Apartment Choice

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 ...

SOUTH BEND — The city's historic preservation agency Monday rejected a request by South Bend schools officials to demolish the old Marquette School building , a plan that has been in the works for years but has met with resistance from preservationists. The South Bend-St. Joseph County Historic Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the South Bend Community School Corp .'s request to demolish the 1937 building to create more outdoor space for the current Marquette Primary Montessori Academy . Elicia Feasel, the commission's executive director, recommended that the panel deny the request. In a report to the commission, she concluded that the school corporation had failed to prove the types of safety issues that would justify demolishing a local historic landmark . The commission agreed and voted 4-1 to deny the district's request for approval to demolish the building. Several members faulted the school corporation for building the new Marquette school in...