TLDR:
Council was presented with data about how enforcement of the Camping Code is going. There has been a reduction in long-term large encampments, campsite footprints are smaller and cleaner, and no citations have been issued so far while enforcing the camping code. Clarity should be added around how far vehicles need to move, if they have not been moved in three days.
Awbrey Butte NIMBYs tried and failed to scuttle the Housing Code amendment from the last meeting, in an apparent attempt to delay the construction of Compass Corner.
Neighbor Impact has received a grant that provides them $200,000 to help people in need with rent and deposit assistance
The Deschutes Youth Climate Coalition and several other organizations showed up to petition the City to work on home electrification. The City is working on this, and we should hear more about it in March.
Work Session
Community Development Fee Increases
The fees that developers pay when they apply for permits is planned to increase substantially next year. These fee increases are necessary for the continued operation of our planning department. This year, the department is finally fully staffed, and is processing permits in a timely manner for the first time since 2020. There are three building fees that Staff hope to start raising in July. Because these increases are substantial, they will be raised slowly over time in 6 month increments, and the need for additional increases will be evaluated each time by auditing the department's revenue, expenses, and reserves. While the increase relative to the current fees are substantial, (the first round of increases is just below 20%), the increase in relation to property value is pretty minor. Currently, these fees represent .8% of the total cost of a median home, after the increases, the cost will rise .2, to 1%. There have been 5 meetings with developers and other stakeholders, and Staff will be checking in with the Bend Economic Development Advisory Committee two more times before the fee increases come back for adoption in June.
The City is also doing an internal and external "continuous-improvement analysis" to identify ways to improve the permitting process. This will include evaluating the pre-application process, modifying how the City tracks the time it takes to process a permit to be more comprehensive, and improve communication between review staff. Improving the pre-application process is something that the development community really wants the city to do. The Bend Chamber has sent a letter to the City recommending various improvements, and Katie from the Chamber spoke at public comment encouraging the city to focus on improving the pre-application process, and endeavor to run the permitting process with a customer service focus. The City hopes to have a plan and implementation strategy by Q2.
Camping Code Update
Quick and dirty summary of the camping code: Bend's camping code says that people can only camp in the right of way in places that it is safe. Camps need to be restricted to a certain size, and the camp needs to be clean. Camps need to move every 24 hours, or they will be issued a notice to move. Camps given this notice have 72 hours to comply. The code does not cover private property, property owned by parks, or property owned by ODOT. These areas are regulated by their respective owners. Vehicle camping is regulated by the city's pre-existing code, that require vehicles to move every 3 days.
Bend's Camping Code is now 8 months old, and Council has requested an update on how it is going. Sheri is the Health and Safety Compliance Coordinator for the city, and it is currently her job to enforce this code.
There are three notable trends that people on the ground have seen after the implementation of the camping code:
The number of long-term large encampments have been reduced
Campsite footprints are smaller and cleaner
No citations have been issued while enforcing the camping code
Sheri's work can be tracked over time through the number of Cases she opens, and Notices she gives each month. Before we look at the data, it is important to understand what a case means.
What is a Case?
A Case tracks a location of an encampment. Cases are not unique to a specific individual, and the same location can have multiple cases over time. Locations are identified either because Sheri just came across it during her usual work, or someone made a complaint or service request. When Sheri opens a case, she goes to the location and tries to speak to the occupant. If they are there, she will explain the code, and provide a packet that also explains the code, directs the person to resources, and provides other information. If nobody is there, a case is still opened. The 24-hour clock begins. Sheri comes back to the location after 24 hours to check back on the case. If the camp has moved, then the case is closed, and no further action is taken. If the camp remains, a 72-hour notice to move is issued. Sheri gives out two kinds of notices. There is a Notice to Clean, and a Notice to Move. Notices to clean are issued to camps that are not compliant with the cleanliness and safety part of the code, they are primarily issued to people camping in vehicles.
Don't Misinterpret data, M'Kay?
