Bend planning commission recommends loosening 30%‑AMI requirement for Southwest UGB affordable units

The Bend Planning Commission on Jan. 13 voted to recommend that City Council amend Bend Comprehensive Plan Policy 11‑116 so that only 10% of the required deed‑restricted affordable units in the Southwest urban growth boundary (UGB) expansion area must be affordable to households at or below 30% of area median income (AMI), with the remainder allowed to be affordable up to 60% AMI.

The change, requested by the Ponderosa master‑plan applicant, would leave the total number of required deed‑restricted affordable units unchanged while changing the income bands those units must serve. Staff and the applicant told commissioners the adjustment was necessary to make a financially viable affordable‑housing project pencil in the current market.

Staff framed the request as a narrow text amendment to a single policy that applies to the Southwest UGB expansion area added in 2016. Colin Stevens, the city’s community and economic development director, reminded the commission that the 2016 UGB expansion and associated policies followed a lengthy planning process and that the 2016 policy set a high target for very low‑income housing in that area. Aaron Henson, senior planner, outlined the amendment and the approval criteria that apply to comprehensive‑plan text changes, including compliance with statewide planning goals and coordination with affected…