Old Bend Neighborhood Association
At the heart of Bend, Oregon
Watch out for Zombies in the downtown area on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Zombie Run – a Halloween themed event – will require some short term automobile lane shifting on Wall Street from the Breezeway to Franklin Avenue during the start of the race. And, don’t worry, it’s just the guy next door in a costume with face paint. http://ow.ly/i/7eKp9
The City of Bend has been experiencing a large increase in the number of vacation home rentals, a popular option for visitors in Bend. In response to comments from some downtown area neighborhood residents, the City will work with the community to review licensing and permitting requirements for vacation home rentals while balancing neighborhood livability, private property rights and Bend’s tourism economy.
The City is recruiting a community Task Force to help shape decisions about vacation rentals in Bend. Task Force members will be expected to attend approximately seven meetings between mid-November 2014 and March 2015 to research, discuss and recommend programmatic and land use regulations to better manage how short terms rentals are permitted within the City. Regular attendance is crucial for this effort. The first meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 20, 2014.
The City seeks a range of collaborative, solution-oriented participants to serve on Task Force of approximately 15 people. The City Council will appoint a group that will work respectfully together to create well-informed recommendations for programmatic and land-use regulations in early 2015. The City recommends stakeholder groups nominate individuals to apply to represent their collective interests. Applicants should understand both sides of the debate, the vacation home rental industry, the land use process and/or have other pertinent experience.
There will be approximately eight to ten at-large Task Force seats to be filled by members of the community. The City intends to distribute those seats evenly amongst:
There will be six other seats filled by representatives from the following stakeholder groups:
Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2104.
For applications or questions, please contact: City of Bend, 710 NW Wall Street, Bend, OR 97701, 541-388-5505, or visit the website at www.bendoregon.gov/committees to find an online application.
Questions about the process should be directed to Jon Skidmore, Assistant City Manager of Operations at 541-693-2175 or jskidmore@bendoregon.gov.
Old Bend and River West neighborhoods,
I know your neighborhoods have been extremely busy in recent months which is why I wanted to give you a heads up that the City is processing the permit request for a running event called the Bend Beer Chase, a 70-mile, one-day, six-person running relay consisting of 12 legs of varying distance, which will pass through your neighborhoods on the evening of Saturday, October 11. City staff have asked race organizers to be exceptionally diligent in signage and other neighborhood considerations. There is no traffic control program, meaning, traffic will not be stopped. Runners are required to follow regular pedestrian rules. Below I’ve attached the route map as it passes through your areas. Please be aware of runners on the road.
See: http://bendbeerchase.cascaderelays.com for more info.
Thank you,
Anne
Anne Aurand | Community Relations Manager
City of Bend
At tonight’s City Council meeting, the City Manager is scheduled to update the Council on the vacation rental issue in his report at the end of the agenda. Go to www.bendoregon.gov/councilagenda to find the meeting agenda.
Today’s update will outline work plan options surrounding vacation home rentals – ways of addressing code and programmatic deficiencies. It will also be the beginning of a discussion about resources needed to improve enforcement of existing codes and to create a more comprehensive vacation home rental program.
The update is outlined in the attached document so you can see what the City Manager’s report will entail. This update from the City Manager is not a public hearing or an action item that includes public testimony. As you will see in the attached work plan proposal, the Council will be asked to decide on a menu of options and policy decision in November, and the appropriate public involvement process will follow.
If you would prefer to watch this meeting from home, you can live-stream through www.bendoregon.gov/councilagenda, and video archives of past meetings can be watched through that site as well. Channel 11 also broadcasts Council meetings.
The City today also launched a new webpage to help you find information – www.bendoregon.gov/vacationrentals – and this site will be updated periodically.
One of Bend’s more palpable livability issues–unsafe street traffic conditions in residential areas and on routes to school–will be the focus of discussion at the first City Council candidate forum of the election season.
All eight candidates vying for three Council positions have announced their intention to participate.
This event takes place Wed., Sept. 24, from 6:30 to 7:30 P.M. in the Brooks Room of the downtown library, 601 NW Wall St. It is sponsored by Slower Safer Bend.
Carolyn Clontz, chair of the Mountain View Neighborhood Association, will moderate.
In addition to brief statements by each of the candidates and the opportunity for audience members to participate, Bend Mayor Jim Clinton will be on hand to discuss an initiative that would make Bend “a city where our kids can walk to school.”
No endorsements will arise from this meeting; candidate statements will be published on slowersaferbend.org.
Foster Fell
co-founder, Slower Safer Bend
Editor’s note: Slower Safer Bend’s other co-founder is one of the eight candidates participating in Slower Safer Bend’s candidate forum.