Special report Is fast-growing Bend about to break?

Since 1990, the city of Bend quadrupled in population, home prices went from cheap to steep, and the once-quaint small town on the High Desert has become a lot busier.

A quarter-century ago, the population of the city of Bend was around 20,000 people; currently, Bend boasts a population of more than 81,000 residents. That’s an over 200 percent population increase in 25 years.

“I mean, you moved here when it was not a rural town — but not an urban area,” Bend Planning Commission Vice Chair Rex Wolf began. “Now you’ve got all these neighbors, and the complexion and your world have changed completely.”

The planning commission aims to help the city as it continues to grow in population.

Three of every four residents have moved to Bend within the past 25 years, making it not only one of the fastest growing cities in the state of Oregon, but the entire country. Citizen task forces and the planning effort for a revised urban growth boundary planning will help city leaders tackle many of the tough issues we face.

“There’s not a good comparison (in cities), because the other 80,000s have been around for a while,” Wolf said. “Yeah, they went from 65,000 to 80,000, but we went from 20,000 to 80,000!”

One could compare Bend to cities like Aspen, Colorado, Park City, Utah, and Sun Valley, Idaho in the sense of lifestyles. And in this case, Bend is still relatively inexpensive, with a current median home price of $368,900 – Sun Valley’s is $740,000.

“You have a boom, and then a bust,” said COCC Economics Department Head Jon Wolf. “Then you have a continuation of the trend, so if you take off the ‘mountain’ (data peak), not much has changed over time.”

In 1990, there were 15 public schools in the city of Bend, now there are 26. In 1996, the Bend Parkway was just starting to take form. In 2000, The Old Mill shopping district opened, and in 2002 the Les Schwab Amphitheater held its first concert in June.

“There were a lot of growing pains, and we’re still playing catch-up today,” said city of Bend Senior Planner Damian Syrnyk.

Committees continue to plan for the future, as the city continues to grow at a steady rate. So while Bend apparently won’t “break,” it will keep growing and changing, facing both the problems and opportunities that growth brings.