With the clocking ticking down to the July 1 launcn date, Bend City Council has created a three member subcommittee to research ways Bend might prepare for the legalization of recreational marijuana. Councilors Victor Chudowsky, Casey Roats, and Nathan Boddie are considering the options the City has for regulating the time, place, and manner in […]
City Council
Posted inOpinion
We Can’t Hear You
In last Tuesday’s election, Brady Fuller won the election for Position One on Bend Park and Recreation District (BPRD) with 4,081 votes. That is hardly a big number of votes—actually only four percent of the total number of eligible voters. Yet, Fuller won by a landslide, thumping incumbent Dan Fishkin, who only earned 2,305 votes, […]
Posted inNews
No Room for More Inns
New City policies formalize vacation rental operations
Kickstarter. Uber. Airbnb. These services have been at the vanguard of the modern “sharing economy.” Yet, what started largely as informal means to generate a little extra money for ordinary people—whether by turning your car into a part-time taxi, or renting out your house while away on vacation yourself—has quickly matured into full-time businesses; in […]
Posted inNews
Side Notes 4/8-4/15
Last week, after hours of deliberation and months of meetings, City Council voted unanimously to support the first reading of ordinances intended to stem the tide of vacation rentals encroaching on residential neighborhoods. The first ordinance will require new and existing short-term rentals owners to obtain an annual license with the City. However, new licenses […]
Posted inNews
Bend City Council Votes to Limit Vacation Rentals
Last night, after hours of deliberation, a battle-weary city council voted unanimously to support the first reading of ordinances including a new short-term rental licensing program and changes to land use code that limit the concentration of what are frequently referred to as vacation rentals. Under the first ordinance, which passed with relative ease, new […]
Posted inNews
Doing the Dam Thing
A plan for Mirror Pond moves forward despite dissent
When the Mirror Pond Ad-Hoc Committee first presented its hybrid proposal for addressing the failing Newport Avenue dam last November, the plan was well received. For a time, it seemed as if the committee had accomplished the impossible—bridging the chasm of public opinion between those who want to repair the dam and save Mirror Pond […]
Posted inNews
Side Notes 3/25-4/1
Gov. Kate Brown is coming to Bend Friday to celebrate last week’s signing of agreements in Deschutes and other Oregon counties to protect sage grouse habitats. The bird, which roams across the Western United States, is being considered for the endangered species list. But in the meantime, conservationists are working with landowners to conserve habitats […]
Posted inNews
City Council Votes 4-3 to Support Mirror Pond Redevelopment Plan
Lat night, City Council narrowly voted to support a plan put forth by the Mirror Pond Ad Hoc Committee and recently approved by the Bend Park & Recreation District Board, to replace the failing dam with a more natural feature that would maintain Mirror Pond. The proposal’s success relies on a public-private partnership and investment […]
Posted inNews
Property Rights and Wrongs
Proposed vacation rental changes may not help affected neighborhoods
After months of lengthy meetings, the Vacation Home Rental Task Force has drafted land use recommendations for consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council. But even if the City adopts the proposed changes, it’s not likely to change the landscape of the westside neighborhoods on the frontlines of the issue. “The recommendation is for […]
Posted inNews
Attorney Withdraws Second Lawsuit Challenging Councilor Roats’ Election
Local attorney Charlie Ringo has dropped his most recent lawsuit objecting to the way the City of Bend addressed the questions around Councilor Casey Roats’ qualifications to serve. It was his second suit challenging the election the candidate in the four-way race for Council Seat 6, whose campaign was marked by questions about his residency […]