Take the survey by May 5: Deschutes County 2040
What will Deschutes County be twenty years from now?
The survey covers six key topics:
Population growth, housing, and development
Agriculture, forestry, and more
Recreation and natural resources
Water use
Natural hazards
Additional ideas
Now is the time to shape the future of Deschutes County and voice what matters most to you. Through May 5, Deschutes County is gathering public input for the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update. This update will affect all of Deschutes County, outside city limits, and will establish policies to guide the county through 2044.
Your input is vital to ensure that the county's comprehensive plan update reflects the needs and priorities of all Central Oregonians.
A few details: To take the survey, you will need to create an account. Next, you’ll be able to complete the survey which takes approximately 15 minutes. The survey closes this Friday, May 5th, at 5 pm.
If you'd like guidance based on LandWatch's position, please see the coalition letter we submitted to the county below.
A joint letter from a coalition of Deschutes County voices
April 17, 2023
Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners, Deschutes County Planning Commission
117 NW Lafayette Ave, Bend, Oregon 97703
RE: robust community support for the Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan update to incorporate policies that protect wildlife and open space, preserve agricultural land, and protect natural resources.
Dear Board of County Commissioners and Planning Commission,
We undersigned organizations, whose membership includes thousands of Deschutes County residents, are concerned about the trajectory of our county. Over the past decade, we’ve watched as wildlife populations have dwindled, water tables have dropped, rural and agricultural lands have been developed into luxury housing, open spaces have been lost, and accelerating climate change continues to exacerbate all of these issues. In response, we have come together to deliver a joint message to the County: Deschutes County should change course. It should do so by updating its comprehensive plan to incorporate the following points:
Protect Wildlife, Biodiversity, and Open Space
Protect our regions biodiversity, and proactively respond to dwindling wildlife populations in our region
Protect wildlife by using the best available data to update all wildlife habitat inventories
Prioritize preservation of open space in Deschutes County
Value trees for their climate change mitigation and ecosystem value
Preserve Agricultural Land
Keep agricultural lands zoned for farm use, including dry rangeland, by ending spot zoning
Keep agricultural land priced for farmers
Encourage conservation and efficiency improvements and encourage equitable water distribution to provide sufficient irrigation water for commercial farmers
Protect the Region’s Strained Water Resources:
Maintain groundwater data and limit new development in areas with declining groundwater levels
Help upgrade infrastructure for water delivery and use, to benefit agricultural water users and to place more water instream for fish and wildlife habitat
Require water conservation in new development and property improvements
Protect Communities from Wildfire:
Ensure wildfire safe communities and reduce risk to firefighters, by protecting current development and limiting future development in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)
Support Housing Affordability and Availability Inside our Cities
Work with cities to plan for and produce needed affordable housing inside urban growth boundaries, including planning for future growth
Address Emerging Trends
Integrate a response to climate change throughout the comprehensive plan
Plan for renewable energy facility development while also protecting open space, wildlife, and agricultural lands
Appropriately resource County code compliance and enforce existing laws
Deschutes County has a responsibility to its residents to safeguard its wildlife, working lands, and natural resources—we look forward to the County’s use of this comprehensive plan update to meet this obligation by incorporating the above values.
Sincerely,
Rory Isbell, Rural Lands Program Manager, Staff Attorney, Central Oregon LandWatch
Greg Holmes, Rural Lands Policy Director, 1000 Friends of Oregon
Lindsey Hardy, Energy & Waste Programs Director, The Environmental Center
Michael O’Casey. Deputy Director, Pacific Northwest Region, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Mary Fleischmann, Leader, Central Oregon Bitterbrush Broads, Great Old Broads for Wilderness
Gretchen Valido & Mathieu Federspiel, Chair & Vice Chair, Juniper Group Sierra Club
Sally Compton, Executive Director, Think Wild
Rick Martinson, Executive Director, Worthy Environmental
Diane Hodiak, Executive Director, 350Deschutes
Eva Eagle, Oregon Land & Water Alliance
Bret Campbell & Dick Kellogg, Friends of the Metolius
Suzanne Linford, Protect Animal Migration