OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Bend City Council Meeting: March 18, 2026 – Legislative Update, Parking Contract, and Immigrant Community Resolution

City Council — Wednesday, March 18, 2026
BodyBend, Oregon
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, March 18, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:37:09

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Start on your end, Counselor Francisa.

0:02

Gina Franzosa, she her.

0:04

Ariel Mendez, you know.

0:05

Mike Riley, Melanie Keebor, she her.

0:08

Megan Perkins, she heard.

0:10

Megan Norris, she her.

0:11

Steve Platt, he here.

0:13

All right.

0:13

So we're gonna start under good of the order first with our legislative update from staff.

0:30

Good evening, Council.

0:31

I'm Kate Schneider, executive policy officer in the city manager's office.

0:34

And with me is Sarah Hudson and Eric Cancler, and we're just here to give a brief update of the short session.

0:40

As you know, it ended earlier this month.

0:42

We put together an issue summary just trying to highlight the most important bills to the city.

0:47

But as you know, Eric Cancler is our uh contract state lobbyist, so the one on the ground, and we just wanted to give him give you a chance to hear directly from him on some of the more important bills this session.

0:59

All right, thanks, Kate.

1:00

Uh, for the record, Eric Counselor, City of Benz lobbyist.

1:04

It's good to see you all.

1:07

I think there's really four primary issues to talk about.

1:11

We have, as Kate Lewis, we have you know formalized legislative priorities.

1:15

We had a press release put out both public documents about where we focused our attention.

1:19

But in terms of on the ground interaction and what we were really invested in, there was uh primarily uh the lodging tax issue, the protection of shelter funding, and then a couple housing issues related to urban reserves and uh complete communities.

1:37

So going through in that order in a little bit more detail.

1:41

The effort to gain additional flexibility on local lodging tax dollars has been going on for a very long time.

1:48

I think the first time I engaged seriously on uh in it on the city's behalf was in 2017, so that was almost a decade ago.

1:57

It took a lot of buildup.

1:59

I think a lot of past efforts built on themselves and led to the success this session.

2:04

And effectively what happened is I I think you all know that under the historic regime, 70% of the lodging tax dollars had to be earmarked for tourism and marketing oriented purposes, leaving 30% for other things, general fund or you know, a mix of responsibilities.

2:24

The 7030 is now shifted to 5050, and that is true whether or not your lodging tax increment is pre-2003, a lot of which was grandfathered in uh post-2003 and already existing, or whether it's prospective in the future.

2:40

So, Bend, our historic pre-2003 lodging tax is better than 5050, so this doesn't affect us in that regard.

2:48

There are some local governments, cities, and counties that were grandfathered in at a at a very high ratio.

2:54

I think Lane County was effectively grandfathered in to use all of their pre-2003 increment for marketing.

3:01

Now they have a considerable amount of flexibility.

3:04

So there's flexibility we can consider with uh the 2013 increment, and then there's flexibility should the city decide to consider uh another increment in the future, and that at a high level is really the bill is very simple in that regard.

3:19

There was one additional element that was moved into the restricted portion, which involves what the legislature termed resiliency grants for small small businesses in the restaurant and lodging industry.

3:32

It was a bit of an odd fit.

3:34

It was important for getting the bill out of the house, but nobody really loved it.

3:39

Um there was consideration about whether they should strip it up, send it back to the house for a clean fix.

3:45

They left it in, moved it through, so it's quite possible that I don't know if the legislature is gonna come back in the long session and re-look at that one little element, but I don't think it's really a game changer.

3:57

It's just an additional thing that the restricted portion can be used for, but it's not just a handout.

4:02

You really need a business or a restaurant that's uh experiencing some sort of hardship was the intent.

4:09

So that's a component of it as well.

4:12

So moving on from, and that was our number one policy priority, our number one budgetary priority in terms of discrete budgetary priorities was protecting the uh I think it was 207 million dollars in shelter funding that was established through a lot of work, including by the city bend city of Bend and others ahead of and during the 2025 session.

4:33

There was a lot of speculation that that allocation for shelter funding, which is pretty bare bones for essential facilities around the state, would get robbed to pay for some other things.

4:44

Of course, we had uh increase we had maybe six months out before a session, really dire looking revenue forecasts, and they got incrementally better as we got into session.

5:00

So fortunately, that allocation was kept entirely intact, and so that means that was our number one budgetary priority.

5:04

So on those two fronts, uh we did very well.

5:06

Of course, we were um part of large groups of people who were on the one hand fighting for lodging tax flexibility, and on the other hand, protecting uh shelter funding.

