Update on Homelessness

The Bend City Council Houselessness Update from April 6 focused on how the City has used state and federal funds to invest in strategies to address houselessness.
The update from April 20 highlights efforts to address the City rights-of-way and how to file complaints about camps on the right-of-way. It also covers recent and upcoming meetings.
Watch a video of the latest update.

Annual Weed Pull
It’s time to get out the hoe and pull invasive weeds in the right of way and roundabouts.  Every neighborhood is challenged to participate in the Let’s Pull Together event, Saturday, May 14 from 9 to noon.   BANA is in need of a coordinator for our neighborhood.

Let’s clean up Boyd Acres.

Radar Sign Nominations
The City Traffic staff asked for locations to place radar signs for a period of two weeks to measure traffic.  The following list are suggestions submitted so far.

If you have other locations, our list is due May 15.

1. Empire west bound at pedestrian crossings 

2. Empire east bound at pedestrian crossings
3. Cooley west bound at school crossing
4. Cooley eastbound at school crossing
5. Morning Star at Boyd Acres or Boyd Acres at Morning star
6. 18th street at 10 Barrel.

Specialty Veterinary Hospital Coming to Boyd Acres

In Boyd Acres neighborhood we like to think we have a lot to offer.  A recent development will mean that a very special service is planned for BANA, specialized pet care.
Dr. Mauicio Dujowich of Veterinary Referral Centro of Central Oregon shared with the BANA board plans for a new veterinary hospital to be built on Brinson Blvd.  It will serve vets who are general practitioners needing to find specialists for their clients including dermatology, opt homology, cancer care and other specialties.
With a staff of 12 doctors and 60 support employees, the hospital has outgrown its current location. It will build a state of the art facility and have a separate child care center for employee’s children. The hospital will also offer 24hour emergency care. 
Dr. Dujowich, who has extensive experience in animal surgery including helping zoo animals,  told the board his staff serves the Pacific Northwest and has seen an increase in need during the pandemic.  He and his wife, Dr. Jennifer Bentley, a pet dermatologist, had another idea for the facility.

“Because wait times for pet parents can be very long, we want to include a pleasant waiting area. We plan an outdoor pavilion that might include a food truck court eventually.”
The doctors had hoped to break ground in March, but the bottleneck in City planning has resulted in a delay.

Water Woes

Landscape watering accounts for more than half of all water used by City of Bend customers during the summer season. If left unchecked, millions of gallons of water can go to waste in a single day due to inefficient irrigation practices. 
The City of Bend is encouraging its customers to make thoughtful decisions about their water use this year to minimize demands for unnecessary uses. Help by getting the most out of every drop!Check out Waterwisetips.org for more information and review Bend’s Water Use Code to get prepared for the season.

Short Term Rentals

Some researchers in the United States say there is a link between Airbnb rentals and violent crime in cities.
Their study, published in peer-reviewed open-source journal PLOS One covers the period of 2011-2018 in Boston. It quantifies the number of Airbnbs present in the city's neighborhoods by linking their addresses to census data.

The researchers found that there was a positive correlation between higher penetration of Airbnb properties in an area – for example buildings containing multiple Airbnb lets – and a rise in violence. However, crime types associated with rowdy visitors, like drunkenness and noise complaints, as well as private conflicts, did not increase.

According to one study author, the correlation isn't due to Airbnb tourists falling prey to pickpockets, but rather the way the short-term rental service can push long-term residents out of neighborhoods.

“The large-scale conversion of housing units into short-term rentals undermines a neighborhood’s social organization, and in turn its natural ability...to counteract and discourage crime,"
Read more:  https://www.euronews.com/next/2021/07/15/airbnb-raises-violent-crime-rates-in-cities-as-long-term-residents-are-pushed-out-says-us

City News

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