It's important that you understand that these numbers do not reflect the scale of houselessness in Bend. The best resource for understanding the scope of our challenges is the annual Central Oregon Point in Time Count. What these numbers do reflect is the scale of Bend's camping enforcement measures over time, and it tracks non-compliance with that enforcement over time. It is also important to know that this data is messy. Since cases and notices are not unique to an individual or location, this data, is not good for making any sort of conclusion around the number of individuals involved, or how that number has changed.
In my opinion, this data is most useful in understanding how enforcement of the code has changed over time. There are three periods of time reflected in this data. March through May shows how the City enforced the camping code shortly after its implementation. The data from June and July is the period of the sweep of Hunnell, and August - October reflects the City's current state of enforcement. Okay, that's enough hand holding. Here are some charts you animals.
Challenges enforcing Vehicle Camping
Enforcing vehicle camping has run into some challenges. Vehicle camping is regulated under the Parking Code, with cleanliness rules of the camping code also apply. Unless otherwise marked, vehicles have to be moved every three days, and the code requires that the vehicles need to move 750 feet if the vehicle is not moved before that time expires. However, there is some lack of clarity in the code on where in the city this 750 foot requirement applies. Staff are going to bring a code change to Council in 2024 to clarify that this requirement applies everywhere. The City also has a very limited capacity to tow and store vehicles. This is not something anyone is enthusiastic to do, but this lack of capacity really limits the city's options when it is necessary. Sometime in the middle distant future, expanding this capacity will be looked at.
Regular Session
Normally I try to loosely match the structure of my summary to the chronology of the meeting. Today that's not going to work because three separate public comment initiatives came up that completely threw a wrench in the pacing of the meeting, and it's my job to pick up the pieces.
Airport Angst
There was an open house at the Bend Airport today about upcoming changes to the Bend Airport rules and regulations, and people are big mad about some of the changes, particularly around rules about hangers. A group of these pilots came to public comment to ask that the rules be delayed and modified. There are new reporting rules that require that people who own and lease their hangers to others provide a list of these people to the City. There isn't clarity around how renewing leases are going to work when current leases expire. People are concerned what will happen to their hangars or planes if they can't lease the space. The City's hands are largely tied because these changes are from an external audit they did to be in compliance with requirements coming from the FAA to operate the airport and receive grants. There will be another open house on November 29th.
A Push for Electrification
A large group of people from the Deschutes Youth Climate Coalition, 350 Deschutes , and the Citizens Climate Lobby showed up to support the Bend Electrification Campaign. 60 days ago, they sent in a petition for Council to take action reducing carbon emissions in Bend by requiring new developments to be all electric. The petition called on the city to act on this issue in 60 days. The 60 days are up, so these groups called in today to request Council to direct staff and the Environment and Climate Committee to pursue electrification policies.
After waiting until the end of a very long meeting, Council responded to the petition. They are going to send out a letter to the groups with their formal response, but the gist is that electrification is already in the work plan. The City looking at electrification policy in the new Climate Action Plan that is being slowly developed. Council is directing staff to present to Council about what it would take to accelerate working on electrification. If they do, there will be trade-offs, like having staff that are currently focused on applying for grants to shift tasks. In an attempt to respond to calls to accelerate this process, Council is moving the next Quarterly Update from April to March, where the Council will hear back from Staff on electrification. Council was also, just like, generally jazzed to see youth participating in local politics and advocacy. They thanked the groups for that advocacy and for holding them accountable.
Dissembling Awbrey Butte NIMBYs pretend to care about Vertical Clearance to try and tank Compass Corner
I've spent two days rewriting this section because I had to do investigative journalism. I have HOMEWORK GOD DAMN IT. This is not what my Friday is supposed to be for. My whole weekend is ruined.
Last meeting, Council voted on an amendment to update our housing code. These code changes were broadly divided into two categories: code changes required by new State laws, and code changes intended to remove parts of the code that are needlessly hindering development. These code changes have been in the works since August, and went through two public hearings plus a public comment period before Council voted to approve the changes three weeks ago. The record is closed, Council deliberated, made their decision, and all that is left is a procedural roll-call vote at the end of this meeting known as a second reading.
