Basically, in Oregon, if you think stopping growth is an option, forget it. The city has almost no ability to stop growth. And I can assure you that no one I know, from all sides of the political spectrum, believes we can. People in the United States can live wherever they want. Bend has been named by numerous national publications as a great place to live, work and even die.
State laws require an urban growth boundary.
State policy encourages growth within the urban growth boundary. State laws require counties to do a 20 year population forecast. Bend s official forecast is 58,000 for 2010, and 69,000 for 2020. We re clearly exceeding the official forecasts and new forecast numbers will be released soon. State law requires a local comprehensive plan containing enough land to accommodate housing, industrial and commercial needs for 20 years.