Bend group says YIMBY: Yes, In My Backyard

Housing availability is one of the top priorities for many in fast-growing Bend, but as individual projects spark controversy among neighbors, one new group is bucking the tide.

A local group called “Yes In My Backyard,” or YIMBY, wants to integrate housing and transportation solutions to allow people and families the ability to live in Bend.

YIMBY focuses on well-known issues such as a lack of housing for people who work in Bend. The group invited Mayor Casey Roats to their meeting Monday evening at the McMenamin’s in downtown Bend.

Some who are participating in YIMBY say the issues are not just about newcomers, but also for current Bend residents who need teachers and doctors, who can’t find housing. Roats said cities are meant to change, evolve and be dynamic.

YIMBY organizer Byron Buck said the group provides a voice for those who haven’t been able to move into an apartment or house.

Instead of fighting growth, this group wants to embrace it and provide affordable transportation and housing tools to those of all income levels.

“Often, when multi-family units are being developed, there is opposition from local neighborhood groups, (but) we need to see more multi-family housing,” Buck said. “Housing is very expensive here, we have a constrained supply, (and) we need more supply. Recognizing the urban growth boundaries and the scarcity of land, multi-family housing is something we need more of in more places in Bend than we have now.”

Roats said multi-family housing should go up all over Bend, and he wants to see the town expand to the east in a logical manner.

He said there is land east of the city that will never be irrigated, and is perfect for housing or commercial purposes.

The problem is that land was zoned in the 1970s for exclusive farm use. Roats said that needs to change.

He said the city needs to focus on the urban growth boundary and create a variety of housing and job types in the area.

“I think that people (should understand) better who’s needing that housing,” Roats said. “At the meeting (…) one of the gentleman said his daughter’s teacher in elementary school actually had to leave the community because she couldn’t afford to live in Bend any more.

“I think most people would be more than happy to have an apartment somewhere close to their neighborhood, if it meant the teachers teaching their kids could live close enough to school, and not have to live in some town that’s 30 or 40 miles away,” the mayor said.

Roats urged all those at the meeting to speak at city council meetings and voice their views.

More information: https://bendyimby.com/