News & Updates

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Market of Choice and Bend Annex

TBG ARCHITECTS + PLANNERS

July 12, 2012

RE:       Market of Choice and Bend Annex (201210  and 201122/1.3)

Public Meeting Notice

Dear Property Owner:

On behalf of the owners of the vacant properties located near the Old Mill district between NW Colorado and NW Arizona Avenues, east of SW Lava Road and west of the NW Colorado Avenue and NW Arizona Avenue intersection, we invite you to attend a public meeting to review and comment on two proposed developments. In the approved Property Line Adjustment (City File PZ 11-294), the western property is described as Deschutes County Assessor’s Map 17-12-32DC 13800 (formerly Assessor’s Map 17-12-32CD Tax Lots 16900, 17000, 17100 and Assessor’s Map 17-12-32DC  13700 and 13800) and the eastern property is described as Deschutes County Assessor’s Map 17-12-32DC 13900.

The development proposed for the western site is a single-story approximately 35,000 square feet grocery store with associated parking, landscaping  and site infrastructure. This proposal requires a Type II Site Plan Review and Design Review application. The review and decision is rendered by the Community Development Director following public notice.

The development proposed for the eastern site is for two single-story commercial buildings with associated parking, landscaping and site infrastructure. At this point, the tenants have not yet been identified for this site. It is likely that the smaller approximately 2,600 square foot Building 2 will have a single drive-through food service or bank tenant and the larger approximately 8,000 square foot Building

I will have multiple commercial tenants with uses such as retail, food service, personal service, and/or office. This proposal requires a Type Ill Zone Change application to change the existing Industrial Light {IL) zone to Commercial General (GC) consistent with the land use designation on the Bend Area General Plan for this property. The review and decision for the Zone Change application is rendered by the Planning Commission  or Hearings Officer following a public hearing. Additionally, the proposal requires a Type II Site Plan Review and Design Review application. The review and decision for these applications is rendered by the Community Development Director following public notice.

This notice has been mailed to all property owners of record within 500 feet of the boundaries of the subject properties and to the Land Use Chairs for the Old Bend and Southern Crossing Neighborhood Associations in accordance with the City of Bend Development  Code, Section 4.1.215.

When:  August 1, 2012 6:00pm
Where:  Downtown Bend Library Brooks Room, 601 Northwest Wall Street

Contact:   Kristen Taylor, CSBA
TBG Architects+ Planners
132 East Broadway, Suite 200
Eugene, Oregon 97401

Voice 541.687.1010 Ex 15  • Fax 541.687.0625 ktaylor@tbg-arch.com

Please find attached a Proximity Map illustrating the location of the two subject sites. We will present the Conceptual Site Plan and Exterior Elevations for the development proposals at the public meeting.

We look forward to presenting and discussing the development proposals with you and your Neighborhood  Association on August 1st.

Sincerely,

Kristen Taylor, CSBA
Senior Project Manager/Planner

Public Notice PDF

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Don’t forget the pond and skate park

Bend Park & Recreation District officials take community input seriously. They do polls and hold community open houses to determine what taxpayers want, and they tailor their plans accordingly.

Back in 2004, that meant scrapping plans for a bond issue to build a westside version of Juniper Swim & Fitness Center.

This year, it means the district will go forward with plans for a $29 million bond to fill in gaps on the river trail, build an ice rink and help Oregon State University-Cascades Campus with expansion plans, among others.

What they won’t do with this bond, however, is move forward with a study of Mirror Pond or the building of a skate park.

Mirror Pond is too controversial and not solely a park district responsibility, said Executive Director Don Horton, and the skate park suffered a “lack of support from voters.”

That made them unattractive items for a bond issue, Horton said, and we can’t dispute that reality. To enhance chances of bond approval, the district needs to focus on the things voters are willing to pay for. Attracting controversy doesn’t enhance chances of bond passage, and we support the bond.

Still, what to do about Mirror Pond and a skate park?

A few years ago, most of the public talk about Mirror Pond focused on finding the money to pay for dredging. More recently, the panel discussing next steps is hearing from those who think big changes would be better, possibly removing the dam and returning the river to a more natural course. What had seemed obvious has become controversial, at least among those trying to fix the problem.

Without a poll or a vote, we can’t know if attitudes have really shifted, but we think there’s still enormous support for preserving the pond by dredging. If voters were given a clear option for that, we think there’s a good chance they’d vote to pay for it. If, however, they are asked to pay for studies with unknown result, support would be much less certain.

The skate park has different issues. Lack of support in surveys is not surprising, and shows the danger in relying entirely on such tools. Skateboarders are less likely to respond to a survey or to attend meetings, and the unsavory reputation of skateboarders survives despite being outdated.

