I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br />The City of Bend is nationally recognized as a high-duality, desirable place to live and <br />work. Bend is the seventh largest city in Oregon, and is one of the fastest growing <br />communities in the state. Over the next twenty years, close to forty thousand new <br />residents are expected in the city. Planning for the homes and jobs that current and future <br />citizens will need is an important responsibility, and the decisions made now will have <br />long-term consequences for the city and region. <br />The city and Deschutes County have made a substantial effort to plan for the future of the <br />area in their decisions oil the Bend urban growth boundary (UGB). The UGB establishes <br />where the city will grow over the next twenty years. Setting this boundary and planning <br />for the lands inside of it directly influences what types of housing are likely to be built, <br />what employment opportunities the city is prepared for, and the future costs of public <br />facilities. It also has important long-term consequences for where people live and work <br />in the region, and the extent to which the), need to drive to get fi•o►n homes to jobs to <br />shopping and other destinations. <br />phis is a decision by the Director of the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and <br />Development about whether the City of Bend and Deschutes County's UGB expansion <br />complies with state land use laws. The decision is to remand the UGB expansion (along <br />with a related amendment to the city's public facilities plan) back to the city and county <br />for revisions needed for the decisions to conform with state requirements. <br />The director agrees with the cite and county that a UGB expansion is needed, but the size <br />of the expansion is over four square miles larger than the amount of land the local <br />governments determined is needed. The director also agrees with the city and county that <br />they have appropriately shown a need for land for a new university site and for a large- <br />site general industrial area. However, the local governments need to complete technical <br />work to document that lands for these important future uses can't be found within the <br />existing city limits. <br />The director also determines that the city has not done an adequate job of planning for <br />needed housing for current and future residents of Bend and the region. The city has <br />documented a real need for more affordable housing, and for housing for people who <br />work in Bend to reverse the trend of workers leaving the city to find affordable <br />housing. IloNvevcr, the city's planning fo►• future residential development does not lay the <br />groundwork for these types of housing to be developed in Bend. <br />State land use laws require cities to work to cncourage growth to occur on vacant and <br />underutilized lands within urban areas before expanding into rural areas. Bend has taken <br />tentative steps in this direction, but its indefinite plans do not demonstrate that the city <br />will meet its Dousing needs over the next twenty years. <br />Bend UGB Order 001775 3 of 156 January 8, 2010 <br />