Minutes
Wednesday, January 25, 2023 on Zoom 5:30pm
Meeting Minutes
Board Attendees: Michelle Abbey, Ken Atwell, Jim Christo, Susi Gaylord and Sara Moss (all board members present)
Action Items
Action Items
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 - in progress
Ken continuing to reach out to neighbors on SEBNA borders to gauge interest in joining SEBNA (Oct) - Cabin Lane and Pahlisch meetings planned for the coming month
See additional action items below, highlighted in yellow
Completed Action Items Since Last Month
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 - COMPLETE
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
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? - $300 to file the appeal - COMPLETE
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) - COMPLETE
Minutes
Welcome
Public Comments
No community members present
Board Membership & Roles
Noted interest in adding additional Board members
Land Use - Ken
Crown Villa / Sun Country - PRIORITY
Planner has not posted Ken's comments over the past 3 weeks and has escalated - MUST HAVE SIDEWALKS ON WEST SIDE OF BROSTERHOUS
Ken to give us the email address and permit numbers so public can comment on requiring sidewalks - Susi/Sara to help publicize - somehow, we do not understand why, no public meeting is required for this development
No Gas Station
Hearings Officer approved all permits; opposition filed appeal; City Council will be discussing the appeal on 2/1 in the working session
Asking neighbors to attend the 2/1 council meeting with a handmade sign asking City Council to step up and hear the appeal rather than push it to LUBA
Active Transportation Connectivity through and throughout SE Bend - Michelle / Ken - Proactive SEBNA effort in progress
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
Bike Connectivity in SE Bend
Michelle and Ken to go meet with Karen Swarsky who wrote the Transportation System Plan
Ken will also coordinate with OFDNA / Karen (Jan) - need to connect up with adjoining neighborhood associations
Ken to email map of idealized bikeways to the Board (curb, sidewalks and expanded bikeway required by City, Ken noted that this won't work as planned by the city. As an example: Tillicum Village won't allow some residents being forced to build-out sidewalks on private streets. So, we need a creative approaches and solutioning here.
Shiloh - APPROVED AS PLANNED
Ken to double check status, but believes plan has been approved
Townhouses by the Golf Course - Ken Proactively Reaching Out
Have a plat for 37? units, at 31 require a second access 24' wide for fire department, which is expected at 4th/5th hole of the golf course - Ken watching the application
Woodside Court (on the south side of railroad on Country Club, dead end right now) - Withdrawn by Developer
Kim Ward gave to Affordable Housing Group as a tax deduction; third try to get affordable housing there, Ken responded to developer questions, developer withdrew again, would require another access onto Country Club would double the size of Woodside Court resulting in minimal parking and ending in parking on the road without curbs and sidewalks; was 45-50 units and asked for forgiveness of right of way for additional units
Lamont Apartments (15th & Knott) - High density apartments are planned - 200 units (just east of Caldera) - APPROVED AS PLANNED
No update since November SEBNA Board meeting - Ken has reviewed the plans and is not seeing any concerns at this time
Brosterhous Railroad Pedestrian Underpass - Under Construction - City providing no update
In progress; slated to go to mid-December -- clearly not completed as of mid-January; Not clear if it will be a one-lane road going forward; Ken emailed the City Engineer and has received no response over the last several months
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 since Nov? email
Opportunity Zone (15th & Murphy) - No Known Development Plans
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
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
Hot Topics & SEBNA Board Positions
Climate-Friendly & Equitable Communities (CFEC) starting to make its way into code
Timelines are set for the next two years - City will be following Oregon state timeline - designating areas, conforming code to CFEC and SEBNA needs to be involved along with developers and affordable housing reps are present, will result in country approved residential areas and then the city will absorb these larger lots; we're not opposed to 40 units to the acre plan but just need to be involved to understand transit plan, parking, etc. - need aggressive engagement at the NLA level asap - Jim will bring it up with the NLA
Parking is being redefined - HB2001 and continuing, covered in 1/18 Council Meeting, talked about how we need Transit, City Parking department funded by parking tickets! So, without onsite parking available and public transportation, illegal offsite parking is expected; council talked about how the parking
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)
Community Engagement
Neighborhood Leadership Alliance (NLA) - Jim - Morgan Schmidt (Chair)
White boarded suggested Council goals; NLA leadership submitted goals to Council (Jim doesn't have a copy of what was submitted yet)
Council Liaison is supposed to sit on each NA meeting - council member attendance is hit or miss depending on the NA
Neighborhood Association Round Table (NART) - Susi
No Meeting since last SEBNA meeting
OFDNA/SEBNA Joint Board Meeting - Jim - Old Farm indicated they are interested in meeting again going forward; 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)
Susi/Sara attended 1/18/23 meeting and plan to attend 2/1/23 meeting; Susi suggested that we rotate a SEBNA Board member attending City Council meetings
Planning Commission
See above, Michelle to monitor agendas
Communications
Board Meeting
Decided on a regular meeting date, agenda to be published and shared with public one week prior to the meeting on the website and will schedule to go out one week each meeting via mailchimp - e.g. 2/16 for 2/23 email
Settled on the 4th Thursday of the month - next meeting Thu, 2/23 and then 3/23 at 5:30pm, will likely need to move Nov and Dec dates
E-mail List: 177 subscribers (-2 from last month)
Newsletter - Susi / Michelle - Was sent out for Jan/Feb, will be Mar/Apr -- next newsletter March 16th
Website - Sara - will continue to build out
Social Media - Susi (Facebook/Twitter)/Michelle (Instagram) - ad hoc
Media Coverage - Ken will write-up some key points, Susi/Michelle happy to lead - Jim will connect them with the Bulletin
Direct Mail List - Need to understand if City is paying for 2x mailings in addition to managing logistics
Survey - Michelle will build out a draft survey and get Board input
Annual Meetings
Annual SEBNA Community Meeting - slated for June/July 2023 - Alpenglow Park (need to research sign-up)
Annual SEBNA Business Meeting - slated for late January 2024
Jim will check with Makayla regarding proposed dates and ask about Bend Parks around Alpenglow dates
Susi will lead event planning/coordinating for us
SEBNA Budget Update - Budget: $3600 (Jul 1 - Jun 30); $393 spent YTD (use it or lose it)
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 Next Annual Business 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 Meeting