Redmond, Deschutes County OK 950-acre city expansion plan

The future path for a large area on Redmond’s south end was agreed upon Tuesday as the city council and Deschutes County commissioners approved plans to develop 949 acres near the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center for fairgrounds expansion, a military readiness center and large-lot industrial uses.

The passage of the two governing bodies’ concurrent ordinances brings the area into the Redmond Urban Growth Boundary, while associated Master Development Plan approvals set out the vision for future development.

Specifically, 140 of the 949 acres will be dedicated to an expansion of the Deschutes County Fairgrounds, as well as a 20-acre parcel for the Oregon Military Department to relocate its readiness center.

The remaining 789 acres is set aside for industrially zoned parcels ranging from 50- to 200-acre sites. The plan will create the fourth-largest industrially zoned contiguous parcel in the state, city officials said.

“It’s now time to roll up our sleeves and work with Redmond Economic Development Inc. and Economic Development for Central Oregon to bring family-wage industrial jobs to Redmond,” said Redmond Mayor George Endicott.

The approvals concluded more than 10 years of collaboration involving several agencies ,including the city and county, the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, the Oregon Department of State Lands, Economic Development of Central Oregon, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Military Department, Regional Solutions, Redmond Economic Development Inc. and others.

The city said the process now will take the following path as the property moves to being shovel-ready in 2020:

– The Department of Land Conservation and Development will review for concurrence.

– Formal annexation into the city limits.

– Department of State Lands will make infrastructure investments into what is now raw land.