Thread by @MelanieforBend

Hi everyone! Here's the thread for tonight's City Council meeting. It starts with a closed session so I'll start tweeting once that's over, probably 5:15-5:30 or so.

I have had a stressful day and there's a VP Debate on so apologies in advance if I don't catch every detail! 😅

https://twitter.com/MelanieforBend/status/1313869427235008515

We are starting with scheduling requests for future Council meetings. Council agrees to talk about Brooks Promenade pilot program at next meeting. Discussion of two items is delayed new council comes in: railroad track safety and new tree protection code.

Councilor Campbell points out this Council can't force a subsequent Council to take up any particular subjects.

I'll commit to putting a new tree code on the docket if elected. I think we need to look at that for sure. 🌲

Next item is Chief Krantz giving an update on his first 40 days.

Some stuff has happened during that time period!

City Manager King says Krantz will speak to what happened last weekend, but can't discuss specific complaints about open investigations or possible criminal charges. DA's office also has to review evidence which can take time.

Just noticed Councilor Moseley is not in attendance, or at least not visible on Zoom.

Krantz says "There's never been a time like today" in his opening remarks. Wants to have PD that reflects our community and keeps and holds public trust. Says they are human and will make mistakes. Goal is to be a learning organization and constantly improve.

(Councilor Moseley is now visible on the Zoom.)

Krantz says he is trying to meet with every one of the 136 employees at BPD, says this has been very informative.

Krantz is giving a lot of information here and I'm going to confess that I am not able to keep up. Touches on bodyworn cameras and the need for those, and the homelessness crisis.

I'm going to hit highlights and focus on Councilor responses/statements tonight.

Here's a slide of areas of focus for Krantz.

There were about 930 responses to the online survey around policing in Bend.

There's a virtual listening session coming up on Oct 17th as well: bendoregon.gov/community-input

Another area of discussion is expanding the responsibilites of the Chief's Advisory Committee, including having resident input into hiring.

Krantz speaks to protest and event policing now. "Ultimately there always seems to be someone unhappy with our response."

Overall goal: BPD will not be present or limited presence at protests if they do not have to be there. "We're not intended to be moderators" and have to remain neutral.

Full review in aftermath of these events can take weeks, Krantz says.

Councilor Abernethy understands that sometimes police will arrest/charge later on. Asks why ARE people arrested at the scene for what appears to be less serious crimes?

Krantz distinguishes between "normal policing" calls for service vs. working at first amendment events.

Krantz says there's a lot of discretion about when police make arrests and how. Decisions at protests are relevant to individual facts at the time.

Note: Oregon does have mandatory arrest laws for crimes of domestic violence, where the legislature has removed that discretion.

Councilor Goodman-Campbell wants to recognize there are a lot of people feeling trauma and fear due to events of past weekend. She asks Krantz for lessons learned or what he would do differently next time.

Krantz points out they haven't trained specifically around these events.

He wants to push for quality training around this. He's watched some of the videos that came from this weekend. He believes they responded very well and the officers were patient and tolerant. Maybe could have been some arrests that might have diffused the situation.

On that last comment seems he was talking about the fact they tried not to make arrests but maybe reflecting now they should have. That's sort of my read on it though.

Councilor Campbell says she has heard community members express fear of calling the police here which worries her. She is sad the blue line symbol has been co-opted. Asks question about what type of insignia or symbols are allowed under uniform code.

Krantz response on uniform policy. He says BPD reviewed video and they can't find any police wearing blue line insignia in the videos.

Barb suggests ordering City of Bend masks/bandanas for our officers to be consistent and avoid wrong impression.

She finishes by thanking everyone who is peacefully expressing incredibly heartfelt and valid positions, says vast majority of people she has seen are peaceful.

Councilor Moseley expresses his thanks to the officers who put themselves on the line to protect our civil society. Talks about mental health and wants healthcare resources to be allocated for MH problems and police resources to police problems.

Krantz speaks about lack of MH resources in this country and that many calls can be handled without police presence. Says they have training and are good at MH interventions at BPD, but community and govt need to build something different wrt responding to calls that involve MH.

Councilor Piper thanks everyone at the department to start. Asks about downtown Bend area and what officers are seeing there in terms of "activity" and mentions "some of the homeless not cooperating."

Krantz says data doesn't show there is increased criminal activity downtown.

Krantz says we haven't put enough resources around public safety as downtown has grown. Suggests we might want to have a downtown only patrol. Mentions in his comments the dangers of cars driving fast downtown.