Across the nation, other communities have provided impressive new facilities for skateboarders, a group that now includes many responsible adults as well as youngsters. Yes, it’s a small group, but it’s also a small cost relative to all the other planned expenditures.

Horton says work toward a skate park will go forward using resources the district already has, rather than money from the bond. That sounds fine. We would understand if advocates are skeptical, though, given the long time they’ve been meeting with park district officials and seeing other projects move ahead to completion.

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Bend parks likely to ask for bond

The Bend Park & Recreation District Board is likely poised to ask voters in November to approve a $29 million bond for park improvements.

If the board goes forward with the bond proposal, it will be a downgrade from its initial discussions of a $31 million bond. The board discussed bond options at a work session Tuesday night and will vote on a bond proposal and recommendation at its July 3 meeting.

Don Horton, the district’s executive director, recommended the board eliminate one project — a study that would have explored ways to get rid of silt at Mirror Pond.

That study’s cost was estimated at $400,000.

Horton told the board the Mirror Pond situation is a polarizing issue, with some people thinking the pond should be dredged and others questioning the district’s involvement. As a result, the item would consume a lot of time to explain to people, he said.

“I think the community’s still struggling on what ought to be done and who should be responsible,” Horton said.

Board member Dallas Brown said leaving the Mirror Pond project off is a good idea.

“I don’t think it’s our issue exclusively and I don’t think it’s the best thing to have on the bond,” he said.

And based on low support in a poll, the bond proposal will no longer include a skate park, a project estimated at $500,000.

The district is still crunching numbers and hasn’t fine-tuned where the rest of the cuts — about $1.1 million from the original bond proposal — will come from. The proposal calls for about $11 million of property acquisitions along with another roughly $18 million in projects.

But Horton said savings will be found throughout the proposal process and costs are only estimates at this point.

Board Vice Chairman Scott Asla called the proposal a “golden opportunity,” noting it asks the community for a smaller investment than what the cost would have been five years ago.

The goal is to keep the proposal’s tax increase at less than $50 a year for the average homeowner, Horton said.

Source: The Bulletin

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Secondhand Smoke feedback needed by June 29

Deschutes County Health Services invites residents and visitors to complete a brief survey about secondhand smoke exposure and tobacco use in relation to downtown areas. The County’s goal is to better understand resident and visitor tobacco and smoke-free preferences for future policy making consideration.

Because Deschutes County is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all who visit downtown areas in county cities and towns; Health Services, in conjunction with the Rede Group, has published a survey. The survey will help determine public opinion around the use of tobacco in downtown areas. Results will be final September 2012.

The survey is available for public access now through Friday, June 29. Depending on the level of public response, the survey may stay open for a longer period of time.  The link to the survey is: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e604ihrwh33du6og/start .

After the survey closes, there will be a presentation to local cities, Deschutes County Commissioners and local business leadership about the results. A future notice will announce more details about how the public may access the results.

Through the survey, Deschutes County would like to ensure that smoking in not a barrier to people visiting downtown areas and stores. Smokefree policies ensure equal access to all, including people with asthma and other chronic conditions.

If you are ready to quit tobacco use today, please call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit www.quitnow.net/oregon/  to learn more.  The Oregon Tobacco Quit Line provides free, confidential and friendly coaching to help you quit. In addition, the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line offers an online, live chat coaching service for those who would prefer to receive help online. Visit www.oregonquitline.org to register.

For more information, please contact Deschutes County Health Educator David Visiko at david.visiko@deschutes.org or (541) 322-7481.

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Board Meeting Notes: June 14, 2012

OBNA Board Minutes June 14 2012

Present:  Board Members: Mark Weers, Brett Yost, John Kelly, Jan Gifford, Spencer Dahl Absent: Bob Almquist, Ken Cooper
Guests: Tabitha Dahl, DeAnna Timm

Miller’s Landing
Riverside Alley Closure:  Group discussed:  Riverside Alley Closure. It was the consensus of the group that we post this information on our website to encourage comments.

Mirror Pond Update: Bend 2030 will conduct a workshop as part of  Accelerate Bend.Spencer will keep us posted.

Budget:  Board voted to create an account at Fed Ex Kinkos for the amount of $380 to be used for copy and material costs.

Spencer suggested that we make table signs for non smoking, smoking tables which include information about the Old Bend Neighborhood. These would be donated to  restaurants within our neighborhood.

Discussion about a name change in the future to something that doesn’t sound like a Homeowners Association. Moved to next month.

Mark Weers will research the issue of placing cigarette receptacles outside businesses so that the butts are out of reach of small children.

Spencer showed us how to post to the website.