BDAB advises council to combine two phase‑2 fee scenarios, keeping 5 bins and $10M revenue target

Members of the Bend Development Advisory Board (BDAB) recommended that Bend City Council consider a combined version of scenarios D and E for the citys phase‑2 transportation fee model, saying the package best balances revenue needs and administrative simplicity.

BDABs recommendation, reached by motion and recorded as approved at the meeting, asks council to: keep a five‑bin rate structure; adopt a full doubling of the residential fee as previously projected; raise the floor for the lowest bin to the current charge; treat medical offices as a lower commercial bin (Bin 2); and move restaurant uses to a lower commercial bin (Bin 4). Staff will draft a formal letter and run follow‑up scenarios (including potential fee caps) for presentation to council at the April work/regular session and a final adoption vote expected in May.

Why it matters: the citys budget and capital planning assume the transportation fee will generate about $10,000,000. BDAB and staff said retaining that revenue target while shifting which account types pick up more or less of the cost is the primary tradeoff being considered; the combined D+E approach was presented as a way to limit large bill jumps for certain…