vote approved.
  • Councilor reports: Covered Fire District concerns about fire risks in forested camps, MPO draft transportation plan, downtown business association, COCO legislative tour, CHRO updates, e-micromobility task force, and positive feedback on Greenwood Avenue reconfiguration.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved except item C (RingCentral), which was discussed and subsequently approved.
  • Resolution for city building electrification to be brought back for adoption.
  • Vehicle camping code amendments to be drafted and presented on September 18 for potential adoption.
  • Historic site ordinance passed first reading (unanimous).
  • Measure 9-173 endorsed; letters of support authorized.
  • January 2025 meeting dates changed to second and fourth Wednesdays.
  • Council will form a small group to develop Bend's transportation project priorities for the September 12 hearing.
  • City manager directed to incorporate feedback on Hanford letter regarding liquid waste.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. So we'll get started with our Ben City Council work session. Everyone crack crack your pop all at once. We are fear. Now we're ready. All right, we're gonna start with our legislative update with um Eric. Good evening, everybody. For the record, here at Councillor, City Event Lobbyist. It's good to see you, as always. And tonight we are gonna spend I think twenty-five-ish minutes or so doing a very preliminary, very cursory, high-level overview of some of the broad legislative themes that have taken shape and are taking shape ahead of the twenty-five-long legislative session, which of course will officially get underway. Um first week of January, or first week of February. First week of January for me. And I've got five overarching topics that I want to talk about. Um just to mention what they are. Housing production, shelter operations and governance, uh the statewide transportation package, infrastructure funding, including but certainly not limited to transportation, mostly around uh supporting housing. And then lastly, local government revenue needs. So starting with housing production. It's an interesting point in time on housing production because going back to 2016, we have seen session after session, big new bold ideas on housing production, including a lot of framework changes with the climate-friendly equ and equitable communities, work and housing needs analysis, big broad systematic changes that require a lot of adaptation from cities. Uh and local governments and others. However, I think we're kind of hoping that the big systems changes are done, and we're focusing on implementation at this point. Um I think this city is much, if not more, than any city. Uh in regards to how seriously we take housing knows how intensive all of the reorientations have been to the new systems, and we need help accomplishing the goals. Um I don't yet know what the big ideas are going to be, but I do think that we are not alone in having a preference for the big ideas being about follow-through, being about implementation, being about uh funding in a lot of regards. So a couple early notes on where the energy uh might be coming from. Obviously, the governor's office, and we do have uh at least one LC in our hands for review around middle housing. And um, I don't know what more we're going to see. I will say that I believe that this session the House is going to broadly handle housing production related issues, and the Senate housing committee is more expected to handle uh rental issues, shelter and and things of that nature. So we clearly will have uh interest in both of those processes and and both of the chambers the entire session. The housing innovation partnership, the HIP as uh we call it, which is where the revolving loan fund originated from, has started meeting a little bit to see if they have any new ideas. Um Representative Marsh, also the chair of the House Housing Committee is largely uh facilitating that. Um I'm a part of that. Um I think it's about to kick into gear. I don't yet know if we're gonna get any new ideas out of the hip, but it's possible. Representative Marsh is also, as you all know, because we were the first city she visited after she was given that gavel. Um there is gonna there's gonna be a lot of policy ideas that she is working through. I do believe in some concert with the governor, but I'm sure there will be independence there as well. So we have uh strong relation and interaction with Representative Marsh, our chairmarsh, and with the governor's office, and I do expect that that's where most of the ideas are going to be vetted and and given legs. Uh there's always things on every topic that come out of left field, uh sometimes last minute where we need to play defense, and there's always things where we see an opportunity. At this point, I don't see anything worthy of discussion other than paying attention to these areas of interest, uh the you know, sort of the energetic centers of of uh housing policy. Um quite honestly, I said it was going to be high level so far, and that's pretty high level, but I'm curious if you have any any questions on specifics, just particular to housing production. Sounds like there's not a lot of specific policies out there quite yet to react to. Not quite yet, but on this and other topics, um we will have uh September legislative days, three, four days of committee hearings at the end of next month, and there will be uh noticeable change in energy, I'd say, and then the week ahead of that, and then the week after that we'll have a lot more to talk about. Okay. Just just to know we did though uh post kind of an outline of middle income housing strategies to the packet. So if you're interested in just seeing some of the concepts that are being discussed, the there's additional details. Yeah, and some of those came out of the round table we had with uh Red March while she was here. Yes. And we passed those along term as ideas from our community. So those are in the mix, I think. One quick question.

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