Minutes

Tuesday, December 13, 2022 on Zoom 6:30pm

Meeting Minutes

Board Attendees: Michelle Abbey, Ken Atwell, Jim Christo, Susi Gaylord and Sara Moss (all board members present)

Action Items

  • New Action Items from 12/13/22 meeting

    • Susi to work with Ken and designer to provide an image for website to accompany the final logo

      • Sara to update website with new logo and artwork once it's available

    • Michelle and Ken to go meet with Karen Swarsky who wrote the Transportation System Plan in January

    • Jim to facilitate development of SEBNA desired goals for Jan 11th NLA meeting

    • Susi (and maybe Ken) to attend Council meeting to accept public comment on City Council Goals, Jan 19, 11-1pm

    • Susi to ask Dan and/or Research/confirm whether there is cost to appeal to LUBA and if so, what is it and when is it paid?

    • Susi to work on getting a newsletter set-up and drafted (Mailchimp) - tech ready to go, prepared to send out first newsletter, ideally have logo and new website in place

      • Ken has suggested that we need to forward information emailed to us by the City

      • And that our demographics are either not tech lovers and/or super busy

      • And would want to share meeting minutes and next meeting notification (and agenda if available),

      • Will start with once a month

    • Ken continuing to reach out to neighbors on SEBNA borders to gauge interest in joining SEBNA (Oct)

    • Michelle will sign up for alerts via the City website and let us know if something hot comes up for City Council and/or Planning Commission (Nov)

    • Jim/Susi - items for future Board meeting - Opportunity Zone (Murphy & 15th) (Nov)

  • Completed Action Items Noted in 12/13/2022 Meeting

    • Sara to migrate old website to new website before the end of the year so Ken can can cancel Weebly/old site before the first of the year (new) - COMPLETE

    • Susi will work on iterations to the new SEBNA logo (new) - COMPLETE

    • Michelle to reach out to Ken and connect on Active Transportation Connectivity in SE Bend and next steps - COMPLETE

    • Susi to facilitate Board agreed to submit a written comment about our united front about the Home Energy Score in advance of 12/7 hearing - Susi will work with Jim/Ken - Home Energy Score approved - COMPLETE

Minutes

  • Welcome

  • Public Comments

    • No community members present

  • Board Membership & Roles

    • Noted interest in adding additional Board members

  • Land Use - Ken

    • Lamont Apartments (15th & Knott) - Neighborhood Meeting held Nov 7th

      • No update since November SEBNA Board meeting

        • High density apartments are planned - 200 units (just east of Caldera)

        • Ken has reviewed the plans and is not seeing any concerns at this time

    • No Gas Station

      • Standing room only for the 11/18 Hearing

      • Colvin Oil (GP Energy Rebuttal period ends 12/14 then to the Hearings Officer for review

    • Brosterhous Railroad Pedestrian Underpass - Under Construction

      • In progress; slated to go to mid-December

      • Not clear if it will be a one-lane road going forward; Ken emailed the City Engineer and has received no response

    • Parrell & 97 - Under Construction

      • 2 lots are subdividing into 13 lots; Ken is following-up on Calvin Way crosswalk request (long-time safety request) - Ken received no response

    • Opportunity Zone (15th & Murphy)

      • Ken noted that 'anything' could end up at this location because of the unique zoning

      • Seems to be a staging area for local developers at the moment

      • Density, commercial is expected - could end up being a climate-friendly zone (this time next year the city will have to have decided where these areas will be 25-40 housing units/acre - vertical building expected; no zoning designation

      • Board to discuss in future meeting

    • Ferguson East bound will be closed in the near future

    • Short-term Rentals continue to come up - Golf Course, Timber Ridge and Mountain High are the only green zones on the online map meaning virtually all short-term permits have been taken

  • Community Engagement

    • Neighborhood Leadership Alliance (NLA) - Jim

      • Jim attended on 12/13/22 just before the SEBNA Board meeting- notes will be emailed to the Board

      • Home Energy Score

        • Update on neighborhood assessments was provided by the City

      • Reimbursement Form Online

      • Trailer available for NAs to reserve including table, chairs, etc.

      • Park usage will be streamlined for NAs

      • Full mailing support will be provided for NAs

      • 2x / year mailing list will be provided to the NA

      • New neighborhood leader training will be provided again

      • Survey Planet is available for all NAs, would like us to send out a survey at least once a year

      • Talking about changing NA to Neighborhood District to end confusion with HOAs

      • City wants 2 meetings per year per NA - one business meeting (like we had in Oct 2022) and one fun meeting (using trailer perhaps)

      • Talked about resolving boundary questions - talking about moving existing neighborhoods to a different NA and also what it means to get a new neighborhood associated with an NA; Ken noted that there is Code that outlines this process

      • Council Liaison is supposed to sit on each NA meeting - council member attendance is hit or miss depending on the NA

      • January 11th NLA will be on the topic of Council Goal Setting (see Jim's action item, above)

    • Neighborhood Association Round Table (NART) - Susi

      • NART met on Nov 29th

      • Susi/Jim reviewed a NART-drafted letter about City needing to listen and take-in public input

        • Planning Department is funded by developer permits which creates a conflict-of-interest for Planners

        • Goal post setting is a critical part of the process

        • Squishy code turns into Developer-friendly code in the Permitting / Hearings / Appeal process

