Bend planning commission approves removal of Firerock footbridge, requires riverbank restoration

The Bend Planning Commission on Aug. 25 unanimously approved a waterway overlay zone application (PLWOZ 20250363) to remove the Firerock footbridge over the Deschutes River and carry out riverbank restoration, while keeping a rebuilt staircase on the east bank for public access.

Planning staff said the timber bridge, built in the 1970s to carry a water line, has fallen into disrepair and the water line beneath it is no longer in service. "Hi. Good evening, Aaron Henson, senior planner. We're here to talk about the, proposal to remove the FireRock footbridge and to restore, that's, area of the river," Aaron Henson told the commission during the staff presentation.

The property at the riverbank consists of a publicly owned parcel on the east side and a privately owned parcel on the west side held by the Rimrock West Homeowners Association. City engineering project manager Carter Lawrence said the bridge was inherited by the city's water services when the neighborhood was annexed and closed to public use after a 2015 condition assessment. "This infrastructure was inherited by, water services with the city when the neighborhood was incorporated," Lawrence said.

A Jacobs condition…