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Construction is finalized on a new facility for Suterra, one of three companies that has purchased land in Bend’s Juniper Ridge. The other companies are Les Schwab Tire Centers and PacifiCorp.
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
Juniper Ridge master plan to be open to public input
Decisions will determine where and how businesses can build
By Erin Golden / The Bulletin
Published: September 24. 2009 4:00AM PSTMembers of the public will soon be able to weigh in on a master plan for the 230-acre commercial area of Juniper Ridge as the plan heads to the Bend Planning Commission and then on to the City Council.
The plan creates a set of overlay standards for zoning in the area, which then allows for actual zoning changes and further development, said David Ditz, the city’s development manager for Juniper Ridge.
Though the council approved a conceptual master plan for the entire 1,500-acre development last year, it didn’t result in any land use action. Ditz said the plan for the commercial area — the part of the project the city has been focusing on for the last year — is significant because it creates some final rules for a section of the project.
The Planning Commission is scheduled to address the issue Oct. 12, and Ditz hopes to wrap things up at the council level by the end of the year.
“We have allowed in the schedule two Planning Commission hearings, but we’re cautiously optimistic we will get through it in one,” Ditz said. “Then it will go to the City Council for two hearings of an ordinance that will be drafted by staff. We hope to have that process finished no later than mid-December.”
The big-picture plan for Juniper Ridge, which is located in northeast Bend near Cooley Road and 18th Street, calls for commercial areas, light industry, neighborhoods and a four-year university, among other features.
City officials see the project as critical for future commercial development and job creation in Bend, but it has had some holdups, including disputes with former developers and delays related to its impact on traffic in the area.
So far, the city has sold land to three companies: Les Schwab Tire Centers, which opened its new headquarters at Juniper Ridge last year; Suterra, a Bend-based biotechnology company which is building a facility north of Les Schwab; and PacifiCorp, the parent company of Pacific Power, which purchased a 3-acre parcel for a power substation and a 10-acre parcel for a new service center.
Before the city can sell more land for development, it must get the OK of state transportation officials, who want Bend to develop a plan to fix the congested intersection of U.S. Highway 97 and Cooley Road. In 2007, ODOT told the city it could not allow more building around the intersection until it developed a plan for improvements and could find an estimated $34 million to $37 million to pay for them.
Local ODOT officials are continuing to work with the city on plans for the highway improvements, said Peter Murphy, ODOT spokesman.
“We’re pretty optimistic we can reach some kind of an agreement, but there have to be some steps taken as a part of that,” Murphy said. “Mitigation for the (traffic) impact on the highway has not been agreed on yet, and in that agreement there has to be a likely option for funding.”
Once ODOT and the city agree to a plan, the issue will go to the Oregon Transportation Commission, which must sign off on the improvements before they can occur. City officials have said they hope to go before the commission in November.
In the meantime, the Juniper Ridge Management Board, which signed off on the plan for the commercial area earlier this year, is focusing on a variety of planning issues, said John James, the group’s chairman. The five-member board — which is made up of Bend residents with backgrounds in business, development and government — serves as an advisory panel for the City Council.
Board members and some city councilors are working with a consultant on CC&Rs, or codes, covenants and restrictions, for the development.
James said part of the process includes figuring out exactly where and how businesses should be able to build as Juniper Ridge grows.
“One of the issues is, ‘When is a rock outcropping significant? When is a juniper tree significant? How much grading are you going to allow?’ ... It’s just trying to fine-tune and find the balance for those kinds of things, and I think we will get done specifics, but also leave some room for flexibility, because you can’t imagine everything, you can’t foresee everything,” he said.
Ditz remains optimistic about future growth at Juniper Ridge, though many potential property buyers seem to be waiting before committing to the project.
“The phone rings; we talk to (Economic Development for Central Oregon) routinely,” Ditz said. “We get occasional calls from users, but they’re really more interested in what our schedule is, rather than anybody asking about land.”
Erin Golden can be reached at 541-617-7837 or at egolden@bendbulletin.com.
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