I had to take a quick break. Back now and Krantz is talking about being asked to issue citations for misdemeanors instead of make arrests because of worries of COVID in the jail.

Mayor Russell now giving Krantz the opportunity to say "anything reassuring" he wants to Council.

Krantz mentions his employees who go out in the community and get aggressive behavior against them, and how that can be demoralizing. He tries to talk to them about perspective. There weren't 100k people there this weekend. Officers need their own MH breaks. Ok to admit mistakes.

We're now moving into a COVID update. I'm going to eat my dinner and I'll be back in a few.

County information is available here: deschutes.org/health/page/co…

Back now. Here are some slides I grabbed with interesting info from the County.

A cautionary slide. Teens: please take care!

Director of Public Health Nahad Sadr-Azodi now reiterating that MASKS WORK and everyone should WEAR MASKS. It also matters how much of the virus we inhale, and masks can reduce that and then our body can deal with the virus particles that do get through.

"It's not the most convenient thing, but if my six-year-olds can do it, I can do it" - Sadr-Azodi

Wear. Your. Mask!

Until the vaccine, some areas to focus on at local level:
- rapid testing
- revisit contact tracing model
- policies on poorly ventilated settings with large numbers/close contacts/long durations
- education and enforcement
- all interventions with equity and inclusion lens

Sadr-Azodi does think the mask enforcement fine does influence behavior.

To end this section, here's Dr. Conway getting his flu shot.

My kiddo got hers last week.

GET YOUR FLU SHOT TOO!

We're now into the main meeting agenda. Council will be ratifying an emergency order regarding wildfire evacuees. Then public comment. I'm told there are parents planning to comment about opening schools tonight.

2 minute timer on folks tonight who are commenting.

First caller is Mike Satcher speaking to events Saturday at Pilot Butte Park. Says he called BPD for help and he personally suffered a concussion after being punched in the head. Says another man pulled a gun.

For more on these events check out @emilycureton 's story. opb.org/article/2020/1…

Satcher finishes comment calling for firing of an officer he says choked a woman of color with her backpack, and the firing of "Portland riot cop" Chief Krantz.

Ray Hartwell comments on "urgent need to re-open schools" and says there's a lot the City can do to make that happen. He asks the City to issue a resolution declaring that the State's school metrics are harming the community and requesting an immediate exemption.

Hartwell also asks the City to apply the same school metrics for reopening to the opening of bars, restaurants, etc. He runs out of time.

A caller asks about if youth suicide, child abuse, etc is increasing since the stay at home order and what City/County/police will do.

Beverly Vasquez comments she is very disturbed about a woman being choked by our police and people leaving drunk from Pilot Butte St park. She's not satisfied w/Krantz's earlier comments.

Also comments on the Mayor's major typo and says its going around the internet.

Ryan Stillwater comments on the removal of the blue line from BPD police cars. Sorry I didn't catch the rest of his comment.

We now move into the creation of the Human Rights and Equity Commission. King says this follows on the work of the DEI Short Term task force. This is the first reading and approval. Recruitment for members would begin shortly, new council would select members for the committee.

The HREC would then probably adopt their own bylaws and rules of procedure, similar to what the Planning Commission has done. The code also sets out membership criteria, leaving it open between 9-15 members. That's to allow flexibility in the future.

Timeline laid out by Eric King would end with appointment of members to the HREC next February.

Moseley asks about language in the code he thinks is "nebulous." Re: "provide opportunities," Moseley says "What even are opportunities"

City Attny Mary Winters says they tried to stay true to the language of the DEI Short Term task force members. They didn't want to undermine those recommendations. This is how this type of code is written in other cities that have something similar to the HREC.

Abernethy says one of the whole purposes of the HREC is to hear from people who haven't been part of City process before. We need to be doing things a little bit differently, this is the first step. Listen to the DEI Short Term task force.

Joanne Mina giving public comment now. She was a member of the DEI Short Term task force. Thanks city staff for creating something new and allowing community to shape what the HREC will be. "There is a need for community conversation."

Mina says tensions are escalating in our community around race and racism and we can no longer ignore that. It's important to have HREC that is able to support community members and guide them toward healing.

Romir Chattarjee now commenting and speaking to the concerns about vagueness. Says HREC will create bylaws and procedures that Council will approve.

Goodman-Campbell moves for the creation of the HREC, seconded by Campbell.

