Advocates ask Bend to broaden neighborhood‑commercial code to help small, walkable businesses

Kristen Ridelberger of Central Oregon Land Watch asked the BDAB committee to recommend that City Council review the municipal code’s “neighborhood commercial” provisions and consider amendments, incentives and outreach to make small businesses easier to open in residential areas.

Ridelberger, identified herself as associate program manager for the Cities & Towns program at Central Oregon Land Watch, said the city’s existing neighborhood commercial subsection already recognizes and preserves historical neighborhood businesses, but that the code has not produced substantial new neighborhood commercial development: “The current code and description, reads neighborhood commercial sites within the residential districts are intended to provide pedestrian friendly access to goods and services convenient to nearby residents,” she said. Her group proposed three broad changes: expand allowed building types, broaden permitted and conditional uses, and loosen siting standards where appropriate.

Specific code and program ideas offered to BDAB included adding live‑work buildings and accessory commercial units (ACUs) as allowed building types, permitting micro‑industrial and small food‑production uses (woodworking, bakeries, small breweries), and creating a regular review process. Ridelberger also suggested complementary incentives or pilot projects — for example a revolving loan fund, tax‑increment assistance, subsidized short‑term rent for small businesses, ADA ramp grants, city‑provided bike racks, and preapproved ACU plans modeled on the city’s ADU program — plus more active community outreach and a development navigator role to help entrepreneurs and property owners.

Staff and BDAB members discussed tradeoffs. Planning staff said the neighborhood commercial code currently applies citywide but that some elements could be taken as short‑term code changes while other items (ACU details, incentives) would require more research and time. BDAB members asked for better evidence of demand (how many businesses or property owners would use the option) and raised concerns about potential impacts on existing commercial districts (parking, market segmentation) and equity across neighborhoods.

BDAB did not take a formal vote at the meeting to forward a recommendation; members signaled general support for bringing the topic to a council work session for more discussion and asked staff to return with more data and a phased set of short‑ and mid‑term actions. Staff suggested an initial work session in early October to review the code and the proposal’s fit with other city goals, including the growth plan, Invest Bend and the community climate action plan.

Ridelberger asked BDAB whether the group supported forwarding the topic to council for a work session and whether members had ideas about incentives or pilot projects; committee members asked staff to research demand and instances where pre‑application developers had backed away from neighborhood commercial proposals to identify barriers.

What happens next: staff said they can present a code review on a council work session and that short‑term code adjustments (for example bringing live‑work language into appropriate zones) could be possible in the near term while more complex incentives would require additional study and time.