Bend forming task force on vacation rentals issues

The city of Bend is seeking applicants who want to serve on a community task force to tackle the thorny issues surrounding a surge in homes converted to lucrative vacation rentals, especially in some older neighborhoods close to the downtown core.

Here’s the full text of a city announcement Thursday on the move, discussed with city councilors Wednesday night:

The city of Bend has been experiencing a large increase in the number of vacation home rentals, a popular option for visitors in Bend.

In response to comments from some downtown area neighborhood residents, the city will work with the community to review licensing and permitting requirements for vacation home rentals while balancing neighborhood livability, private property rights and Bend’s tourism economy.

The city is recruiting a community task force to help shape decisions about vacation rentals in Bend.

Task force members will be expected to attend approximately seven meetings between mid-November 2014 and March 2015 to research, discuss and recommend programmatic and land use regulations to better manage how short terms rentals are permitted within the city.

Regular attendance is crucial for this effort. The first meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 20.

The city seeks a range of collaborative, solution-oriented participants to serve on task force of approximately 15 people.

The city council will appoint a group that will work respectfully together to create well-informed recommendations for programmatic and land-use regulations in early 2015.

The city recommends stakeholder groups nominate individuals to apply to represent their collective interests. Applicants should understand both sides of the debate, the vacation home rental industry, the land use process and/or have other pertinent experience.

There will be approximately eight to ten at-large Task Force seats to be filled by members of the community. The city intends to distribute those seats evenly among:

Concerned neighbors who are impacted by the vacation home rentals
Members of the community who own, manage or benefit from such rentals
Neutral but interested individuals

There will be six other seats filled by representatives from the following stakeholder groups:

Bend Planning Commission
Old Bend Neighborhood Association
River West Neighborhood Association
Bend Chamber of Commerce
Visit Bend
Bend Economic Development Advisory Board (BEDAB)

Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5.

For applications or questions, please contact: City of Bend, 710 NW Wall Street, Bend, OR 97701, 541-388-5505, or visit the website at www.bendoregon.gov/committees to find an online application.

Questions about the process should be directed to Jon Skidmore, Assistant City Manager of Operations at 541-693-2175 or jskidmore@bendoregon.gov.