OSU-Cascades leader confident rough seas will ease

OSU-Cascades Vice President Becky Johnson isn’t about to say the effort to build a campus on Bend’s Westside has been smooth sailing of late, or that the land-use fight with opponents to get it built is over.

But during a wide-ranging conversation Wednesday afternoon with NewsChannel 21 reporters and staff, Johnson made clear that she believes the problems, presumed or real, with issues from parking to neighborhood impacts can and will be resolved to most folks’ approval, and the discord being heard among some in the community will ease, once they have a chance to move from what-ifs to reality.

Joined by Christine Coffin, the director of communications and outreach, Johnson answered questions about the housing plans, parking and infrastructure — and most notably, why the much-discussed (and apparently presumed by many) future home at Bend’s Juniper Ridge wasn’t the right fit — and held far too high a price tag for the fledgling university.

And while the initial excitement has changed among some to skepticism and worry, even fear, Johnson remains confident about what the future holds, even with more months, perhaps years of land-use appeals that lie ahead.

“I do feel like, if we can get beyond this — build a beautiful campus, show that we can change behaviors — driving behaviors, we can build a more robust transit system — I think people will get back on board, and it will change the whole tone,” she said.

Johnson said they are recruiting students for the first four-year class, due to begin in the fall of 2015 — “pioneers,” they will be called, even though their classes will take place initially in Cascades Hall, the building leased from Central Oregon Community College on the COCC campus. She says they’ll put extra effort into making sure they feel comfortable, and give them the resources they need to thrive.

Johnson reiterated the need for a four-year university – 60 percent of Bend-La Pine graduates leave to go to one, and many would stay in the area, plus economic development leaders say it’s a common early question from businesses considering where to build or relocate.

But with the Westside foes, Truth In Site, having until Nov. 10 to file an appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals of the city’s recent approval of plans for its 10-acre site, Johnson noted that could take four to six months for a ruling. Then LUBA could send issues back to the city on remand for changes – and if they don’t, opponents could take their case to the state Court of Appeals, or eventually even to the Supreme Court.

But Johnson said the need and desire for a four-year university is evident when, in a time of improving economy and, as a result, declining enrollment at COCC and many other schools – as would-be students go to work instead — full-time equivalent enrollment at OSU-Cascades is up about 8 percent this fall.

More degrees are being added, she said, and the school’s professors are drawing millions in grants for research on such projects as a compressed natural gas engine for vehicles, and a $300,00 suicide prevention grant (the second-leading cause of death for college-aged young people.)

Meanwhile, the Regional Solutions Team for Central Oregon has made two needs for OSU-Cascades its top priority, so it will be putting $2 million into the governor’s proposed budget for improving the region’s transportation network and an “innovation center” for entrepreneurs at the school’s nearby Graduate and Research Center.

And much of that transportation will be for biking, walking and transit, Johnson said, pointing to the different nature and priorities of “millennials,” many of whom don’t necessarily want a car, or to drive everywhere.

In fact, she mentioned ideas like Wi-Fi or coffee available at bus stops, to make that travel option more attractive, as well as more frequent runs.

But what about the retirees of, say, Broken Top, who don’t want an invasion of college-age students in the state that “Animal House” made famous for rowdy behavior? Well, Johnson said, that’s a gated community, of course – but the nearby Parks at Broken Top has a lot of vacation rentals that may already be occupied by students or others of that age group, who have the right to live where they choose – and apparently are not causing a lot of problems now.

But she did say OSU in Corvallis recently extended its code of conduct for students to off-campus, and that will be done here as well. While freshmen will be required to live on campus – and not be allowed to have cars there – the school isn’t going along with its campus advisory group’s proposal to require on-campus living for sophomores as well.

Johnson dismissed fears of harming property values, saying experience elsewhere has shown property near college campus end up having increased values, due to the demand for places to live.

And in regards to transportation, along with looking at off-campus parking areas, Johnson spoke of the Mt. Bachelor Park and Ride, and even a Zipcar type of short-term car rental program that might prove attractive.

Some city councilors joined critics in dismay that the university didn’t master-plan for the adjacent 46-acre former pumice mine it’s eyed for future campus expansion. But Johnson said they haven’t bought it and until they’ve done “due diligence” on the challenges of building there, don’t know if they could afford to make that move.

Johnson noted there were two earlier proposals presented as concepts to the community – one for the Mt. Bachelor Park and Ride space, before the Bend Park and Rec District bought it, and another for a “Portland State-style” expansion into existing retail buildings near the Graduate and Research Center – before the recovering economy doubled the potential price tag for those buildings.

And then there’s Juniper Ridge – which many had presumed, assumed or even thought the school and city had agreed to as its new site. But Johnson said OSU would have needed to buy the land – the city wasn’t going to just give it to them. Then there’s the much higher infrastructure price tag it would have faced: $20 million to $30 million to fix the choked Highway 97-Cooley Road intersection, $8 million to $10 million for a sewer line expansion – not to mention the possibility there (or anywhere) of opposing neighbors using the same land-use appeals process to challenge the plan.

And on a greener note, Johnson said a goal is to have a sustainable campus, even a “zero impact” on water, waste and energy – and that calls for a “strong commitment away from the automobile,” something a campus on the city’s northern edge would have made tougher.

After all, she noted, many of the college students are still going to want to go to Mt. Bachelor or Phil’s Trail, meaning they would have to travel to or through the same Westside roads.

With a goal of 5,000 students by 2025, Johnson said the school also would look at a possible expansion to the 70 or so acres farther north, owned by Deschutes County – the former “demo landfill,” with buried construction debris that smolders in a way that could require EPA assistance. The prime location means “that land is going to be used some day,” she said.

The other option is that PSU, more urban campus model, to buy existing buildings in the area as they become available, she said.