Larkspur Neighborhood Association - News and Events

Annual Meeting Recap

11/3/2018

Thank you for the phenomenal turnout for our annual meeting! The room was packed, and many of you asked for links to the information presented. Please click on the agenda items below to be directed to the project of interest and contact us if you are searching for anything else. We are happy to help. Thank you again, and we hope to see you all soon around the neighborhood.

Free LED Bulbs — Sign up now! (Ani Kasch, Coordinator for The Energy Challenge, The Environmental Center)
Bend's Transportation System Plan: A Look Into the Future (Karen Swirsky, Senior Planner, City of Bend)
Neighborhood Greenways: Coming to Larkspur Soon – An Overview (Robin Lewis, PE Transportation Engineer, City of Bend)
Citizen Service Requests: A How-To (Janet Hruby, Project Engineer, City of Bend)
Board Member Elections for Larkspur Neighborhood Association
Community Climate Action Plan 101 (Cassie Lacey, Sustainability Coordinator, City of Bend)
Bend Senior Center & Goodrich Park: A Hint of What's to Come (Marcia Vallier, President, Vallier Design Associates :: Perry Brooks, Bend Parks & Recreation)

Additionally, if you didn't get to meet Moey who had a display in the far corner of the room, here's what you should know:

The BCD Initiative is building momentum and support for the Bend Central District's transformation from an underutilized industrial area into a vibrant, healthy, and resilient mixed-use neighborhood with safe connections between east and west Bend. Sign up for email updates to follow this process and find out how you can get involved! Feel free to reach out to Moey Newbold directly with any questions or suggestions: moey@colw.org.

Annual Meeting :: November 1

10/21/2018

Please join us for our annual Larkspur Neighborhood meeting. Chat with your neighbors and enjoy refreshments while we discuss some local hot topics. We hope to see you there!

Location: Bend Center Center (1600 Reed Market Road)
Date: November 1st
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 PM

AGENDA

A Brief Welcome (Larkspur Neighborhood Association Board Members :: Justin Livingston, Bend City Councilor)
Free LED Bulbs — Sign up now! (Ani Kasch, Coordinator for The Energy Challenge, The Environmental Center)
Bend's Transportation System Plan: A Look Into the Future (Karen Swirsky, Senior Planner, City of Bend)
Neighborhood Greenways: Coming to Larkspur Soon – An Overview (Robin Lewis, PE Transportation Engineer, City of Bend)
Citizen Service Requests: A How-To (Janet Hruby, Project Engineer, City of Bend)
Board Member Elections for Larkspur Neighborhood Association
Community Climate Action Plan 101 (Cassie Lacey, Sustainability Coordinator, City of Bend)
Bend Senior Center & Goodrich Park: A Hint of What's to Come (Marcia Vallier, President, Vallier Design Associates :: Perry Brooks, Bend Parks & Recreation)
Q&A

We look forward to seeing you there!

No July Meeting

7/16/2018

We hope you're all enjoying this beautiful summer! Due to our summer schedule, we will not have a July meeting. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please feel free to reach out to us by email instead. Thanks!

Minute by minute!

6/18/2018

Can't make it to our meetings but you'd like to keep up with us? The monthly meeting minutes are available here.

Recent Land Use Activity - Moonfire and Sun Garden Center

6/16/2018

Moonfire and Sun Garden Center, at 61944 27th Street, is expanding their garden center facilities. There is a public meeting being held at their facility on June 18, from 5:30 to 7:00 PM, to provide a review of the project.

Larkspur Neighborhood Alliance & New Board Opening

5/29/2018

The City of Bend is seeking members to the newly created Larkspur Neighborhood Alliance. Each neighborhood is to have one representative to this committee.

Potential candidates for the Alliance should get in contact with the Larkspur Board since some familiarity with the issues in the Neigbhorhood is required. The person representing Larkspur in the NLA will also be appointed to the Larkspur board (if not already a board member).
Details about the Alliance, and links to application documents, are available here.

The City is accepting applications to this Alliance until June 22. The Alliance members will be appointed by the Council on July 18. Then the real fun of getting organized will begin! This alliance will give neighborhoods a better opportunity to address issues of citywide concern.

In a similar vein, the Larkspur board is anticipating the need to fill a vacancy in the Land Use position on for our neighborhood. The Land Use function involves monitoring development activities in the Neighborhood as well as the work done by the Planning Commission to implement the development code. If you are interested in serving on the board, please contact us.

