Bend's City Council wants to remove "barriers to development" in order to hasten the construction of new affordable housing units.  The goal is 3,000 housing units by June 30, 2021.  The staff has proposed a change to Bend Development Code that would eliminate a developer paying for a Traffic Impact Analysis for subdivisions of 20 or less units. 
What this means is that any development that produces less than 700 vehicle trips per day would not have to have such an analysis. 

Chapter 4.7 of the Bend development code requires any development proposal to show their development will not negatively impact the adjacent transportation system.  Using a designated traffic  manual, paid consultants hired by the developer forecast the number of daily and peak hour trips that the proposed development will put on the transportation system.  
Since traffic congestion is a top issue identified by residents and businesses, it would seem important to know how new subdivisions and businesses will likely add to congestion.  Is it a good idea to discontinue such analysis?  The Planning Commission  will hold a public hearing on the idea November 25th,5:30 in City Hall, 710 NW Wall ST.   A second hearing by the City Council is slated for Dec. 18th.