Context
Oregon Statewide Planning Goal 10 (Housing) requires cities to “encourage the availability of adequate numbers of needed housing units at price ranges and rent levels which are commensurate with the financial capabilities of Oregon households and allow for flexibility of housing location, type and density.” Goal 10 and the related Needed Housing Statute require Oregon cities to maintain adequate supplies of properly planned and zoned lands to meet their identified housing needs. The law recognizes that this may require expanding an urban growth boundary. That process is governed by other statutes and goals, and by the Growth Management chapter of this plan. Goal 10 and related statutes require the City to adopt and incorporate two important documents into the Comprehensive Plan.
The first document is a buildable lands inventory (BLI) that catalogues the development status (developed, vacant, etc.) and capacity (housing units) that can be accommodated on lands within the UGB. Bend’s BLI for both housing and employment lands is adopted and incorporated as Appendix I of the Comprehensive Plan.
The second document is a housing needs analysis (HNA) that includes an analysis of national, state, and local demographic and economic trends, and recommendations for a mix and density of needed housing types. Bend’s HNA for growth to 2028 is adopted and incorporated as Appendix J of the Comprehensive Plan. The HNA documents historical housing and demographic trends, the projection of population and housing growth, and an analysis of housing affordability.1 Based on this analysis, the HNA presents an estimate of needed housing density and mix for growth to 2028.
The BLI and the HNA provide the factual base to support the housing goals and policies in this chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. A major objective of the Comprehensive Plan is to establish residential areas that are safe, convenient, healthful, and attractive places to live, and which will provide a maximum range of housing choices for the people in Bend. The City of Bend will face a variety of issues over the coming years in meeting these needs, including:
■ Maintaining an adequate supply of land available and zoned appropriately to provide opportunities for a range of housing types needed in Bend in the face of rapid population growth.
■ Responding to a land and housing market that has appreciated significantly in recent years, driving the cost of housing up significantly and leaving relatively few market opportunities for low-cost owner-occupied housing.
■ Affordable housing for service workers, both for individuals and families, is in short supply in Bend. Rapid increases in home and rental prices have combined with growth in the (low wage) service sector to make it difficult for much of Bend’s workforce to live in the City.
■ The increasing gap of housing affordable to low and moderate income house- holds is resulting in many area workers living in other Central Oregon cities and commuting to Bend for work. This is exacerbating traffic congestion and it also affects the ability of area employers to attract workers for jobs at many income levels, including service and professional workers.
■ The City is currently limited to some degree in what it can do by state and other regulations that restrict the ability to enact funding mechanisms or regulatory approaches to meeting housing needs.
As summarized in the HNA, Bend’s population grew rapidly between 1990 and 2014, increasing from about 20,000 to 80,000 people during that period (in part due to significant annexations in 1998). At the same time, Bend’s housing stock nearly tripled. Most new housing development during this time was single-unit detached dwellings.
This rapid population growth increased the demand for all types of housing. During the same period, average wages were flat and the combined result was a decline in housing affordability. Housing sales prices more than doubled between 2000 and 2014, while household income levels increased by only about 18 percent. In addition to wage stagnation, several other factors contributed to a decline in affordability between 1990 and 2014, including:
■ High demand for second homes in Bend
■ Significant growth in the tourism/recreation economy and the associated jobs that tend to pay lower wages
■ Demographic changes, as described in the Demographic Trends section below
As growth continues, Bend must carefully plan for new housing that meets the needs of its changing population. The Comprehensive Plan’s goals and policies support a range of housing choices matched to Bend’s needs. One of the challenges facing the community is how to plan for a variety of housing options in existing neighborhoods and new residential areas that support the changing demographics and lifestyles of Bend’s current and future residents.
The need for housing correlates strongly to the need for land within Bend’s urban growth boundary. The Urbanization Report provides a discussion about how land needs for housing and other uses are determined and how Bend will meet residential land needs over time.