City of Bend will study 10 possible ‘Climate-Friendly Areas’ where new mixed-use districts could take shape

(Update: adding video and comments from the city and CO LandWatch, KTVZ.COM Poll)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A recent study by the City of Bend shows what areas of town could be mixed-use districts where people can live and work without requiring a car.

This concept is called a Climate-Friendly Area, also known as a CFA. Climate-Friendly Areas are part of the Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities set of rules recently required by the state.  They are intended to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles by designating walkable, connected areas that provide a mix of businesses, housing and amenities such as parks and schools.

Brian Rankin, planning manager for the City of Bend, said Monday, "Transportation and land use are two big contributors towards greenhouse gases. So the state and now the city are looking at ways to build the city that reduce the amount of energy required.”

Corie Harlan, the city and town program director for Central Oregon LandWatch, noted, "Bend is one of the fastest growing places in the state and the country. And so Climate-Friendly Areas, they're a great tool for directing and managing that growth with intention and in ways that really enhance and preserve our livability. ”

With CFAs, the city will be able to change codes or rules and build multi-use districts that will increase transportation via walking and rolling and increase housing and business accessibility.

There are 10 candidate areas that could become CFAs, spread throughout Bend. Read the full report here.

Rankin noted, “So we've heard pretty much a really wide variety of types of input. There's a little bit of, 'We love it!' Some people don't like it so much -- and that's very Bend. You know, we have a lot of different opinions here. And so we're trying to pull all that together as we're studying this and as we're moving forward with designation.”

The process of designating CFAs is supportive of many Bend City Council goals, policies and plans related to climate, equity, housing and transportation, the city said Wednesday.

The CFA study is available for review now and will be submitted to the state of Oregon by Dec. 31. Next, the Bend City Council will decide on the candidates for designation, based on the analysis presented in the study, the required amount of land for Bend’s CFAs, and community input. Community engagement will continue throughout this process.

The city says Bend's CFAs will be designated by 2025 at the earliest.

Staff from the city's Growth Management department will present the work at a City Council work session on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 5 p.m.

Harlan suggested, this project won't just help carbon emissions, "I think what's great about CFA is, is that it really helps us respond to both our housing crisis and our climate crisis.”