Eric King, city manager, told the Bend City Council the city is shifting from quarterly council goal updates to more frequent, outcomes-driven work sessions and is embedding goal reporting into those meetings. “We want a more hands on approach to council goal implementation,” King said, explaining the new process will use multidisciplinary teams and tighter data tracking.

Katie Brooks, Bend’s new economic development officer, gave a progress report on the city’s economic-prosperity goal. Brooks said the program will pair two near-term tracks: Invest Bend, the urban-renewal investment process the Bend Urban Renewal Agency (BURRA) will consider in December, and a city-led economic development department and program that Brooks expects to finish initial planning in first or second quarter of next year. “We are taking input. We’re utilizing and leveraging the data that we’ve gathered to form those goals and strategies,” Brooks said.

Brooks and project staff described engagement to date: a Business Development Advisory Board (BDAB) effort, focus groups that included BIPOC business owners and a stakeholder interview process. Jonathan (last name given in the presentation as the data analyst) summarized economic trends staff used to shape strategy, noting Bend’s continued population growth and the region’s need for industrial space and multifamily housing to support jobs. Staff said commercial and industrial permit valuations have remained strong and identified gaps in industrial land and affordable multifamily housing.

Staff described the Invest Bend funding target within BURRA: the agency’s investment strategy aims to support housing and job creation in core areas, with interim targets mentioned during the presentation of creating 200 jobs and 500 multifamily units in the biennium as program aims. Brooks said some Invest Bend decisions will come to BURRA for formal investment approval, while the city economic-development department will pursue business outreach, workforce partnerships and infrastructure strategies.

Councilors asked about alignment with the city’s growth plan and OSU Cascades’ innovation-district planning; Brooks said stakeholders including OSU Cascades had participated in focus groups. Several councilors pressed staff about the availability of industrial land and how the plan will distinguish visitor-serving businesses from daily-needs retail; staff said that analysis will be part of Invest Bend and a forthcoming retail market analysis.

City staff also flagged next steps: a December presentation to council on an economic index/dashboard and a February advisory-board summit at the new Public Works campus. Staff emphasized that subsequent land-division and site-plan reviews will be separate public review processes for any proposed housing developments coming from these zoning or policy changes.