5:16

It certainly wasn't the city of Bent leading the charge, but it was a really good group of people, and we were at the forefront with them.

5:24

More specifically to our initiatives are two concepts that we did.

5:30

We talked about, I think, the last time I met and presented in in front of you all prior to session, both in the land use and housing realm.

5:38

The first is related to urban reserves.

5:41

Uh, it's been we've spent a lot a number of years here trying to improve the statute and rule standards for how you can designate a 50-year urban reserve to allow us to bring in a 50-year land supply that's actually conducive towards efficient infrastructure and building housing.

6:02

And I would say Bend has been at the forefront uh at the state level of the effort to improve the urban reserve process.

6:08

We passed a big bill, Senator Broadman was a sponsor in 25, Senate Bill 1129, and there was one piece of unfinished business around how you can account for the cost of serving potential parcels outside the UGB.

6:23

We were stuck with a regime previously where we oftentimes we would have to bring in very expensive to serve parcels, and that translates to uh increase in housing costs.

6:33

So we were able to get that through uh in an amendment to a much larger bill, a House Bill 4037, it was sort of a housing omnibus bill, and now that that is passed through uh what's required is the is DLC D and L C D C to just literally adopt that into their uh rule making on urban reserves.

6:53

And then lastly, in terms of the big issues that we were involved in, is the uh topic of you could look at a couple of different ways.

7:02

I would look at it as a protection of complete community planning.

7:06

This city, I think, is much if not more than most other cities, has made a deliberate effort to try to mix uses.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management████████████████16%
Public Engagement███████████████15%
Transportation Safety██████████████14%
Community Engagement██████████10%
Affordable Housing█████████9%
Racial Equity████████8%
Parking Management███████7%
Procedural██████6%
Homelessness█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Bend City Council Meeting: March 18, 2026

The Bend City Council met on March 18, 2026, to receive a state legislative update, discuss a Southeast Bend neighborhood roundtable, approve a parking management contract, adopt a resolution supporting immigrant communities, and authorize a sewer project loan and construction contract. The meeting also included several council member reports and public comments.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Michelle (online): Noted that the Southeast Bend roundtable recap omitted a key neighborhood position: "no gas stations" approved near elementary schools. She asked the city to confirm if conditions for approving gas stations are still in place.
  • Jonathan Westmoreland (in-person): Reported that 45% (28 of 62) city employee email addresses from the League of Oregon Cities directory were involved in data breaches, some including password data. Urged the city to view SB 1516 (end-to-end encryption) as a floor, not a ceiling, and to be vigilant with vendor contracts.
  • Todd Torzen (in-person, Southern Crossing Neighborhood Association chair): Requested a Southwest Bend roundtable similar to the Southeast event. Opposed the $NSSP project for a road crossing of Reed Market, proposing a more comprehensive solution. Noted parking loss due to Glasswater Townhomes construction and asked council to work with the old mill owners and Bend Parks and Rec to create new parking.
  • Jane Lisa (in-person, King's Forest neighborhood): Expressed concern about lack of evacuation routes in light of new high-density development (e.g., Wildflower Project at 15th and Wilson, adding 4,000 vehicle trips per day). Urged council to fund and assign evacuation routes.
  • Michael Baker (in-person, CEO Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend): Reported the club was open 222 days in 2025 and will be open 273 days in 2026, with expanded hours including Saturdays. Handed out 17,400 meals in 2025, on track for 25,000 in 2026. Rock wall recertified after seven years. Promoted the "Great Promsby" event on April 18. Praised City Manager Eric King.
  • Kinsey Hood Martin (in-person): Thanked council for the resolution supporting immigrant communities, calling it meaningful and significant. Hoped for continued tangible resources and commitments.

