Bend survey: ‘Quality natural environment’ top goal

A “quality natural environment” was the top goal listed in a city of Bend survey taken by more than 1,600 people as it begins work on a new process to revise the city’s urban growth boundary (UGB), officials said Friday.

The city registered more than 1,500 comments on a recent online survey, one part of the city’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) public involvement process. There were a total of 1,677 visits to the survey website.

The UGB is a boundary around the city that contains urban development and identifiesa 20-year supply of residential and economic land, as the state directos. The city is developing a new long-range plan for the UGB, as also required by the state.

The city is engaging citizens in this process. The primary purpose of the online survey was to receive feedback from the community about proposed project goals.

Results from the survey have already been used to revise and refine project goals and strategies. The results will also help inform citizen technical advisory committees and the UGB steering committee as they develop recommendations during the planning process.

In the survey, respondents were asked to rank their top five goals from those listed. While support for all of the goals was strong, “a quality natural environment” was ranked the highest and most often.

There are many issues on which the community of Bend agrees, according to survey results, which will serve as a foundation for UGB planning. They include:

The importance of a quality natural environment and preservation of areas with unique natural features, habitat, waterways and wetlands
The inadequacy of the current transportation system
The desire for pedestrian and bicycle connections to schools, parks and other services.

The full report on the “MetroQuest” online survey results and the updated project goals can be found at www.bendoregon.gov/BendUGB.