Bend councilors OK 2 Juniper Ridge land sales, construction tax for housing
Special meeting, last of the year and with this council, lasts 20 minutes
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – On the eve of a wholesale change in its makeup, the Bend City Council held its last meeting of the year on Tuesday, approving the sale of two parcels at Juniper Ridge and giving final OK to a new construction tax to fund housing programs and help low-income residents.
The online special meeting, which lasted about 20 minutes, was called after a 4-3 vote at their last scheduled meeting on Dec. 16 to approve the new Commercial and Industrial Construction Tax.
Because it was not unanimous, a second reading and roll call vote was required, and with four new councilors due on board at their first January meeting, Councilor Justin Livingston (who lost in November) proposed the special meeting, which colleague Barb Campbell questioned the need for. He said Tuesday he wanted certainty sooner for the construction industry.
There was concern that a holiday-week meeting, if not fully attended, could sink the tax, at least for now. But as it turned out, another voted-out councilor, Chris Piper, switched his vote to support the tax, expected to raise about $600,000 a year at a rate of 1/3 of 1 percent of permit values, though only on commercial and industrial building, not residential.
Piper provided this explanation to NewsChannel 21 for his decision to support the tax this time:
"I had done quite a bit of phoning with many and know that this small tax will help give a "hand up" to the several homeless who are employed but simply need help transitioning," Piper wrote.
"The funding from the tax will provide staff and counselors to many who are 'transitional-ready.'
"I also believe you can argue that the tax will help improve economic development because the city has a funding program in place - I expect it will reduce (not solve) the homeless population, based on research from Walla Walla and several other cities.
"I also hope that our region's elected officials can work together finding a sustainable funding and program model, because this is simply not a Bend issue -- it is a regional issue," Piper concluded.
Earlier, councilors unanimously approved the sale of two parcels totaling about 10 ½ acres near 18th Street and Cooley Road in the southern end of Juniper Ridge for a total of about $1.82 million to contractor Kevin Spencer, who plans to develop them for as-yet unnamed tenants.
City Urban Renewal Manager Matt said the buyers are working with several possible tenants, with plans for Class A office space in the area zoned for light industrial uses.
Development of the 1,500 acres (500 within the city) that Deschutes County "sold" to the city for $1 nearly 30 years ago has been largely stymied by several factors over the years, including costly infrastructure needs that are now being addressed with a sewer project and planned road improvements.
Councilor Bruce Abernethy asked Stuart if the potential tenants are aware of the homelessness issues in the area (which would have been hard to miss amid the recent debate over a controversial now-dropped plan to put a temporary transitional shelter in the area, much to the consternation of some neighbors.)
Stuart acknowledged that the potential tenants had “some reservation” as they waited to see what the city’s direction would be and now feel more “confident” about locating their businesses there.
