City of Bend seeks feedback on proposed code changes to allow homeless shelters in most areas of city

(Update: Adding online video, comments from Bend city councilor)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The metropolis of Bend introduced Monday it is trying to find public enter on proposed code alterations that will provide choices for numerous kinds of shelters to be created in most city zoning districts.

The city has printed an interactive on the web resource that describes the proposed homeless shelter forms and asks for general public feedback. The resource can be uncovered at this url and is accessible in English and Spanish through Nov. 1.

Shelters can supply a bridge for houseless local community associates until eventually they can get into more secure or lasting housing, the city stated, incorporating that shelters are component of the Town Council’s in depth method to offer safe and sound housing choices for individuals.

Town Councilor Megan Perkins explained to NewsChannel 21, “We are actually trying to show via these photographs and descriptions what these different varieties of shelters appear like, what they are, and exactly where they would be in our city.”

“Everybody is familiar with that we have an increasing inhabitants of individuals that do not have any place to are living, and this would help extra shelters to be built, far more sites for folks to have a secure location at night,” Perkins reported.

The proposed code amendments have been developed with the assistance of a City Manager-appointed team known as the Sounding Board to Home our Neighbors, which has been meeting since April to establish tips on the size and kind of shelters that should really be permitted in every single zoning district.

The Sounding Board is comprised of social provider providers, housing advocates and designers, and reps from the Bend Economic Advisory Committee, Neighborhood Management Alliance, Very affordable Housing Advisory Committee, Scheduling Commission and Town Council.

The style of shelter, sizing of facility and other suggested standards, these kinds of as screening and landscaping, fluctuate by zoning district. The Sounding Board is recommending needs for neighborhood outreach and on-internet site or on-call administration for all shelters.

The board outlined four shelter types to enable with the homeless problem: group, multi-home, outside, and hardship Shelters.

Team shelters like Shepherd’s Residence will have one particular or much more open sleeping spots that may possibly be divided only by non-long lasting partitions and furnished with cots, flooring mats or bunks. The optimum selection of shelter beds will be confined by the creating occupancy optimum of the constructing.

Multi-space shelters would be positioned in a motel, condominium building or a home. A nearby case in point a multi-area shelter is the Bethlehem Inn.

Outdoor shelters would consist of managed camps, with many cellular and/or lasting models that are situated outside.

Hardship shelters would permit householders to accommodate a houseless human being in will need on their home with an RV or created dwelling.

Perkins explained hardship shelters were being created immediately after people expressed a desire to be capable to assistance out friends and households during tricky moments.

“We’ve heard from so numerous persons that getting able to choose in someone in an RV on their individual house would be exceptionally valuable to (the human being) and give them time to get back on their feet, to locate a additional permanent place to stay,” Perkins claimed.

The Sounding Board will meet in November to evaluation general public suggestions on the code amendments that is been given from the interactive on-line instrument and further refine its suggestions. A do the job session with the Bend Preparing Fee is envisioned on Jan. 10, with a general public listening to on Jan. 24.

Pursuing people meetings, the Metropolis Council will be examining and creating plan decisions on the proposed code amendments.


Posted

in

by

Comments

Leave a Reply