Bend is ready for Middle Housing
Right now is a pivotal time to live and work in Central Oregon. Love it or hate it, our communities are changing. Bend continues to transition from a small town to a small city. With these changes comes the opportunity and responsibility to help create the healthy, vibrant, and inclusive community we want to be.
Great communities don’t just happen. We need to show up, speak up, and take action to shape how and where Central Oregon grows, now and into the future. And today happens to be a perfect time to make your voice heard.
Meeting the moment with more housing choices.
There is a housing shortage across the country, driving up costs and limiting available housing options for residents in cities and towns nationwide. Bend is no exception. Bend is especially short on smaller housing types that tend to be more affordable for low and middle incomes.
Tomorrow, Bend City Council will be holding a public hearing on amendments to the Bend Development Code to implement House Bill 2001. This law was passed by the Oregon legislature in 2019 and aims to provide Oregonians with more housing choices, especially housing options more people can afford. Read the backstory on HB 2001.
HB 2001 requires most cities in Oregon, including Bend, to allow for more middle housing options within city limits. Smaller and more compact than traditional single-family homes, these housing types provide more choices to more people at various income levels and stages of life.
What is middle housing?
It is common in cities and towns to see two sides of the housing spectrum: large-lot, stand-alone single houses or multi-story apartment buildings.
Middle housing, often called the “Missing Middle,” refers to the many different types of housing that fall somewhere in between, like townhouses and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Learn more...
What’s good for our cities is good for our wild places.
We depend on the farmlands and wild places that surround our towns. By making room for more housing options within our existing urban footprint, we can help keep these vital rural landscapes intact and thriving.
HB 2001 is one step to limiting sprawl while providing more opportunities for closer-knit and walkable communities. At its heart, this bill creates more options to use land within city limits more efficiently. That’s a good thing for Central Oregon’s people, fish, and wildlife that call this place home.
Make your voice heard
Let City Council know that Bend is ready for the choice to use our land more efficiently, grow more sustainably, and meet current housing needs.
Key points: We've laid out some central themes to consider when you weigh in.
1. You can email your comments to council@bendoregon.gov by 4 p.m. tomorrow, September 15. Be sure to include “HB 2001 Amendment PLTEXT20210421” in your subject line.
2. You can attend tomorrow evening’s public hearing at 6 p.m. and provide comments virtually. Register here to receive the link to the meeting. You will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. You can also join by phone: 1-888-788-0099 or 1-253-215-8782 | Meeting ID: 868 1017 9361