Город Бэнд рассматривает реформы для ускорения подготовки промышленных земель под застройку

Bend considers policy changes to speed industrial development Published 8:30 am Thursday, August 13, 2026 For years, one of Bend’s biggest economic development challenges hasn’t been recruiting companies — it’s been finding places for them to build. Now the city is looking at ways to make industrial land “shovel-ready” before a company arrives, arguing that faster site preparation could make Bend more competitive for employers and help bring higher-wage jobs to the city. The city’s Employment Lands Site Readiness Program would allow some grading and site preparation before individual lots are sold or have completed site plans. It also proposes changes to tree mitigation and permitting, while encouraging the city to treat site preparation as a form of economic infrastructure. Build-ready City economic development officer Katy Brooks said the goal is to make industrial properties “build-ready,” meaning much of the infrastructure is in place. “The program is basically: ‘How do we get our industrial properties ready and marketable?'” Brooks said. Rather than requiring developers to prepare one lot at a time after securing a tenant for each, the city is considering changes that would allow grading and other work earlier in the development process. “We’re trying to make it so if you own several lots before you get a client, we’re going to give you a grading permit, go in and make this thing ready to build,” said Brooks. “It compresses the timeline to delivery and the affordability of that lot goes way, way up.” A city of Bend memo to the Bend Economic Development Advisory Board, produced in June, identifies a number of potential policy changes, including a reduction of tree-mitigation constraints and allowing site plan and building permit processes to proceed simultaneously. The memo says industrial land is scarce in Bend and that long site-readiness timelines can cause potential employers to eliminate local properties during site selection. Discouraged buyers Among those supporting the changes is Kirk Schueler, president of Brooks Resources, whose company is part of Taylor Brooks, a joint venture developing industrial property at Juniper Ridge. Schueler said prospective buyers are often discouraged by the work required before construction can even begin. “The hurdle comes when you have a piece of land for someone who is doing industrial development buildings and that site doesn’t look like its ready for them to do a building,” he said. “They’re looking for shovel-ready.” Taylor Brooks developed a 20-acre parcel in Juniper Ridge, extending Cooley Road and creating five industrial lots. One was sold to the Central Oregon Irrigation District while four remain on the market. The property is covered with lava rock outcroppings, uneven ground and juniper trees, meaning buyers face months of grading and site preparation before construction can begin. “Sometimes industrial users aren’t (doing) long-range planning,” Schueler said. “They are not thinking two years ahead. They’re like, ‘We need to find some ground to start our building as soon as we can.'” Tree regulations Under Bend’s current code, regulated trees can make site preparation and grading more difficult, Schueler said. Taylor Brooks has proposed exempting juniper trees on industrially zoned land from tree-preservation requirements during grading, which would allow the company to grade roughly 15 acres before individual lots are sold. The city’s proposal is broader. The June memo recommends that Bend consider deregulating trees on industrial land, reducing tree-mitigation fees, or creating a mitigation bank for industrial sites of 10 acres or more. The city also wants to separate mass grading from the site-plan process, allowing industrial properties to grade and level multiple lots before individual site plans are submitted. Addressing major obstacles Jon Stark, chief executive officer for Economic Development for Central Oregon, said the changes could address two of the biggest obstacles companies face when considering industrial sites: cost and time. “Companies often cannot bear the cost of developing raw land into functioning industrial sites,” Stark said. “In addition, companies typically require faster development timelines than are possible with raw land preparation.” Stark said EDCO views permitting and site preparation as the next step in making Juniper Ridge more competitive. “The permitting and site preparation work is phase two of this strategy,” he said, “and EDCO is excited to play its role in helping continue the absorption of this land as it becomes market- and shovel-ready.” Increasing efficiency The city’s plan to increase efficiency is addressed in the memo, which recommends treating grading, clearing and other pre-development work as “economic infrastructure,” potentially making it eligible for incentives, public-private partnerships and state and federal funding. The approach aligns with Oregon’s broader industrial development strategy, including Statewide Planning Goal 9, which calls for an adequate supply of industrial land. The city estimates that a “context-sensitive tree ordinance,” combined with proactive grading and other changes, could cut development time by four to six months and reduce costs by about $2 per square foot. Taking these steps will help the city “deliver living wage jobs,” according to the city memo. City staff are expected to bring recommendations to the Bend City Council next month, Brooks said. For Schueler, the issue is ultimately about competitiveness, particularly as Bend competes with nearby communities for industrial employers. “Bend is competing with Redmond and Prineville because they all have industrial lands and they have the ability to create basically shovel-ready lots,” he said. “We’re trying to be competitive with other alternative sites for industrial users.” (This story has been updated to correct the title for Jon Stark)