        • Managing livability - tearing down trees (no City Tree Code) and new RV park took down 13 acres of trees

      • Timber Yards: a few 6 story buildings are proposed (by the Box Factory); Ken noted that if this area is designated as a Climate Friendly area

      • Also talked about City Council goals

      • Noted support for surveys as a great way to gather input

      • 2 positions open for Planning Commission - looking for NA engaged members to join

      • E-Bike letter sent explains that laws have not been enforced - kids riding without helmets and at speed

      • Hayden Homes Amphitheater - has an exemption from noise

      • Pahlisch development off of Butler Road may be building more apartments than approved in the Master Plan (Ken isn't sure this is accurate)

      • Multiple owners sharing home ownership to avoid short-term rental licenses (noted that HOA agreements may need to be amended to state that this approach is not allowed)

      • Concern that developer's are building excessive amounts of unaffordable housing (need a code change to require affordable housing so people can work and live in Bend (aka workforce housing)

        • Ken noted Karon Johnson has documentation around workforce housing; Colorado ski town examples where employers buy the units and that there is no money within Bend to pay for affordable housing as we are tax-limited; and that developer fees are set by the State

      • Next NART meeting set for January

    • OFDNA/SEBNA Joint Board Meeting - Jim

      • Old Farm indicated they are interested in meeting again going forward; Old Farm cancelled their meeting in December

      • No update since November SEBNA Board meeting

    • City Council Working Sessions & Meetings

      • Ken suggested that we consider tracking what the City Council is working on during their Working Sessions (Oct)

      • As an example, he noted that the decision was made to push sewer hook-up costs to homeowners (had been the City)

      • Council agenda set for the week prior - not far in advance - need to monitor the email box and let everyone know if a hot agenda item comes up

      • Ken will continue to keep us updated; Michelle will sign up for alerts via the City website and let us know if something hot comes up for City Council and/or Planning Commission (Noiv)

    • Planning Commission

      • See above, Michelle to monitor agendas

  • Hot Topics & SEBNA Board Positions

    • Hot Topics

      • Parking being redefined currently

      • Comprehensive Plan / Urban Growth Boundary discussion

        • Ken expects this to come up again soon, Ken noted there are subjective elements to the code that needs to be turned into specific, objective requirements

        • Ken noted all code flows from the Transportation System Plan and the Comprehensive Plan and public input is allowed in these plans but we MUST change subjective terms into objective / measurable metrics

        • Public generated opinions about what we want Bend to be; must be defined as objective and defensible code because subjective definitions seem to favor developers not residents when permits are submitted. For example, what does "walkable" mean?

          • Yes to speed limit definition (objective)

          • No to "discourage pedestrians" (subjective)

    • 2021-2023 SEBNA Goals. Will discuss goals submitted in 2020 in a future SEBNA Board meeting.

    • 2023-2025 City Council Goal Setting. Jim noted that SEBNA will be asked to provide input to the City. Jim noted last round SEBNA recommend an case management and tracking tool be implemented to support NAs so that when a question/comment is submitted by the NA it can be timestamped and tracked to ensure timely follow-up. Lack of follow-up/-through has been an issue. Board was amendable to this suggestion. - Reviewed 11/16 - no updates

      • Meeting set for January 19, 11-1pm for NA and public input

    • Active Transportation Connectivity through and throughout SE Bend - Michelle

      • Ken noted that code states there will be 100% sidewalks on public and private lands

      • Talked about working with Bend Bikes to understand current, planned and wish list routes

      • Ken encouraged us to brainstorm solutions for paying for plans at the same time we identify connectivity opportunities

      • Ken noted that Parks & Rec is very interested in opportunities

      • Country Club to The Bridges Pedestrian Zone. Ken suggested that the Board could dive into what it would take to create great bike/pedestrian connectivity throughout SE Bend.

      • Arnold Irrigation Moving Underground

        • Arnold will be finished by ~2026

        • Ken noted syphoning under Knott and China Hat is expected to be a variable - Ken will research

        • We discussed that covering the canal is a federally-driven project

        • Will become a paved bike/pedestrian path

  • Communications

    • Mailing List - Sara: 179 subscribers

    • Newsletter - Susi / Michelle

      • Sara to get the newsletter up and running

    • Website - Sara

      • Will continue to build out and share with Makayla for additional ideas

    • Social Media - Susi

      • Susi will blast out the newsletter and our website will include links to social

      • Suggestion was made to post on Reddit under r/Bend and use SE Bend in the subject

    • Media Coverage

      • We did discuss the Bend Bulletin’s lack of mention of SEBNA in two recent articles where SEBNA was heavily involved and decided to try to engage them more in the future.

  • Other Business

    • SEBNA Boundaries - Current boundaries don't seem to be intuitive. We are a new Board and a growing NA. Will revisit in Jan 2023.

    • Ideas for 2023 Annual Meeting - Water conservation

    • Potential Meeting Locations - Barnes & Noble, East Bend Library (free, reserveable online), Fire Station Community Room (tbd), Trinity Lutheran (Knott & Brosterhous tbd - friendly but busy), and The Pines Community Room (free, open to , Back 9 Club House (Ken can ask Jody), Country Club ($150/use, Timber Ridge HOA meets there)

  • Next Board Meetings

    • Tue 1/17/23 5:30pm - will occur via Zoom

    • Feb 15, 2023 at 5:30pm (Zoom)