Council approves 6-1, Moseley voting no.

Next item is about vacating the alley near the property on 3rd that Les Schwab is moving to. Map!

Joanne Mina comments again on this item. Asks if this alley is home to homeless folks, and have we taken human costs into account for this decision?

Council approves the vacation of this alleyway to facilitate the redevelopment Les Schwab is doing.

Next item is code changes to allow microhomes and tiny homes. Asst City Mgr Jon Skidmore speaks to where we're at to develop more than just single family homes. Says this is part of continuing on that mission of providing flexibility, reduce barriers.

Staff explaining now the Council will be deciding tonight on code amendments for duplexes as well as microhomes.

"We are always looking to see what barriers we can remove" in the code, staff says.

Anyone who wants to speak on this, a public hearing will start in a minute. Hop on zoom and raise your hand and you can comment: zoom.us/j/93444821688?…

New duplex code: allowed outright in residential zones, smaller lot sizes in standard and low density residential zones.

We have to allow duplexes wherever we allow a single family home.

Here's the recent change to the microunit code due to Planning Commission recommendations. I'll be speaking against this change tonight.

Here is a helpful map showing just how much RS (standard density residential) is in Bend vs. RM (medium density residential) and then showing % of these zones that are vacant lots.

Here's where some Councilors want to restrict microunits to. Staff notes much of this is already under development or requires a master plan.

On storage units requirement, staff has drafted possible code to require this if the home is w/in 1/4 mile of transit. Storage could be for bike.

Unclear if this would then remove the parking spot minimum?

Current proposal: .5 parking space per unit, max 1.5

Councilors have asked to up this to 1 and then except units near transit could have .5 requirement. Staff points out this doesn't make sense if the microunit is in a non residential only zone.

Livingston asks about requirements for common kitchen and whether there have to be full size appliances. Staff says they used the definition of kitchen already in our development code and put a minimum sq ft size in the code. Livingston is afraid the kitchen will be small.

Livingston comments he's not sure he wants code to be too prescriptive, also muses someone might not rent a place with a tiny kitchen. Abernethy also concerned about tiny kitchens being built by developers. Should they write in "full size appliances"? This would require new def.

IMO we have officially tipped over into "overthinking it" on this one, yall.

Campbell is supportive of a full sized stove but not a full sized fridge. If we can define "full sized" since its not in our code right now.

Piper asks how do other cities do this? Staff says they do it how we have it drafted.

Public hearing started. I'm now waiting to comment. 11 people ready to comment.

Allegra Briggs is first. She's concerned about making these units feasible for seniors and people with disabilities. Concerned about these becoming STRs.

I spoke, here were my points:
- don't overcomplicate this
- don't make more parking minimums
- allow them everywhere
- these will not take over your existing neighborhood, they will almost certainly be built in vacant lots or master planned neighborhoods
- more homes!!

Sorry the meeting got zoom bombed by two horrible speakers so I got off track here.

This caller is talking about tiny homes on wheels.

NLA president Dave Johnson says these are "like a dorm with no dorm mom" and asks who will clean out the fridge or take out the trash.

I'll let that comment sit with you for a minute and take the liberty of a Kamala gif.

Lisa comments that there should be a maximum occupancy limitation for microunit developments. Speaks to her concern about violating fair housing rules. Asks for delay until next Council meeting to gather all the comments.

That's four zoom bombers! Weird that this hasn't happened before at a Council meeting. Yuck.

Public hearing over. Now turning to Council deliberation. Eric King lists off the laundry list of changes/ideas that came up.

Mayor mentioned keeping the written record open longer, which would require them to not decide this issue fully tonight.

Council closes the public record so they can deliberate.

They start with where microunits will be allowed. Planning Commission recommended restricting them almost totally from standard density residential due to public comment.

Not my comment I sent them! 😅

Piper, Moseley, Livingston, Abernethy support this restriction, which would restrict microhomes from lots of land in Bend.

Goodman-Campbell is opposed and asks legal staff if this is a potential fair housing law violation.

City Attorney Mary Winters says this might fall under a disparate impact analysis, but doesn't think there would be a fair housing issue in anything being proposed.

If they pass this change microhomes will not be allowed in almost all of the orange land on this map.

Campbell is in support of allowing these in RS and RM both, but will weigh in on parking and other regs in later discussion.

Mayor: "If affordable housing is our goal and if this will contribute to a broader variety of housing to serve our younger and older people, by narrowing it we're really narrowing the opportunity to provide what could be a really important part of our housing inventory."

