It's time to define the future of Deschutes County
Updating the County’s Comprehensive Plan
What do we want Deschutes County to look like in 20 years? From wildlife and wildfire to water and rural lands, there is a lot to consider when planning for the path ahead.
Now is the time to help shape the future of environmental and land use policy for Deschutes County. The County is in the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan, which acts as its “map for the future,” providing goals, policies, and actions that guide the day-to-day decisions of elected officials and staff. This update will affect all of Deschutes County outside city limits and will establish policies to guide the county through 2040.
In April, LandWatch and a coalition of local, regional, and statewide organizations submitted a joint letter to the County asking that the updated Comprehensive Plan do better to protect our land, water, and wildlife.
Last month, a draft of the updated Comprehensive Plan was released for public review.
Now, the County is asking for your input on the draft. This is a major opportunity to help shape the future of Deschutes County. Now is the time to voice your concerns about water, wildlife, farmland, forests, open space, climate change, or whatever matters most to you.
LandWatch’s Priority Recommendations
While there are some good components to the draft Comprehensive Plan, we’ve identified several areas in need of further consideration and made priority recommendations we hope to see reflected in the final document:
The draft plan does not adequately protect agricultural land. Farmers are being priced out of their livelihoods by the County’s rampant rezoning of agricultural lands and approval of non-farm uses. All agricultural lands zoned for farm use, including dry rangeland, should be preserved by ending “spot zoning” that allows for rural gentrification.
The draft plan does not adequately protect our region’s biodiversity and wildlife. Existing inventories and protections for natural resources are over 30 years old and no longer accurate. In a changing climate and biodiversity crisis, our wildlife populations are in the midst of the sixth great extinction. The plan should include policy requiring updates to habitat inventories that ensure protection and restoration of sensitive wildlife habitat.
The draft plan does not adequately protect water. The County should limit or prohibit development where new wells, including exempt domestic wells, would injure existing wells, or would impair natural springs feeding surface waters.
Take Action
UPDATE: The record remains open until 4pm on thursday, November 9
On October 26, the Deschutes County Planning Commission held the initial public hearing on the draft Comprehensive Plan and voted to continue the hearing (both oral and written testimony) to November 9, 2023.
This means there is still time to comment on the County’s draft Comprehensive Plan and advocate for the policies and values you want it to uphold! Your input is vital to ensure that the Comprehensive Plan update reflects the needs and priorities of all Central Oregonians. You can take action in one of two ways (or both!) to help define the future of Deschutes County:
Submit a comment
Let the County planners know what you want to see prioritized and reflected in the final Comprehensive Plan. Given the encompassing nature of this document, you are encouraged to advocate for any priority issues that you feel need to be improved upon in the draft or captured in the final Comprehensive Plan. Consider exploring our coalition’s joint letter or the priority recommendations above for inspiration and additional information.
How to submit: Send in your written testimony to Nicole Mardell, Senior Planner for Deschutes County at nicole.mardell@deschutes.org.
Testify at the next hearing on Thursday, November 9
Community members in attendance will have the opportunity to provide oral testimony before the Planning Commissioners at the hearing.
When: Thursday, November 9 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: 1300 NW Wall Street, Bend, OR 97703 in the Barnes and Sawyer Rooms on the 1st floor.
Join virtually: Can’t make it in person? Attend the hearing remotely via Zoom via this link.
A Watchdog for Central Oregon
As the watchdog for Oregon’s land use system, LandWatch will continue to hold firm to its values to defend and protect rural landscapes, wildlife habitat, clean water, and the continued livability of this region for generations to come.
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