Bend Parks & Rec's Comprehensive Plan Summary

5/26/2018

Hi, neighbors! As a member of the board for the Larkspur Neighborhood I have been poring over the latest Bend Parks and Rec comprehensive plan, and thought you might appreciate a summary of the projects that impact our neighborhood.

(The whole report is reasonably interesting - If you want the whole enchilada here is a link to it).

The following are high priority projects in the comprehensive plan. There is no particular order among these high priority projects.

Ponderosa Park Renovation - Upgrade the old skate park, renovate the older ball field, and other improvements to Ponderosa Park.

Larkspur Center renovation - upgrade of the existing Bend Senior Center, planned to start in 2019.

Reed Market Road Crossing - improvements are planned to improve safe access to the Larkspur Center (Bend Senior Center) and park

Hansen Park trailhead near the COID canals east of Rigel Way, is planned as a trailhead for trails that are planned along COID easements to the north and east.

Litchfield park site - a neighborhood park is planned for a 2-acre plot of land southeast of Wilco, off Livingston.

Juniper Park renovation - There are plans to renovate the park to improve ADA access and accommodate more users, and upgrade the Juniper Swim and Fitness Center - things like replacing a pool tank, new flooring, lighting, and shower room renovations.

9th Street crossing - improvements are planned to improve safe access to the Juniper Swim and Fitness Center and park.

COID trail development: A trail is planned along the COID canal that runs south of Bear Creek, and the trail is expected to be extended through Hansen Park (planned Trailhead mentioned above) east of 27th and eastward toward Eastgate Park (outside city limits) and the Badlands. The three trails are all considered a high priority.

The following are listed as moderate priority projects:

Big Sky Connector trail: A trail is planned along the current eastern UGB Northward to BIg Sky park at Neff and Hamby, along with improvements to the crossing at Neff and Hamby for trail access to Big Sky Park.

There are ongoing efforts to seek land for new park spaces. Three areas in our neighborhood are listed in the Comprehensive Plan as Park Search sites:
- site 15 encompasses most of the area east of 15 to Pettigrew, except the corner south of Tempest and west of Airpark. Acquiring land in this parcel is considered a medium priority.
- Site 16 is south of Bear Creek, east of 27th and north of Chilliwack. Acquiring land in this parcel is considered a medium priority.

the following were identified in the Comprehensive Plan but are not listed on the priority project list:

Coyner Trail connector: a trail proposed for connecting the Larkspur Trail to Ponderosa Park and the Coyner trail, does not appear on project priorities. Any land owner developing the property on 15th east of Wilson will likely be required to put in this connector.

Park search site 14 is east of the UGB between Bear Creek Road and Highway 20, extending to Hamby. Acquiring land in this parcel is not listed as a priority in the Comprehensive Plan. Conversations with Parks and Rec staff indicate that the Litchfield Park site at Livingston near 27th, when developed, will cover the need for a park in this area. There have been a number of neighbors lobbying for the natural area in Site 14 as a potential site for a park, and a preferred location to the Litchfield site which is on the high priority list for the city.

If you have comments about these projects or their priority, the link above includes a means of submitting comments. BPRD will be accepting comments until June 3.

Upcoming Monthly Meetings – You're Invited!

2/8/2018

All meetings are open to the public, so please feel free to join us from 6-8pm on the third Monday of most months, at the Larkspur Senior Center. Here are the dates for the next four meetings:

February 19
March 19
April 16
May 21

If you cannot attend but would like to share an update, question or concern with us, please feel free to contact us in advance of the meeting with your note.

Annual Meeting - November 2 - Save the date!

10/6/2017

The annual meeting of the Larkspur Neighborhood is scheduled for November 2 at 6:30 PM at the Bend Senior Center, on Reed Market Road.

Eric King, the Bend City Manager, will give a "state of the city" presentation. We are also expecting to have Casey Roats, the current Mayor, also as a speaker.

There will be a summary of land use issues in the neighborhood.

The agenda for the meeting is still being refined, so check back for updates.

There will also be election of new board members. We are presently seeking neighbors who are interested in serving on the board. The term is typically two years; the amount of time commitment is minimal, with board meetings once a month. If you think you might be interested - or for more information - contact us at LarkspurNA@gmail.com

Charter Review Committee

7/6/2017

The City of Bend is seeking people to serve on a committee to evaluate options for changing the City Charter. The plan is to look into options for electing City Council representatives, including perhaps direct election of the mayor and/or a ward system for City Council seats. They are seeking up to 11 people and hope for broad representation from across the city. The committee is expected to meet periodically for around three months.

It would be great to have some East side representation! The City is taking applications through July 10. If you think you might be interested, more info is available at the City website:

City of Bend - Charter Review Committee