Legal Context and Supporting Documents
Statewide Planning Goal 14 requires that cities establish and maintain Urban Growth Boundaries (UGBs) to provide land for urban development needs and to identify and separate urban and urbanizable land from rural land. The goal’s purpose is: “To provide for an orderly and efficient transition from rural to urban land use, to accommodate urban population and urban employment inside UGBs, to ensure efficient use of land, and to provide for livable communities”.1
Like the statewide goal, Bend’s growth management planning, goals and policies are comprehensive. The City plans for how much and what types of land are needed for future growth and what the form of new development should be to ensure a livable community and enhance Bend’s high quality of life.
Bend’s Urbanization Report documents: (1) the capacity of land inside the UGB to accommodate growth, including measures intended to result in efficient use of land; and (2) the City’s evaluation of potential locations for UGB expansions and the consideration of the four Goal 14 factors in reaching a proposed UGB expansion. The Urbanization Report is focused primarily on the legal and technical aspects of growth management in Bend. The Urbanization Report for growth to 2028 is adopted and incorporated as Appendix L of the Comprehensive Plan.
Bend’s Urban Form Report describes the physical form of the city. Urban form provides a way to understand the relationships between land uses and between the natural and built environments that give meaning to the legal exercise of planning for growth within and expansions of the city. Urban form encompasses the physical shape and design of the city. The layout of Bend’s streets, the location and design of homes and businesses, and the distances between destinations all affect the quality of life for residents and visitors. Urban form influences land values; where residents live, work, shop and relax; everyday travel choices; and whether commute trips can be made by walking or biking, using transit, or driving. Bend’s urban form also directly affects natural systems such as air and water quality, wildfire risk, health, and diversity of plants and wildlife. The Urban Form Report is a non-regulatory document that supports the goals and policies in this chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. It is adopted as Appendix M of the Comprehensive Plan.