Whose backyard – mine our yours?
The
NIMBY-YIMBY kerfuffle in Bend now has a new marquee participant in the form of
Bill Smith, visionary developer of the Old Mill District on what was the site
of Bend’s once-booming timber industry.
View above waterpark from apartment site |
Old Mill REI above smokestacks upriver |
The
proposed apartments and others in Bend have created a “yes in my back yard”
movement calling for more affordable multi-family housing, counter to what some
say is a “not in my back yard” mentality.
Bend councilor faces scrutiny over alleged harassment-Boddie asked to step down
The
Bend political temperature appears to be rising with the heat in mid-July, as
city councilor Nathan Boddie has been accussed of inapproptiate advances to a
young woman several years ago, among other indiscretions.
The
state Democratic Party organizations and others have distanced themselves from
Boddie, who was running for the seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Knute
Buehler, the party’s challenger to incumbent Democratic Gov. Kate Brown.
Bend
councilor Sally Russell, candidate for Bend mayor in the city’s upcoming first
election for that position, has called for Boddie’s resignation from the
council. The issue will be aired at a council session July 18.
Study says Bend officials should let
another entity plan Juniper Ridge
After
years of sputtering development, including a lawsuit Bend settled over
ownership of an early master plan, an independent study has recommended the
city government step aside from trying to manage development of the 1,500 acre
Juniper Ridge on the city’s northern perimeter.
The
study recommends the city turn over planning and strategy for future
development of the site, acquired by the city from Deschutes County for a
nominal sum in 1990, to a separate board and hire an employee to manage the
effort.
Once
forseen by the city to be a model research, industrial and residential complex
that could have been home to the OSU-Cascades 4-year campus, the project has thus
far attracted only a few businesses, including the headquarters of Les Schwab
Tires, Suterra Corp. and a small office of Pacific Power. Meanwhile
OSU-Cascades is building and expanding its campus along Century Drive and Chandler Avenue on Bend’s
west side.
Anticipating
future development the council approved a $3.2 million extension of the city
sewer system. However, additional obstacles include how to accommodate
burgeoning traffic problems on Highway 97 and the Cooley Road intersection.
Creating
an interchange that would effectively turn 3rd Street-Highway 97
into a local road and route high-speed Bend parkway traffic to the north on 97 is
problemmatical in that it would be outside the urban boundary, in conflict with
state land use law.
Brooks steps in to develop urban infill site
As
Bend begins to implement development strategies to comply with the state-approved
Urban Growh Boundary plan, highly-respected developer Brooks Resources has
stepped in with a proposed mixed-use project along Franklin Street west of 3rd that would fit a new urban infill template.
Brooks
is in preliminary planning stages to develop the approximately 1.75 acre former
Murray-Holt auto dealership site on Franklin in a multi-story configuration to
include either 130 apartments or 50,000 square feet of offices above retail
space.
The
proposal is compatible with the city’s UGB plans to create urban infill activity
centers east of the existing downtown core. Bend’s early attempts to gain
approval of its UBG plan were rebuffed several times by the state, which said the
city had not given enough weight to developing existing land within the city boundary.
OSU-Cascades gets another boost
After
winning city approval of its master plan OSU-Cascades officials have announced
that the expanding 4-year university has raised $10 million to combine with $39
million in state bond funds that will finance construction of a new academic
building along with infrastructure improvements.
Proposed ew STEAM building |
In
a news release OSU-Cascades vice-president Becky Johnson said the $10 million
included a $5 million anonymous gift contingent on raising the other $5 million.
The
academic building with be “state of the art” to focus on the STEAM disciplines
of science, technology, arts, engineering and math.
“With
the completion of the $10 million fundraising initiative and the unanimous
approval of the campus master plan....the path is clear for the creation of an
extraordinary university campus to serve the region,” Johnson said.
As
the university continues to expand eventually to more nearly 130 acres
including the current 10-acre footprint, officials continue to grapple with transportation
and parking issues.
Student bus ridership has fallen below projections
and congestion along Chandler Avenue fronting the campus has increased.
The
university is assessing other solutions to encourage parking away from the
campus, including shuttles and other incentives to alleviate congestion, and as
part of the master plan approval will fund a roundabout at Columbia Road and
Colorado Avenue.