Bend councilors weigh future of downtown events

(Update: Campbell comments on downtowners ‘ requests)

The city of Bend is weighing the future of big, street-closing events in the downtown area, as the Downtown Bend Business Association suggests it might be time to scale them back, due to the negative impacts on many stores and shops.

The Downtown Bend Business Association gave a presentation to the City Council Wednesday night to discuss the future of those events, and made several proposals to limit or compensate for their impacts on businesses in the downtown area.

Downtown events have become a staple in Bend over the years. But with changing times and growth, many merchants say it may be time to look at the impacts these events are having.

Mindy Aisling, executive director of the DBBA, said the feedback she has received from businesses about the events that shut down city streets, sometimes for days, is a mixed reaction, but overall, businesses say the events have a negative impact on their sales and survival.

“Events are amazing, and they are a great asset to our community, and they’re a great addition to our community, and the event organizers in our community are doing a wonderful job,” Aisling said. “It might not be a great fit for downtown any longer.

“And that might be limiting the number of days that events come into downtown, it might be doing things like not putting competing products in a vendor booth and in front of a store. So there is some discussion to be had, but I think it’s clear right now it’s not equitable in downtown Bend.”

Right now, there is a limit on just how many events are allowed to be held each month that shut down city streets.

One proposal is to limit the amount of days downtown streets can be closed, rather than a cap on the number of events, as current city code does.

Businesses also see the impact on parking during these events, with spots available being taken up with the streets being shut down.

“Parking is a really big part of the equation for success with businesses downtown,” Aisling said.

And fewer available parking spots means fewer people even trying to come downtown to shop for artwork, furniture or other retail services.

City of Bend business advocate Ben Hemson said it’s a discussion that will have to continue as the city moves forward with how to manage these events.

“It’s the DBBA’s — part of their scope to identify issues and bring them to city council or city staff, and this is just another step in that continuous process,” Hemson said. “Downtown is always growing and changing, and this won’t be the last time we have a discussion where we’ll be taking feedback and taking the path forward.”

“There are no bad guys here,” Aisling told councilors during the work session. “The truth is, we’re in a growing city, needs are changing and what might have been a good fit 15, 20 years ago might not be now”

Some proposals got an initial cool reception from some, such as DBBA suggesting the city require pre- or post-event meetings with event organizers or that they be charged an “impact fee” for the costs the association and merchants face, such as pressure-washing sidewalks and litter pickup after events.

She noted that a survey found coffee shops, for example, generally see a boost in sales — but make up just 5 percent of downtown businesses, while services such as barber shops or spas can suffer from the closed streets and lack of convenient parking during the big festivals and other events.

Asling said the downtown “old timers” relate that the events originated in part to get people to come downtown and build business, but now “downtown has plenty of events. … The question is, are they still helping? Is it still appropriate?”

Mayor Sally Russell said many of the bigger events have been going on for decades and are “part of the fabric of Bend.” Councilor Bruce Abernethy said they could look at “grandfathering” the current events and review the issues that would arise from adding any more.

Later, during the visitors’ section of the agenda, several downtown business owners and managers had their say, including Dee Dee Cochran of NW Home Interiors, who has worked downtown for 20 years and voiced a “major frustration” with the number and days of events hurting many businesses.

Julia Kennedy, marketing director of Red Chair Gallery, said they’ve “found it harder and harder to coexist with all the events going on downtown,” which cut sales some 30 percent on those weekends and have prompted their and other businesses to often close instead, when “we know there will be no sales and no parking.”

She also said the music stage is set up right outside their door, with “deafening” sound that drowns out conversations with customers. She asked if the stage could be rotated to various spots or moved near businesses not open on weekends, such as banks.

“It’s getting harder and harder to make the rent,” she said. “We do have a vibrant downtown area, with a lot of cool shops and residents. Please don’t drive us out by making it impossible to thrive.”

Aisling said she wants to make sure there is a strong partnership between the DBBA and the city on how to strike a healthy balance.

“So I think by sharing that information with council and creating a partnership with them, what we are really doing is making sure that we are on the same team to create a successful city going forward in the future,” she said.

Councilors want to also hear from event promoters, and to have a council subcommittee consider changes in permitted events and road closures in coming months.

Campbell had plenty more to say Saturday in a comment posting to this article, calling the DBBA presentation “disappointing” and noting numerous ways taxpayers subsidize downtown businesses.

“The last time the DBBA came to council, they walked away with $500,000 (Mirror Pond) parking lot remodel to help with their homeless/panhandling problem, paid for by the tax-payers,” she wrote.

“That was after the tax payers remodeled the parking garage that the tax-payers bought (11 million dollars) for them years ago,” she added.

“The taxpayers provided special police patrols downtown, but that wasn’t enough. We added tax(payer)-paid private security. Next came the security cameras and the menacing signs about the cameras, all on you.”

“Every year, the city of Bend taxpayers subsidize downtown landowners, so they can continue to raise rents on their tenants without providing parking, security, snow removal, events management, etc. etc. That’s all on you, taxpayers!” Campbell wrote.

“If you would like to see a business district that stands on its own, they are all around us…Cascade Village, The Outlet Mall, The Wagner Plaza, The Old Mill District, The Century Center, Fred Meyer, The Forum… all struggle to stay afloat with no special help from you the city taxpayer unless you choose to shop there,” the councilor concluded.