How Bend, Oregon, Is Facing the Challenges of Rapid Growth Head-On
How does a small ski town keep up with record numbers of growth in a fiscally responsible way? This is the challenge facing Bend, Oregon, a small city about three hours southeast of Portland that has seen its population boom from about 35,000 in 1999 to its present-day number of 104,500. And it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. By 2045, it’s estimated the population will grow by another 54%.
This brings innumerable challenges around land use, traffic, housing, and infrastructure readiness, challenges compounded by a state-mandated urban growth boundary, a state-mandated limit on taxes, and a history of city leadership being reluctant to address the $80-$100 million of deferred transportation maintenance costs.
Bend native and current Mayor Melanie Kebler sees those challenges as opportunities to creatively rethink the city's policies around housing development, infrastructure investment and development.
As it pertains to housing, the city has embraced an openness to policy reforms that make it easier to build outside of the normal single-family pattern. They’ve eliminated parking minimums and allowed backyard cottages, duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes by right. They’ve also modified their service development charges so that developers pay in proportion to the size of their projects (rather than one-size-fits-all fees), effectively lowering the cost of smaller projects. An emphasis on “complete communities” incorporates an approach to new development that — with its push for housing, amenities and connections to transportation — should prove more financially productive in the long run.
Tackling deferred transportation maintenance also requires creative thinking. Getting a bond approved to fund new projects was one part of the puzzle, but how to cover both deferred maintenance costs and costs associated with future maintenance? That’s where a utility fee came into play, a $6 fee added to standard utility bills and ultimately designated for maintenance. “We know we’re shooting ourselves in the foot if we don't have the revenue to maintain [these projects],” Kebler said.
Land is an inevitable part of the conversation around growth: new people need homes and homes require land. In 2024, the state approved Bend's request for a 100-acre extension to its growth boundary, which will allow the city to build more complete communities outside the core. But, according to analysis from Central Oregon Landwatch, there’s opportunity for 20,000 more units to be added within the core.
Part of the challenge to unlocking those projects, Kebler explained, is that it takes time to find the right developers who can do these kinds of projects. In the meantime, the city is “doubling down” on code and policy reforms that can make those projects easier and also looking for the right funding mechanisms to make the pro formas pencil out.
The funding side is a massive challenge because many of these developments require infrastructure investments, the state and federal financial support for which no longer exists. Corie Harlan at Central Oregon Landwatch explained that the entire state of Oregon is currently facing a $12 billion infrastructure funding deficit. She sees that funding gap as a serious hurdle to bringing more homes online and hopes the state will do more to help.
But she also sees it as a chance for the community to do some collective creative thinking. She’s seen the city aggressively move down a “Strong Towns checklist” of how to encourage more incremental development. Now she thinks it’s time to consider what other tools can be leveraged to bridge the infrastructure-funding gap.
It’s a tough conversation, especially for a city experiencing such intense growth. But Harlan is hopeful. “I think certain tools will emerge that are well suited for our city to try.”
Feeling Inspired? Vote for Bend in the Strongest Town Contest!
Bend is competing for the title of Strongest Town 2025. They’re only one round away from the championship match, up against three other cities:
Tiffany Owens Reed is the host of The Bottom-Up Revolution podcast. A graduate of The King's College and former journalist, she is a New Yorker at heart, currently living in Texas. In addition to writing for Strong Towns and freelancing as a project manager, she reads, writes, and curates content for Cities Decoded, an educational platform designed to help ordinary people understand cities. Explore free resources here and follow her on Instagram @citiesdecoded.