Bend expands use of site‑specific tax increment to unlock housing; committee recommends TIF, credit enhancement and infrastructure loans
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Summary
Urban renewal staff described Bend’s site‑specific tiff program that offers annual rebates (about a 10‑year exemption equivalent) for projects that commit to community benefits; the committee voted to recommend three near‑term tools — expanded TIF use, a credit‑enhancement program and an infrastructure loan fund — to City Council.
Jonathan Taylor, Bend’s urban renewal project manager, briefed the committee on a site‑specific tax‑increment assistance policy the city adopted to promote housing. He explained the basic mechanics under ORS Chapter 457: an urban renewal plan freezes a base assessed value, captures future incremental tax growth from new development over a set period and rebates a portion of that increment to support projects that meet policy requirements.
Taylor described the policy the city adopted in the prior year: a 12‑year annual tax rebate (modeled to be roughly equivalent to a 10‑year property‑tax exemption), a base requirement that 15% of units be rented at or below 90% AMI for the full term, and a 2‑to‑1 return test designed to ensure taxing districts are made whole by the plan. He summarized recent site‑specific approvals — including the Brita Ridge project — and said the program incentivized roughly 1,300 units in the current work program, with 266 contract‑restricted units among them.
Staff emphasized policy trade‑offs: site‑specific TIF generates high unit potential and can be tailored for local community benefits (energy efficiency, local contractor participation), but it favors larger projects and vacant or underused sites; small infill projects often do not produce enough tax increment to justify the application and administrative fees. Enforcement of affordability commitments is handled through development agreements recorded on title with clawback provisions, but staff said the mechanism is a contract rather than a deed restriction in all cases.
After discussion, the committee used a ranked‑choice form and moved to recommend three near‑term priorities to City Council: (1) continue and refine the site‑specific TIF program (including consideration of geography and AMI thresholds), (2) study or create a credit‑enhancement program to reduce financing costs, and (3) explore an infrastructure loan/credit enhancement fund to help infill and subdivision projects cover upfront infrastructure costs. A committee member moved the recommendation and another seconded; the motion passed and staff will present the recommendation to Council on the December agenda.
Votes at a glance:
- Motion: "Recommend items 1, 2 and 3 to City Council (site‑specific TIF; credit enhancement; infrastructure loan fund)" — Moved by a committee member; seconded; outcome: approved by the committee (no roll‑call tally recorded in the transcript).
Why this matters: the adopted TIF approach has already moved several large projects forward and the committee signaled support for using tax‑increment tools plus credit and infrastructure supports to accelerate next waves of housing production. Staff will return to Council in December with suggested program parameters for each recommended tool.
