Is Bend Protecting Enough of its Urban Forest?
Key Takeaways from the First Annual Review of Bend's Tree Code
Bend’s urban tree cover was highlighted in the Washington Post earlier this year.
Earlier this year, The Washington Post published a data-rich story on urban tree cover: Which cities have the most trees? Why some U.S. cities are so much greener than others.
In that story, Bend was recognized as a U.S. city that has managed to pull off a slight increase in tree cover, in spite of development pressure and a changing climate.
At that time, Bend had recently adopted a new tree code, and the Bend City Council had also committed to reviewing the code annually to see if it was working as intended.
Now, the City’s first annual review has just been completed. Overall — so far, pretty good. In reviewing one year of data, it seems the tree code is helping the city strike a tricky balance between the need to preserve trees and the need to develop housing.
A Closer Look at the Numbers
Out of 766 planning applications, only 55 were subject to the new tree code. The other 711 were exempt from tree preservation standards because the properties were 1 acre or less.
This supports our early recommendation to limit the exemptions to properties that are a half acre or less, so more of our urban forest can be protected during development.
More than half of these developments are preserving enough trees to not require extra planting for mitigation, and 85% met the requirements for tree preservation without needing to use the discretionary track or mitigation-only options.
This confirms that the code requirements for preservation are not too high to meet, and that there may be room to raise the bar for even more tree preservation.
0 developers used the incentives available to developments that exceed the tree code requirements (higher number of trees preserved).
With only one year of implementation and a relatively small number of applications, there may still be unrealized interest in utilizing these incentives. However, it is worth exploring whether these incentives could be adjusted to make them more appealing to developers.
Mitigation fees (these are paid per tree instead of planting trees to replace the trees cut down) amount to between $60-600 per housing unit.
This is an added cost for housing — but so far, not a ‘make or break’ amount. These fees, along with the rest of the data, should continue to be monitored to ensure that the code continues to strike a balance.
Key Issues to Watch
LandWatch has monitored and helped shape implementation of Bend’s new tree code.
LandWatch recommended the City continue to monitor the implementation of the tree code for another four years to ensure it is continuing to work as intended for a variety of developments.
We also recommended that Council refrain from making any major changes to the tree code at this time, as the data is limited to only one year of implementation — and development will continue to occur over several years.
Part of the Council’s tree code review discussion led to questions about Western juniper trees and their role in our high desert city. Junipers are remarkably well adapted to our high desert environment. In an urban context, junipers contribute to the same benefits as the rest of the urban forest: tree canopy, urban cooling, stormwater mitigation, and public health.
This was a topic the Tree Regulation Update Advisory Committee (TRUAC) spent a lot of time on — and we support where their recommendation landed and what is currently reflected in the new tree code: Junipers serve an important role in our urban forest and should continue to hold value as regulated and priority trees. City Council will be revisiting this topic in 2026 and we’ll keep you posted on how and when to make your voice heard.
What developers had to say
LandWatch will continue advocating for a balanced, data-driven tree code.
After a year to try out the new code, the development community shared some praise, some concerns, and some recommended amendments to the code.
Some developers specifically noted that, compared to other cities, the code’s clear and objective standards make it easy to understand and implement. Ease and clarity go a long way for developers who need to navigate layers upon layers of codes. Developers’ concerns centered around the additional costs associated with implementing the code and how that adds to housing costs. Other concerns included how this code may be in potential conflict with other city codes.
Some of these suggested adjustments to the code may be warranted, while others would undermine the purpose and desired outcomes. We expect these discussions to continue into the future, where LandWatch will continue to advocate for a balanced, data-driven tree code.
We look forward to continuing to work with our community and interested stakeholders on ensuring this is a code that is protecting more trees, especially large ones, while still building the housing our community needs.
Seeing the Forest for the Trees
Bend’s urban forest is key to the city’s remarkable livability.
Bend’s tree code is just one part of a larger, multi-faceted effort to preserve and enhance our urban forest. Beyond the tree code, we’ve been quite pleased to see how LandWatch’s other recommendations to the City to support a healthy urban forest are taking shape.
This past summer, the City hired their first Urban Forester (meet him here, in LandWatch’s Q&A with Ian Gray) who has been working with city planners in overseeing implementation of the tree code. His next adventure is creating a sustainable urban forestry program, including:
A Tree Inventory to assess existing conditions
A 10-year Urban Forest Management Plan
An Urban Tree Canopy Cover assessment and ongoing monitoring
These additional pieces will be key to understanding the current conditions of our urban forest, and what actions are needed to improve the health of our forest. With consistent attention, we can ensure that there is equitable tree canopy coverage citywide, and we can increase our climate resiliency.
Overall, the City is on the right track to a more affordable, greener future with more housing and trees for all.
