Bend mayor talks of why Central Library request failed while officials ponder next steps

(Update: Adding video, comments from mayor and library director)

Library director says positive comments offer hope a successful path can be found

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A requested exception to a city land-use process was the sole reason Bend city councilors turned thumbs-down on a request by the Deschutes Public Library to clear the path for construction of the 100,000-square-foot Central Library off Highway 20 at the city's north end, Mayor Sally Russell said Thursday.

While no formal vote was taken Wednesday evening, most councilors expressed strong misgivings about the request to grant an exception from the requirement of a master plan for new land brought into the city. City staff will return with formal findings for a vote at their next meeting, on April 6.

Russell said the nature of the library system's request put them in an awkward position.

Library Director Ted Dunkelberg said Thursday he didn't know how Wednesday evening's request was going to go, but the hope was the exception to a master plan requirement would gain favor, considering the circumstances.

Russell told NewsChannel 21, "The council said we cannot support that land use exception change."

"It's really important all the lands we bring into the urban growth boundary through annexation have really good infrastructure planning, but that opportunity didn't get presented to us last night," she said.

Library officials said they had to make that pitch because the owner of surrounding property wasn't ready to go through a costly master planning process -- and the city rules require that for annexation, which means a 40-acre minimum proposal.

But city councilors said library officials should have planned for that situation in the first place, and need to find a way that fits with city land-use laws, without seeking an exception.

Numerous other issues were raised in public testimony, especially by those who opposed the nearly 13-acre site across from Cascade Village Shopping Center along Highway 20 that the library system bought in early 2020, months before voters approved a $195 million bond measure to build a new Central Library and expand and upgrade other libraries around the county.

Russell said the Deschutes Public Library needs to find a way to make a 40-acre plan in order to have the project move forward.

"We all support the library," the mayor said. "The library had several steps to move forward without coming to council and asking for this exemption. Those opportunities still exist for them. So I encourage the library to look at those."

While the revised area map and master-plan exception did not win favor, Dunkelberg had positive things to say about the city councilors and said he appreciated their support for the project, despite the hurdle they couldn't move out of the way.

"We appreciate them weighing the issues, and they were very clear," he said. "We had a few council members that didn’t oppose the library (and said) that they loved the library. They were fine with the location. But they were concerned with making exceptions with the text amendment. It gives us hope for the next step, as we move forward to bring this area into the city, using another process.”