One of the codes hindering development is Chapter 3.1, section J of the BDC. This section required a 13 foot 6 inch minimum vertical clearance on private property involved with vehicular management. This portion was brought up as one of the parts of the code that is actively preventing development. NIMBYs love this code because they like to tank projects that include parking garages with it. In this case, it impacts Compass Corner, a mixed-use development going up on one of only two lots of commercial property you can find on Awbrey Butte. Compass Corner is trying to avoid digging and grading the site because it is expensive, and because the neighbors don't want them to. They cannot avoid grading the site and still keep this 13 foot 6 inch clearance without a modification of the code or exemption of this requirement. When Staff examined the source of the code, they couldn't find documentation of where this code came from, or why it was there, and felt that was enough grounds to just remove it. This section of the code is also largely redundant for practical purposes, because there is a similar requirement in the building and fire codes that covers what the City would care about. By my understanding, this code removal will have only one consequence, and that is that following this code change, parking structures will not have to accommodate large delivery vehicles.
This information was included in the Public Record. You can find the public record for this amendment here. Here is a screenshot from the Planning Commission's recommendation:
In tonight's public comment section, several people who live near Awbrey Butte that have previously written in protest of Compass Corner, presented what amounted to a pseudo-legal argument that this code change was misrepresented to the public and to Council as a procedural code change, but that this code change was material and significant. They point to Staff confirming that this code was redundant in the last public hearing as proof. Some callers spoke of the consequences they imagined would result from this change, like how it could push delivery vehicles onto public streets. These callers made a considerable effort to hide the fact that they were upset about this code change because of Compass Corner. They never mentioned a development by name.
This maneuver is really fucking annoying, because public testimony on this issue is closed. Council has already voted on it. Council is not allowed to consider any information that was not included in the record of this issue. Legally, the Council must disregard any comments made at this point when making their decision. Council does have the option to re-open the public hearing if they pretend that it's not because of these comments, but doing so opens them up to legal repercussions. To make the situation more complicated, the portions of the amendment that are required by State law must be passed before January. Reopening the hearing would prevent the city from passing the required code changes in time.
Council really does not like the assertion that they misrepresented the intentions of this code change, and if this time constraint was not an issue, it is possible that they would have elected to re-open the public hearing to clarify the situation, because a few weeks is usually nothing. In the end, the second reading was passed, with everyone voting for it except Councilor Riley. Councilor Riley and Mayor Kebler are going to talk with legal about how they can bring this issue back to Council for further discussion and clarification.
This section is done because I need to move on with my life. Let's see if I can bang the rest of this out in an hour.
Approve Employment Agreement Amendments for Municipal Court Judge Angela Ruocco
Our Municipal Court Judge is getting a well deserved raise. WOo.
Approve Sole Source Findings and authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with NeighborImpact for Rapid Rehousing Direct Client Assistance
Oh my god, I fucking love it every time Lynne McConnell shows up to present to Council. So in 2022 the State passed HB 4123. This bill allocated 1 Million dollars to Deschutes County to allocate to cities in Central Oregon to assist in Homeless response. This money was then allocated to The Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC). The City and NeighborImpact applied for a grant together.
The City and NeighborImpact have been granted $577,500. It will be used in the following ways:
$100,000: Facility improvements at the Franklin Avenue site
$262,500: Case management and Administration expenses over the next two years
215,000: Neighbor impact / Direct Client assistance
Second Intergovernmental Agreement with Deschutes County and Cities of Bend, La Pine, Redmond, and Sisters – Coordinated Houseless Response Office
We've renewed our intergovernmental agreement that establishes the Coordinated Houseless Response Office. It's a little different from last time because it's now run by COIC instead of the County.
The City is joining a class action lawsuit because we found PFAS in one of our wells.
The City received one positive test showing PFAS in one of our wells. This well has been shut down and is no longer in use. The city is joining a Class Action lawsuit suing manufacturers of a certain PFAS containing firefighting foam that is the likely source of these PFAS. Two of the manufacturers have already settled in this lawsuit, part of the settlement is paying for remediating impacted water sources.
Bird Bikes
The two-year Bird Bike pilot program is over. There were about 3500 rides a month, and each bike averages about 1.2 rides daily. The city is working with the OSU Cascade Mobility lab to write up a report and provide recommendations on next steps.
Is that it? That's it.
Meeting Adjourned.