The Bend City Council heard a report on proposed shelter code changes at its regular meeting on April 6. The controversial amendments are meant to increase the number of available shelter beds by clarifying zoning requirements for shelters.
The Sounding Board to House our Neighbors, which drafted the new code, is a committee formed by the City and made up of members of the city council, Bend’s planning commission and leaders in homelessness, housing and economic development. The Sounding Board held meetings from April to December of last year and surveyed over 850 residents while drafting code amendments.
The new code differentiates permanent and temporary types of shelters. Temporary types of shelter include hardship shelters, which allow homeowners to let RVs, manufactured homes and mobile homes park on their property for as long as 18 months for someone experiencing housing instability. Temporary shelters can resemble several different types of shelters and are limited to 180 days. They will be allowed in residential zones but only if a building has a non-residential use like a church.
“The proposed amendments to the Bend development code as recommended by the Sounding Board create three new permanent type shelters. It’d be group shelters, outdoor shelters and multi-room shelters,” said Pauline Hardie, senior code planner in the meeting.
“The proposed amendments to the bend development code as recommended by the sounding board create three new permanent type shelters. It’d be group shelters, outdoor shelters and multi-room shelters.” —Pauline Hardie
The new code defines a group shelter as a building that has one or more sleeping areas, like the shelter operated by Shepherd’s House on Second Street, while an outdoor shelter is a site without a centralized building but can have tents, tiny homes or RVs. A multi-room shelter, meanwhile, has individual sleeping rooms. The most controversial aspect of the code change allows outdoor shelters to exist in residential areas.
On Feb. 16 the City Council dropped plans to create an outdoor shelter off Ninth Street after backlash over its proximity to two schools, trails and homes. The City Council will do a first reading of the amended code at its meeting on April 20.
Additional codes require shelter operators to prove they’ve set good neighbor guidelines and to communicate with neighbors before the shelter is running. City staff also emphasized what the code doesn’t do, like regulate operations, exempt shelters from general zoning rules, require shelters be built, supersede homeowners’ covenants, conditions and restrictions, or regulate camps on public property.
This article appears in Apr 13, 2022 – Apr 19, 2023.
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Let me guess…none of these options are proposed for the west side of Bend? No interest from the compassionate folks living in the Golden Triangle or NWX? Shocker.
Actually “Mudslide” there are proposals for the westside. There are two possible locations. However, since the westside is mostly protected by HOA’s and CC&R’s (CC&R’s not so much because the city won’t enforce and protect them) it is not as probable. However, just to shed some light for you, the west side neighborhood associations are hosting/funding the town halls on this topic next week with panelists. We are advocating for no low barrier housing anywhere in Bend. These meetings will be held at Caldera High School. We are opposed to low barrier shelters and code amendment changes, but the City Council refuses to listen to us and the public. They put out a survey that gave results that a majority of Bend residents don’t approve of these shelter code amendments but they continue to push forward with their own agendas. May I suggest that you and all residents of Bend attend these meetings and advocate with us. This is not a west side/ east side issue or a partisan issue but a community issue. Low barrier housing doesn’t belong anywhere in Bend because there is no accountability. We need high barrier shelters with rules and regulations and social services to help these folks that are houseless so they can get back on their feet and become participating citizens in our community. Our city council is supposed to represent the community and our best interests but they are not doing so. It is up to the community to advocate for this and not let this happen. AND what this article doesn’t state is that the Survey of the 850 people, most were opposed to these code amendment changes but the City Council is pursuing this endeavor that will be devastating for Bend.