Discussion Items

  • State Legislative Update: Eric Cancler (city lobbyist) and Kate Schneider (executive policy officer) reported on the short session. Key outcomes included: lodging tax flexibility (70/30 split shifted to 50/50 for tourism/marketing vs. other uses—pre-2003 Bend increment unaffected), protection of $207 million in shelter funding, passage of an amendment to HB 4037 improving urban reserve rules for cost-of-serving parcels, and a measure protecting neighborhood commercial areas from being entirely consumed by affordable housing developments. Council discussed SB 1551 (wildfire restrictions for HOAs) and a provision in HB 4037 that prohibits public hearings for developments meeting clear and objective standards.
  • Southeast Bend Neighborhood Roundtable Debrief: Council praised the new roundtable format (listening session with staff booths). Councilor Riley said it was "amazing" to have staff present to answer questions. Councilor Platt commended staff for showing transportation system evolution. Councilor Perkins noted requests for similar sessions from other neighborhoods. Staff will bring a plan for the next roundtable.
  • Council Member Reports: Several members reported on various meetings: Central Oregon transportation committee (Councilor Francisa), Civics Lab Human Library in Redmond and Bend MPO budget committee (Councilor Mendez), Embrace Bend civics event, a film screening at COCC, a tour of Homemade Toffee in the central district, and COIC supporting the Central Oregon Civic Action Project (Councilor Riley). Councilor Perkins gave an update from the Coordinated Housing Response Office: a point-in-time count had data issues mainly in shelters, not unsheltered; the RFP for service providers saw a record 23 applications; funded items included anti-trafficking rapid rehousing, a supply hub, emergency shelter for domestic violence survivors, home repairs for low-income homeowners, and rent/food assistance. Councilor Perkins also reported pitching a public-private partnership to support workforce experiencing homelessness (20% of emergency shelter residents work). Councilor Norris noted the Southeast Bend roundtable turnout and a joint Bend Parks and Rec meeting. Councilor Platt reported on the OSU Cascades provost reception (Big Hill facility) and the plan commission discussion on Timber Yards. Mayor Kebler noted the joint parks meeting discussed affordable housing, the riverfront project, and bridges; the rural fire district working group will have a work session in May on a fire levy renewal in 2028 and a feasibility study for long-term funding; the DBBA meeting this morning included feedback on the Franklin decision and a plan for paid parking to be brought in June; and a group of Cub Scouts visited city hall.
  • Resolution Supporting Bend’s Immigrant Communities: Melissa Camania (affordable housing coordinator) and Catalina Sanchez Frank presented. The resolution reaffirms Bend as a welcoming community, condemns current federal immigration enforcement approach, and allocates $100,000 to the Latino Community Association (50% for welcoming city work, 50% for direct support to families impacted by immigration). Council noted that funds are open to all immigrant groups through LCA as administrator. Councilor Mendez expressed pride in the resolution as a statement of community values. Councilor Francisa, as a daughter of an immigrant, thanked the council. The resolution passed unanimously.
  • King Hezekiah and Fargo Sewer Project: Jason (principal engineer) presented. These two septic-to-sewer conversion projects, part of the seventh selection through the program, are in the King's Forest area. King Hezekiah: 25 properties benefit, 13 committed, 1,900 linear feet. Fargo: 17 properties benefit, 12 committed, ~1,000 linear feet. Construction contract awarded to Far 7A Companies for $1,674,186, 26% under engineer's estimate. Total budget $2.875 million. A clean water state revolving fund loan (not to exceed $2.875 million) will finance the project; eligible for $1 million in emerging contaminants forgiveness and up to $4,500 in principal forgiveness, so net repayment roughly half. Councilor Riley asked about a disconnected cul-de-sac (Cabin Lane) not included in sewer extension; staff noted the program is competitive and must balance system-wide needs. Both resolutions passed unanimously.
  • Parking Management and Enforcement Contract: David Avister (transportation mobility) presented. The contract with Diamond Parking Services (highest ranked of five proposals) is for citywide parking management, enforcement, and maintenance of pay stations and the parking garage. $536,000 first year, up to $2,906,000 over five years with annual renewals. Two new parking districts (Old Bend East and Miller's Run) are proposed; council will receive final recommendations in June after public comment. Council had a lengthy discussion about enforcement issues in the existing Old Bend parking benefit district (tickets for overtime street parking, wrong-direction parking, visitors unable to parallel park). Councilor Perkins argued the district was never explained to residents and enforcement goes beyond what was agreed. Councilor Norris noted that the neighborhood originally asked for enforcement to address pressures from visitors. The contract was approved unanimously.
  • Tree Preservation Ordinance: Second reading of an ordinance amending BDC 3.2.200. Councilor Mendez recused himself due to a conflict of interest. The ordinance passed on a roll call vote (6–0, with Mendez recused).