But she's on the losing side. Four Councilors support restricting microhomes out of most of Bend's residentially zoned land so that's that.

I'm going to quote Kathy Austin's public comment here while they discuss the minutiae of storage and parking.

"The fear of neighborhoods thinking they will be overrun by Micro-Units is simply unfounded. Please do not respond to that fear by limiting the possibility of Micro-Units in one of the largest zones in Bend."

from a member of our Affordable Housing Committee who is an architect.

Just heard Livingston refer to microhome rooms as "slightly bigger than a jail cell." Argument now about storage. Goodman-Campbell trying to make sure everyone understands bike parking is already required. Indoor storage is an additional use of space.

I want to be clear: just because *you* would not live in a microhome does not mean we should not build them. Just because you don't understand why someone would want to or need to live in this type of home does not mean we should regulate them out of practical existence in Bend.

It would be amazing if this discussion had been informed directly by people who have or want to live in microhomes. Those voices aren't at the table. The voices of our future neighbors who could live in these homes!

Part of representing and leading is looking out for people who aren't like you or have different needs from you. It's unfair to impose regulations on housing based on your own lived experience only. Councilors now talking about storing SUPs like everyone in Bend has one. Please.

Councilor Livingston says that the City requires storage for other multifamily so they have to be consistent and require it for these. I don't understand why it's this hard to understand how these unique homes would cater to different types of people who have different needs.

Sounds like they are not going to move forward with an outright storage requirement. They are moving forward with some changes to parking requirements depending on how close the unit is to transit. Now on to regulating kitchens.

Moseley says since they restricted where microhomes can be built and added more parking, he doesn't want to get more prescriptive about kitchens. With that, all support for regulating stove size dissolves from other Councilors.

Now we're on to laundry facilities requirement, which was added by the Planning Commission. Staff says 1 washer/dryer per 10 minimum is pretty usual looking at other cities. Goodman-Campbell doesn't want them to include this as its prescriptive.

Occupancy limits: Lynne McConnell says not a good idea without risking violating fair housing law. We can't say a family is XYZ without risking discrimination.

Council moves forward with amendments that will make it quite difficult to see many microhomes built in Bend (imo).

Now on to code amendments connected to HB3450, which will allow for high density housing in new areas in Bend. Capped at 40 acres. The eligible sites would need to be within 1/4 mile of a transit route per staff's recommended code.

Lots of details here in this presentation. This code implementation will allow more housing to be built in parts of Bend it usually wouldn't be. First reading passes.

Next up is approving the fee structure for the Old Bend Neighborhood Parking District pilot that's been previously discussed and approved by Council.

Residents: $25/yr
Reduced rate permit for 55+ residents: ? but less than $25
Service businesses: $75/yr (landscapers etc)

Project workers long term permits $140/yr for 14 days or longer
Short term rentals $150/yr
Visitor parking: residents gets one free for their guests, 3 consecutive days max
Long term visitor 14 day permit: $25
In-district employees: $5/mo

Landlord parking permit for property owners: $75/yr

Some discussion about events businesses, staff points out that through this scheme we are making more parking spaces available for people who attend events.

Council passes the fee scheme unanimously.

Now on to some technical right of way stuff and water franchise extension.

And then councilor reports!

Coming up on 10PM and we're almost done.

Appointments to Environment and Climate Committee 9 people with three alternates. I'm not going to capture their names here but I'm sure they'll be up soon on @CityofBend website!

Councilor Livingston asks about whether the Mayor sent committee appointments to all the Councilors, she says she did not. He wants her to delay the appointments, she says it's her prerogative to appoint. Livingston abstains from the vote. Moseley votes no.

Moseley speaking to protests in town now. Quotes MLK Jr about "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that." Asks for compassion for people who have fear or hatred based on skin color, "they must have experienced a great deal of suffering in their life."

King now updating on City revenue, says they changed forecast and we are tracking with prediction. Our transient room tax is higher than expected but still less than what we typically receive. Will be watching the prop tax revenue closely. 10/19 meeting will be for goals update.

City is applying for pathways grant to help fund bike/ped infrastructure. Co-applicant with School District to make sure we get safe connections to some new schools being built. Also applying for grant in partnership with BPRD to fix up Drake Park footbridge.

And with another reminder of the listening session on Oct 17th we are adjourned! Thanks for reading everyone !

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