State Department of Land Conservation and Development Report on Bend and Deschutes County's Amendment to the Bend Urban Growth Boundary

City of Bend Appeal of Director's Report on Bend Urban Growth Boundary Expansion
Cover Letter
Appeal
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C

All cities in Oregon are required to have a 20-year supply of land for housing and employment in their Urban Growth Boundary (UGB).  State law requires that a city demonstrate the need for additional land (e.g. for housing, industrial development) before expanding their UGB.  This "demonstration of need" must also show that the land currently inside the UGB cannot reasonably accommodate the 20-year supply. 

Oregon planning law is very prescriptive on amending an Urban Growth Boundary.  The law directs cities where to look first to expand, requires planning for public facilities at the same time, as well as extensive technical analyses to establish a need for additional land.

This is the first major expansion of the UGB for housing and public facilities since Bend's UGB was established in 1981.  In that time, Bend's population has grown from 17,425 to 81,000, or 365 percent.  During that same period, the UGB only expanded by three percent, or about 600 acres. 
 
The process for demonstrating a need for the UGB expansion began in 2004, and included the development and adoption of a coordinated population forecast with Deschutes County, followed by three years of technical work on buildable lands inventories, housing needs analysis, economic opportunities analysis, forecasting additional residential and employment lands, and public facilities (water, sewer, transportation) planning.

Between April 2007 and November 2008, the city and county (either jointly or separately) conducted 66 public meetings on the UGB expansion.  These meetings included public hearings, workshops, planning commission and council work sessions, and meetings of the technical advisory committee.  From September 2007 through October 2008, the Bend Planning Commission, along with liaisons from the County Planning Commission, conducted weekly or bi-weekly work sessions that were open to the public and included time for public comments on the UGB expansion.

The city has completed a tremendous amount of work to develop this UGB expansion.  This body of work includes an inventory of buildable lands inside the current UGB for housing and employment, forecasts of land need for housing, employment, and related uses, evaluation of different boundary alternatives to meet this need, and public facility planning to support the expansion.  The city has ensured that each product and decision has an adequate factual base. 

Please use this link to find documents related to the approved UGB expansion, including the City's ordinances, findings, amended sections of the Bend Area General Plan, and testimony submitted to the Planning Commission and City Council.