August Contents

Next SCNA Board Meeting

Thursday August 27, 5:30pm

Topics at this month's Board Meeting include:

• Events to fund in the new fiscal year

• Discussion of latest plans for the SW Bend Roundtable event

Board meetings are held via Zoom. Please email us at [email protected] no later than noon on the day before the meeting to request a Zoom invitation (which will be sent later that day).

If you would like to request time on the agenda to discuss a particular topic at a board meeting, please email [email protected] at least 2 days prior to the meeting.

Learn more about Southern Crossing Neighborhood Association meetings, including minutes from past meetings, on our website.

Upcoming Southwest Bend Roundtable

Please plan to attend the City Council’s Roundtable with Southwest Bend residents. You can hear what the City has planned and directly ask City Staff questions on select topics. This process will start with a survey that SCNA will send out once we learn what questions the City would like asked based on information we provided. The survey results will set the Roundtable topics.

The Roundtable is currently anticipated to be held in mid-October, probably at the OSU Cascades campus. (Watch for details in the next newsletter or on our website.) SCNA is organizing this with the City of Bend and Southwest Bend Neighborhood District. We also hope to also include Century West residents. A similar event was held in March with Southeast Bend districts.

Here’s a summary of what SCNA provided to the City as topics of interest.

1. Traffic congestion at the Bond-Brookswood-Reed Market Roundabout creates multiple issues, which include congestion at adjacent intersections, aggressive neighborhood cut-through traffic, and slower emergency response times. (Past feedback indicates most want to keep Reed Market Road along Farewell Bend Park as 1-lane each way and not make it a 4-lane road.)

2. Wildfire evacuation and preparation. (See #1)

3. Maintaining Bend’s character of trees and walkable nature paths, such as the Canopy trail on the COID property and the Deschutes River trail. This does NOT include building pathways on the edge of already busy roads at the expense of vehicle traffic.

4. Housing growth at the expense of existing home owners. This includes: building large apartment complexes without expanding capacity of nearby roads. (See #1)

If you have a topic that you feel strongly should be included, you can write to [email protected] and [email protected] (City Manager), please also CC [email protected] so the Board can see your input. Do this ASAP if you want to have any impact.

Pahlisch Closes on Sale of COID Deschutes South Canyon Property

On July 1, Pahlisch Homes finalized the purchase of a large part of the Central Oregon Irrigation District (COID) property immediately south of Southern Crossing. The sale had been expected once the final legal hurdle was resolved with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) back in January. Because a scenic view easement protects most of the property from development until 2034, Pahlisch does not expect to begin the Master Plan process until around 2030 and has committed to maintaining the Canopy Trail as-is until then.

In addition, Pahlisch has begun coordinating with Bend Park & Recreation Department (BPRD) in assessing the existing easements and trails in terms of connectivity and recreational value. Save Bend Green Space is also continuing its efforts to protect and preserve the Canopy Trail and other significant natural areas of the Deschutes South Canyon and has already initiated conversations with Pahlisch to work toward collaborative solutions that serve the interests of Bend residents

Sunny Breeze Subdivision Update

On June 22, the Hearings Officer issued her decision on the Sunny Breeze 42-lot subdivision and upheld all the City’s conditions for approval of the application. This includes the requirement to have two entrance/exit roads for fire safety. On July 10, the developer submitted a Notice of Intent to Appeal the decision to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). The City sent the record of decision on August 4, so that means a decision would be made by October 20.

We have learned that the City is in the process of determining whether there's a viable way to obtain a second fire apparatus access road that could meet the requirements of the Sunny Breeze land use approval. This has raised questions about the impact on the adjacent Canopy Trail.

Following is a statement from City Planner Elizabeth LaFleur on the matter:

“The intent is for the City and the developer to find an alignment for a temporary fire apparatus access road that can maintain fire safety for the proposed residential development without interfering with the present use of the trail. The City is not contemplating any permanent actions before 2034 that would interfere with or jeopardize Pahlisch’ ability to master plan the area as contemplated at the time the PLAs [property line adjustments] were done."

“We too are hoping we can find a win-win solution that enables the housing to be developed in a fire-safe way while at the same time preserving the current trail and the future development of the Pahlisch master plan.”

We asked Ms. LaFleur for information on the location of the potential temporary access road and she indicated she was not aware of discussions regarding specific locations on the ground for secondary fire access. Ms. LaFleur also indicated that she is not aware of other issues under appeal that the City is trying to resolve. Furthermore, it would be up to the developer to withdraw the LUBA appeal if he feels his issues are resolved in such that a way that his appeal to LUBA is no longer necessary.

We will continue to monitor the City’s efforts. In the meantime, you can email Elizabeth LaFleur at [email protected] with your questions. Please include project number PLLD20250690.

Seeking Bend Artists for Studio Tour

The 3rd Annual Bend Artists' Studio Tour is happening Saturday September 26 and Sunday September 27, 11 AM to 4 PM, and SageBrushers Art Society is looking for artists to participate!

This free, self-guided tour invites the community into working studios of SageBrushers members across Bend to see where and how art gets made. It is a wonderful way to connect with art lovers, meet fellow artists, and share your work with new audiences. You do not need your own studio to join, SageBrushers will match artists with host studios.

Please note that the hosting studios are SageBrushers members only, but membership is inexpensive and well worth it. The tour will be open to the public. Interested? Contact team lead Melissa McGlenn by email at [email protected] or call 541-280-3642. The SageBrushers gallery is located at 117 SW Roosevelt Avenue.

Blue (Street) Light Special

Have you noticed any odd street lights that are blue or purple in color? If so, the Bend Night Sky Alliance would like to know since this causes problems for wildlife and is a warranty problem that can be fixed. If you find one, please record the lamppost number and report it to [email protected] to get it fixed.

Go Clean Energy Conference

Are you trying to figure out how to reduce your energy usage? The non-profit 350 Deschutes is organizing a conference on September 18th at OSU-Cascades. For more information, visit their webpage.

League of Women Voters Hosts Oregon Secretary of State

On September 3rd from 12-1 PM, the League of Women Voters of Deschutes County is hosting a talk on elections by Oregon’s Secretary of State, Tobias Read, at the Deschutes County Central Library Community Room #1, 61965 Santorini Street in Bend. They are predicting it will popular, and recommend arriving when the doors open at 11:30.