By Pauline Hardie, Senior Code Planner (City of Bend); Lynne McConnell, Housing Director (City of Bend); Allison Platt, Core Area Project Manager (City of Bend)

West Coast states have seen significant increases in housing prices. Bend, a recent victim of the “Zoom Town” phenomenon saw housing prices soar from a median home price of $450,000 in January 2020 to $700,000 at the end of 2021.

Bend has been making strides to increase the supply of all housing types in response to both the housing crisis as well as direction from the State. Bend recently became the first City in the State of Oregon to adopt new development code standards for middle housing, defined as duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhomes and cottage cluster developments, in response to Oregon House Bill (HB) 2001. The law, passed by the 2019 Oregon legislature, aims to provide more housing choices especially of missing middle housing types by requiring cities of 10,000 or more people to allow duplexes in any residential zone that also allows single family detached dwellings. In cities with a population greater than 25,000 the law requires that triplexes, quadplexes, townhouses, and cottage clusters also be allowed in all areas zoned for residential use that allow the development of detached single-family dwellings.

Missing Middle Housing Types include Duplex (2-unit), Triplex (3-unit), Quadplex (4-unit), Townhouses, and Cottage Cluster development types. Image courtesy of missingmiddlehousing.com.

In response to the bill, Bend formed the HB 2001 Stakeholder Advisory Group to draft development code amendments in order to implement the law and allow for a diversity of housing types to be built in Bend. The advisory group was comprised of members from Bend’s City Council, Planning Commission, Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, Neighborhood Leadership Alliance as well as developers, architects, neighborhood association members and representatives from representatives the Central Oregon Builders Association and two land use and environmental watchdog organizations (Central Oregon Landwatch and 1,000 Friends of Oregon).

*Figure 1. Cottage Cluster Middle Housing Development Type in Bend*

This group worked on a series of amendments to Bend’s Development Code for middle housing. Amendments to the development code included:

No maximum densities for duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhomes and cottage cluster development
Reduced lot sizes for duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and townhomes
Reduced parking requirements including no minimum parking for duplexes and triplexes
Significantly reduced floor area ratios (FARs)
Revised Design standards
Cottage Cluster Development standards

Bend has also worked with the HB 2001 Stakeholder Advisory Group on several other development code changes, in addition to implementing HB2001, to help remove barriers to housing development of all types. These include the following recent changes:

Small Dwelling Unit Development: A land division where small lots or parcels are created for small dwelling units
Zero Lot Line Developments: Dwelling units are constructed with a zero-side setback.
Micro-Unit Development: A Building containing multiple micro-units and a shared kitchen(s). A micro-unit typically consists of one room used for living and sleeping purposes and includes a food preparation area similar to a wetbar and permanent provisions for sanitation.

*Figure 2. Duplex Housing Unit in Bend's Historic District*

Bend also implemented HB 3450 which allows up to 40 cumulative acres of commercially zoned land within a quarter mile of transit to be developed with standalone residential uses (townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, or multi-unit residential). This is known as Urban Dwelling Sites.

One of Bend’s plans for future growth is to slowly transform its residential housing mix from primarily single family detached housing (74%) to a mix of housing types including missing middle and multi-family housing. Bend has made some progress since 2000 in increasing the availability of both missing middle and multifamily housing units and hopes that these recent changes continue to diversify Bend’s overall housing mix moving forward.

*Figure 3. Bend's Housing Mix over Time.* Source: U.S. Census, Decennial Census 2000 and American Community Survey 2015-2019

The City of Bend is now pursuing development code changes to remove barriers to shelters to support houselessness solutions.

About the Authors

Pauline Hardie is a Senior Planner for the City of Bend where she is responsible for updating the Bend Development Code and Sign Code. During her seven years with the City of Bend she has completed several code updates addressing annexation, master planning, ADUs, affordable housing and missing middle housing. Before this role, Pauline was the Community Development Director for Sisters, Oregon. Pauline holds a bachelor’s degree in City and Regional Planning with a minor in sustainable environments from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Lynne serves as Housing Director for the City of Bend, after serving as Affordable Housing Manager. Previously, she was NeighborImpact’s Deputy Director for Community Services, overseeing 5 major programs that serve 50,000 individuals annually. She holds a BA from University of Oregon and a JD from Lewis and Clark’s Northwestern School of Law. Lynne has accrued a wide spectrum of experience including working for Outward Bound as a wilderness guide, to lawyering with a pro bono emphasis in Portland, to operations manager (i.e. cowgirl) for a remote ranch in Northern California, and views compassion as her defining pursuit. She can often be found digging in her garden, cooking for a crowd, or exploring the wilds near her home with her family in tow.

Allison Platt, a Colorado Native, works as a Core Area Project Manager, focusing on economic development and urban renewal with the City of Bend, Oregon. Previously she worked as a Senior Planner with Bend, her work focusing on a variety of long range land use and infrastructure planning related to Growth Management. Allison received her Masters Degree in Urban Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University in 2016 and worked as a Transportation Planner for two years before joining the City of Bend.

Opening Zoning Barriers to the Missing Middle in Bend, Oregon