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I think its past time to step back and analyze what all this development is doing to our city. We need to “be smarter�. The Environmental Protection Agency points out that “leveraging smart growth approaches and inclusive community engagement strategies can help communities and towns achieve their goals for growth and development while maintaining their distinctive character.�

Bend is still a great place, let’s be smart and try to preserve what’s left of its character.

— Dave Stalker, Bend

Bend doesn’t need more expensive single family homes

The planned developments in southeast Bend are better than what Bend has had before, given more mixed use and multifamily housing, and affordable housing in Stevens Road tract. However, the majority of housing acres are planned for expensive single family homes. Trickle-down housing does not work in Bend to produce more housing for middle-income residents; it just brings in more people from places where housing is more expensive, and increases Bend’s population, traffic and prices. Bend needs a new residential district classification – small residential where new single family dwellings are limited to quads, triplexes, duplexes or homes 1,200 square feet or smaller, including cluster homes.

Many of us grew up in such homes, and the Old Town Historic District has examples. All single family homes in Bend built in new subdivisions greater than an acre should have this new zoning requirement for all its single family residences. Old fashioned boarding houses should also be permitted. We don’t need any more new dwellings in Bend that are not affordable to middle income residents. Roads should be improved to meet increased traffic before the housing is completed rather than leave present residents to deal with traffic congestion. Instead of development and sprawl around the city’s periphery, the city needs to focus on additional mixed use and mixed income housing in the city center and redevelopment of some existing parts of the city.

— Robin Vora, Bend

Don’t pass H.B. 4113

House Bill 4113 is currently under consideration by the Oregon Legislature. This bill would require the amount a drug manufacturer pays towards a prescription for someone with insurance be counted towards that person’s deductible, if the prescription was subject to a deductible, as well as toward their annual out of pocket maximum. This is the point at which the insured is covered in full for any covered services or prescriptions for the rest of the year. Whether or not the amount paid by the manufacturer is being counted as part their deductible or out of pocket maximum, the insured would still be getting their prescription at little to no cost.

However, passage of HB 4113 would mean someone receiving the assistance for an expensive prescription may wind up having all the rest of their other insurance related expenses covered in full. This is even if those other expenses may have nothing to do with the condition requiring the prescription. An example would be someone with a digestive disease that requires an expensive prescription to maintain may be able to have an elective knee replacement at no cost since their out-of-pocket maximum has been met by the manufacturer’s assistance with the cost of a prescription. While this may benefit those with expensive prescriptions, it isn’t logical and in the long run will ultimately increase the cost of insurance for everyone else.

— Patrick O’Keefe, Bend