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State law will change notice rules for some housing projects; Bend staff to amend code
Summary
Staff explained that House Bill 4037 (effective July 1) narrows who receives mailed notice for housing developments on the clear‑and‑objective track and prevents the city from requiring a public hearing for those applications; staff will prepare code amendments and continue online project tracking.
City staff told the June 22 roundtable that recent state legislation will alter how the city notifies neighbors about certain housing developments and limit local hearing requirements.
Pauline Hardy, senior planner, summarized the change: “This is only for applications that are for the development of housing,” she said, describing the statute’s application to land divisions, subdivisions and small‑multiplex projects that follow clear‑and‑objective standards. Under the new law, the city’s mailed notice will go to property owners within 100 feet of a subject site; projects that include 20 or more housing units will increase the notice radius to 500 feet.
Hardy and other staff explained a key procedural change: when an application for housing follows the clear‑and‑objective track, the city cannot require a public hearing prior to a decision. “Even though you're going to get a notice, the city cannot require a public hearing prior to a decision,” staff said. The statute also limits appeal rights: in that narrow class of applications, only the applicant will have the statutory right to appeal the city’s decision.
Staff told participants they will draft code amendments to align local procedures with House Bill 4037 and will retain other voluntary outreach tools — developer neighborhood meetings, proposed‑project signs and online project trackers — to help residents learn about projects in their areas even when statutory notice requirements narrow.
Planning commissioners and neighborhood representatives raised concerns about how the law will affect engagement in ‘‘orphaned’’ areas lacking neighborhood district representation, and how residents who live beyond the statutory notice radius can remain informed. Staff said residents can subscribe to online project trackers and that staff will continue to mail courtesy notifications to neighborhood district chairs in many cases, but the statutory appeal/notice limits will constrain formal appeal rights in qualifying cases.
Staff said they expect to present draft code language to implement the statute and will continue to post project materials online.
