Popular Bend festival shelved amid land-use dispute

The Bend Roots Revival music festival was less than a month away when organizers found out its planned venue was no longer available.

On Monday, the owner of Century Center, Dave Hill, said the site would no longer host the annual event scheduled for Sept. 21-23.

The announcement followed land-use appeals filed by a neighboring business, bullet and firearms manufacturer Nosler Inc.

Hill had put in applications earlier in the year to redevelop Century Center, including plans for adding a new parking lot and indoor event center.

After news of the appeal, Hill said he would no longer host any outdoor events until three land-use applications are approved by the city.

Century Center officials were not available for comment.

On Wednesday, Nosler attorney Steven Hultberg told NewsChannel 21 the appeals are not connected to the music festival.

Rather, the company is concerned that Bend approved two land-use applications without considering traffic issues that may arise from Century Center’s developments.

The organization putting on the festival is Rise Up, a non-profit art group that has put on the festival the last seven years in Bend, and used Century Center for its festivities the last two years.

Rise Up Director Jesse Roberts said the news of the cancellation was hard to take, but the community support was amazing.

“It is a big disappointment,” Roberts said. “It’s always been a free festival for the community, and we have had hundreds and hundreds of comments and postings in support of the festival — people don’t want to see it go away.”

Bend Planning Manager Colin Stephens said the city followed a “change-of-use” code when approving the applications. Stephens said those rules do not require the city to notify neighboring businesses when approving the applications.

Stephens also said Hill has another land-use application currently pending.

A public hearing over the disputed land-use applications is expected within the next couple of months.

Roberts said it is unlikely that the festival can change to a different location, and he hopes the public input can help convince Hill to change his mind.

The festival was planned to feature more than 100 acts and workshops over three days. Roberts said more than 4,000 people were expected to attend this year’s festival.