Bend 2030 ideas don’t address housing need for low-wage workers;

By Beth Jacobi

The recommendations of the Bend 2030 housing workgroup, recently offered to Bend City Council, may not ease the housing burden of many of the people who live and work in Bend. The recommendations are designed to increase housing for those making $40,000 to $90,000 a year. But according to the Oregon Housing Alliance, the current mean renter wage in Deschutes County is $11.86 an hour (about $24,000 a year). Many tourism industry workers, teachers, police officers, health care workers, social service workers, and families with children are suffering from our housing crisis. Bend leads the nation for rent increases. Bend’s average home sales price is over $400,000, and homelessness has gone up 31 percent since 2015 (Point in Time Count, 2017).

The Bend 2030 housing workgroup has some great ideas, but the recommendations don’t ensure the development of affordable housing. City leaders must reserve valuable subsidies and incentives, (property tax waiver, system development charge reduction, reduced parking requirement, etc.) for truly affordable housing (HUD defines “affordable housing” as 30 percent or less of one’s income).

The workgroup recommendations also call for new re-zoning measures. But the city needs to stick to and implement the guidelines set forth by the recently approved Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) plan. This community-adopted plan focuses density in UGB-approved opportunity areas. It allows for the development of mixed use and mixed income housing while maintaining the integrity and zoning of existing residential neighborhoods. The Bend Central District is one such approved opportunity area that could become a vibrant, urban neighborhood with affordable workforce housing in the heart of Bend.

Here are four more housing policies for city leadership to consider:

1) The city can re-evaluate its funding ($3 million annually) and its oversight of the marketing firm Visit Bend. Marketing Bend to higher real estate markets has exacerbated the housing crisis and increased land prices. California is the world’s sixth largest economy with average home prices topping $1 million in several areas. Local incomes can’t compete. Bend leaders could pursue amending the state’s transient room tax (TRT) requirements. Diverting a percentage of TRT tax funds from marketing to road repairs and affordable housing for tourism service workers could be possible. Visit Bend’s relocation services, Realtor advertisements and website content such as “No need to be here, we will do it for you!” promote real estate investment from afar that further strains our housing market. More City Council oversight is needed.

2) Pursue instituting an inclusionary zoning policy, made possible by the 2016 passage of Oregon Senate Bill 1533 in 2016, to create mixed income and affordable housing units.

3) Support amending Oregon’s mortgage interest tax deduction during the next legislative session. A renewed version of HB 2006 is needed to shift subsidies that benefit higher-end homeowners toward more help for first time homebuyers and funding affordable housing development.

4) Reclaim hundreds of close-in homes for residents. Hood River City Council adopted this code to return nonresident operated vacation rentals back to residential use. Bend could adopt Hood River’s code.

As The Bulletin has previously reported, significant funding and participation in the Bend 2030 housing workgroup has come from the Central Oregon Association of Realtors and the Central Oregon Builders Association. Although input from these interest groups is valuable and constructive, it is the job of City Council and staff to serve the broader public good. Housing is more than a commodity or investment. It is a basic human need.

We have an ethical dilemma when hard working community members are living out of their cars, camping off Skyliner, overcrowded in apartments, commuting from La Pine, or unable to feed their children after paying for rent. Safe, stable, and affordable housing is the foundation for a healthy community. Bend can meet these housing needs and create a sustainable and healthy community for our citizens.

— Beth Jacobi lives in Bend.