Paris Olympics
A big shoutout and thank you to France for the spectacular job with the 2024 Olympics. Not only were the venues thoughtfully constructed and the athletic competitions beautiful to watch; the backdrop of Paris was a feast for the eyes and heart. Surely the city lives up to its sobriquet: The City of Light. It truly has been a light to the world at this quickening moment in time on the planet. Travail bien fait!
—Linda Wilken
Welcome to Bend World
The Source Weekly ran a realtor's column in its August 1st issue titled "Turn a Getaway into Gold: Investing in a Vacation Home" which was a slap in the face to the many people who wish to reside in Bend full time but cannot afford the high cost of housing. 1,000+ such houses are already off-limits to desperate would-be residents because our Bend City Council values tourism dollars over residents' needs. Why give up the cash cow of a permit-and-tax system for short-term vacation rentals when it can instead give tax breaks for huge apartment buildings where our less wealthy residents can reside? "Let them eat cake."
Our city council unapologetically prefers that houses with yards in non-gated neighborhoods be operated as tourism businesses because the city collects significant amounts of money from its permitting fees and rental taxes. But why stop at 1,000+ houses withdrawn from Bend residents? Why not make a rule stating that every house not part of a wealthy gated neighborhood that is purchased in Bend must be operated as a STR for a minimum of five years before it can become a home for residents? Since would-be residents are totally OK with apartment living, long-distance vehicle commuting or camping out in Dirt World, our city council can cash in big time while making Bend the ultimate go-to vacation destination! Let's rename it Bend World!
It would be nice if our city council would show some concern about what we residents want: no STRs in our residential neighborhoods, no more huge apartment buildings going up, less bass thumping from the ripoff Live Nation/Hayden Homes Amphitheater in the evenings, and less tourist traffic clogging our streets.
Yep, the Bend City Council should conspire with its realtor pals to try to turn ALL non-gated-neighborhood single-family homes into STRs and make Bend World a vacationer's dream. Then again, we residents could vote in a city council that values our desires over vacationers' dollars, ya think?
—Eddie Kinnamon
RE: Fire and Water are the Troubles of Our Time. Local Governments are Seeing the Clock Tick. Opinion, 8/8
Interesting to read your 08/08 opinion piece about water issues. Amazing that while we on Bend's southeast have faced watering restrictions for the last few years, the city "leaders" are kowtowing to developers adding a few thousand more homes near Caldera High and near the new "central" library on 27th! Where's the water coming from to serve these homes? I guess soon we'll only be able to shower twice a week!
—Robert Lee
RE: Local Homebuilder Opposes Bend's Tree Regulations. News, 8/14
What more could a developer wish for? The amended tree code exempts parcels of 1 acre or less from the need for any tree preservation at all. Then it gives three options for larger tracts. (1) Preserve 20% (only!) of trees with 20-inch or more diameters. (These are the ones that capture carbon most efficiently.) (2) Cut any and all bigger trees larger than 6" in diameter on the parcel, as long as 25% of the total combined diameters of all the original trees is preserved. (What?) (3) Cut all the trees but pay a modest mitigation fee per tree removed.
And, as Ms. Perullo's letter [Editor's note: that letter is available online] notes, no consideration in the amended code is given to loss of habitat, destruction of wildlife, creation of heat islands, and degradation of below-ground mychorrhizal health.
At a City Council meeting a Pahlisch representative bragged of his company's regard for canopy, as seen by aerial photos of its developments. So why fight an ordinance that attempts to codify preservation of, at least, a small portion of urban trees?
—Foster Fell via bendsource.com
Water Waste
On early morning walks, I am flabbergasted to see the amount of irrigation water that runs down streets, spills over sidewalks, collects in standing pools. Every day! In front of homes and businesses alike. And this is only in one tiny section of Bend. The wasted water I see in my small area is probably enough to fill tanks for fire-fighting. Please people, check your water spillage! Better yet, put in native plants, rocks, low-water landscaping.
—Leslie Veenstra
Letter of the Week:
Seems pretty basic, Leslie. Thanks for the suggestion. Come on by for your Letter-of-the-Week gift card to Palate!
—Nicole Vulcan