Key Outcomes

  • Adopted Resolution Supporting Immigrant Communities (unanimous): Condemns federal immigration enforcement, allocates $100,000 to Latino Community Association for welcoming city work and direct family support. Council will send a letter to federal representatives.
  • Approved Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan (unanimous): Not to exceed $2.875 million for King Hezekiah and Fargo Sewer Project.
  • Awarded Sewer Construction Contract (unanimous): Far 7A Companies, $1,674,186.
  • Approved Parking Management Contract (unanimous): Diamond Parking Services, $536,000 first year, up to $2,906,000 over five years.
  • Adopted Tree Preservation Ordinance (6–0, Mendez recused).
  • Directed Staff: To bring forward a schedule for additional neighborhood roundtables and to include a policy discussion on existing parking district rules when presenting the new Old Bend East district in June.
  • Next Steps: City Manager Eric King will send a survey to council to assess workload and prioritize work plan items; a quarterly goal update in April will include scheduling and prioritization discussions. The central library closes for renovation in April; the new central library opens May 11.

Meeting Transcript

Start on your end, Counselor Francisa. Gina Franzosa, she her. Ariel Mendez, you know. Mike Riley, Melanie Keebor, she her. Megan Perkins, she heard. Megan Norris, she her. Steve Platt, he here. All right. So we're gonna start under good of the order first with our legislative update from staff. Good evening, Council. I'm Kate Schneider, executive policy officer in the city manager's office. And with me is Sarah Hudson and Eric Cancler, and we're just here to give a brief update of the short session. As you know, it ended earlier this month. We put together an issue summary just trying to highlight the most important bills to the city. But as you know, Eric Cancler is our uh contract state lobbyist, so the one on the ground, and we just wanted to give him give you a chance to hear directly from him on some of the more important bills this session. All right, thanks, Kate. Uh, for the record, Eric Counselor, City of Benz lobbyist. It's good to see you all. I think there's really four primary issues to talk about. We have, as Kate Lewis, we have you know formalized legislative priorities. We had a press release put out both public documents about where we focused our attention. But in terms of on the ground interaction and what we were really invested in, there was uh primarily uh the lodging tax issue, the protection of shelter funding, and then a couple housing issues related to urban reserves and uh complete communities. So going through in that order in a little bit more detail. The effort to gain additional flexibility on local lodging tax dollars has been going on for a very long time. I think the first time I engaged seriously on uh in it on the city's behalf was in 2017, so that was almost a decade ago. It took a lot of buildup. I think a lot of past efforts built on themselves and led to the success this session. And effectively what happened is I I think you all know that under the historic regime, 70% of the lodging tax dollars had to be earmarked for tourism and marketing oriented purposes, leaving 30% for other things, general fund or you know, a mix of responsibilities. The 7030 is now shifted to 5050, and that is true whether or not your lodging tax increment is pre-2003, a lot of which was grandfathered in uh post-2003 and already existing, or whether it's prospective in the future. So, Bend, our historic pre-2003 lodging tax is better than 5050, so this doesn't affect us in that regard. There are some local governments, cities, and counties that were grandfathered in at a at a very high ratio. I think Lane County was effectively grandfathered in to use all of their pre-2003 increment for marketing. Now they have a considerable amount of flexibility. So there's flexibility we can consider with uh the 2013 increment, and then there's flexibility should the city decide to consider uh another increment in the future, and that at a high level is really the bill is very simple in that regard. There was one additional element that was moved into the restricted portion, which involves what the legislature termed resiliency grants for small small businesses in the restaurant and lodging industry. It was a bit of an odd fit. It was important for getting the bill out of the house, but nobody really loved it. Um there was consideration about whether they should strip it up, send it back to the house for a clean fix. They left it in, moved it through, so it's quite possible that I don't know if the legislature is gonna come back in the long session and re-look at that one little element, but I don't think it's really a game changer. It's just an additional thing that the restricted portion can be used for, but it's not just a handout. You really need a business or a restaurant that's uh experiencing some sort of hardship was the intent. So that's a component of it as well. So moving on from, and that was our number one policy priority, our number one budgetary priority in terms of discrete budgetary priorities was protecting the uh I think it was 207 million dollars in shelter funding that was established through a lot of work, including by the city bend city of Bend and others ahead of and during the 2025 session. There was a lot of speculation that that allocation for shelter funding, which is pretty bare bones for essential facilities around the state, would get robbed to pay for some other things. Of course, we had uh increase we had maybe six months out before a session, really dire looking revenue forecasts, and they got incrementally better as we got into session. So fortunately, that allocation was kept entirely intact, and so that means that was our number one budgetary priority. So on those two fronts, uh we did very well. Of course, we were um part of large groups of people who were on the one hand fighting for lodging tax flexibility, and on the other hand, protecting uh shelter funding. It certainly wasn't the city of Bent leading the charge, but it was a really good group of people, and we were at the forefront with them. More specifically to our initiatives are two concepts that we did.

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