Bend councilor says city is weighing a climate fee on natural gas for new development; transportation safety plan set for Jan. 28

Councilor Ariel Mendez said the Bend City Council is "considering a climate fee on natural gas," limited to new development, as one of several steps to meet state and city greenhouse-gas reduction targets.

"We are looking only at new development," Mendez told the City of Bend Accessibility Advisory Committee on Dec. 18. He said the council is also exploring nonmonetary and fiscal incentives and using revenue to help households transition to higher-efficiency electric appliances.

Mendez also urged committee members to watch for a Jan. 28 council discussion on street standards and the Transportation Safety Action Plan. He described the city's safety goals as "0 transportation fatal crashes" and a target to reduce overall crashes by 10 percent.

The councilor framed the possible natural-gas fee as one part of a broader approach to meeting legally set climate targets, and said staff will return with more details on fee amounts, phasing and incentives.

Mendez invited committee members to suggest topics they want the council to brief the committee on and noted the City’s ongoing outreach on vehicle-for-hire accessibility and other initiatives. He closed by encouraging members to email him ahead of meetings if there are specific items they want covered.

Next steps: the Transportation Safety Action Plan discussion and street-standards conversation will be on the City Council agenda on Jan. 28; the committee can expect additional briefings if the council pursues the climate-fee proposal.