The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 17 approved two actions to support a private proposal for managed safe parking and future low-income housing on property owned by Greg and Craig Gales.

Deputy County Administrator Eric Cropp explained staff drafted a grant agreement for up to $25,000 to offset Community Development Department (CDD) rezone and goal-exception costs; CDD currently estimates the application cost at roughly $32,520. Cropp said the Crow board recommended up to $25,000 from Crow budget funds and that the grant would transfer to CDD when the rezone is applied for and fees are invoiced. A related restrictive covenant would be recorded only if the rezoning is approved and would limit use to the stated shelter/safe-parking purposes until Dec. 31, 2040.

Owner Greg Gales (introduced in the record) described community support for the project and said the plan envisions an initial safe‑parking step followed later by sustainable housing for low-income residents. “Our intent is for the property moving forward is we would like to move into safe parking and then also sustainable housing down the road for basically low income people,” he said, underscoring the family’s long-term commitment.

Commissioners discussed financing gaps and fee‑waiver options for nonprofit partners; Commissioner Chang and staff suggested exploring CDD fee-waiver policy language and contacting the Crow board about a modest increase. Commissioner Deere raised concerns about the state land use system and late-stage fee changes but acknowledged the project’s merits.

Formal action: the board moved to authorize the county administrator’s signature on the Gales grant agreement (document number as shown in the public record) and later moved to authorize the county administrator to sign the restrictive covenant document, recording it with a specified end date of 12/31/2040 if rezoning is successful. Both motions passed with two commissioners voting yes and the chair recorded as voting no.

What this means: the action commits up to $25,000 in county funds to offset the applicant’s rezone costs and documents the county’s expectation that, if a rezone and recordation occur, the property use will be limited to shelter/safe-parking purposes until 2040. Staff will return with additional details about fees, potential fee waivers, and a retrospective of non-resource rezone applications and their staff costs.