Smaller local cities grew faster than larger peers from ’06-’07

The population in Central Oregon continues to climb, but some of the region’s smaller cities grew at a faster rate last year than their bigger counterparts.

Culver had the highest percentage growth in population in the state and the region between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sisters followed closely behind, in fourth during the same period.

Officials in both cities said their populations are increasing because of their relatively healthy housing markets, compared to other cities in Central Oregon.

Culver School District Superintendent Linda Florence said people see the benefit of living in Culver because of affordable housing and the city’s quality schools.

“I can attest to that by saying in the past six years, we have met adequate yearly progress,” she said, referring to the designation given to schools that meet academic targets.

“Being the smallest school district in Central Oregon, our teachers are able to make connections with students and parents on an individual level,” Florence said.

Dan Meader, contract planner for Culver, said properties in the city are selling at lower prices than in Redmond or Bend, and that attracts people looking for affordable housing.

The recent median home price in Culver was $155,000, compared to Bend’s median home price of $303,000, according to The Bulletin’s archives.

The Census Bureau estimates 1,170 people lived in Culver as of July 1, 2007, about a 15 percent increase over July 1, 2006.

Florence said population growth is positive, but it’s not without complications, like increased class sizes in schools.

Florence said Culver Elementary School has had to blend classes with kindergarten and first-grade students to accommodate increasing numbers of students in each grade.

Numerically, Culver and Sisters have smaller populations than most other Central Oregon cities.

Like Culver, Sisters’ draw may be its housing.

As of July 1, 2007, the Census Bureau estimated 1,516 people lived in Sisters, an increase of 11.5 percent over the previous year.

Sisters Planning and Community Development Director Eric Porter said the citywide sewer system installed in 2001 allowed property owners to subdivide their large lots, which created more opportunities for housing.

Also, changes to the city’s development code in 2003 encouraged infill development, building on open spaces within existing developments.

“I think Sisters is a desirable place to live,” Porter said.

“Land prices have been historically higher in Sisters than (other places in) Central Oregon, which tells me that people want to live in Sisters.”

Bend and Redmond

Bend is the seventh-largest city in the state, and census estimates peg its population at 74,563.

It’s still growing, but at a slower rate, which officials attribute to the decreased demand for housing.

“These latest figures aren’t really much of a surprise at all,” Mayor Bruce Abernethy said.

“We’ve known for several months that we’re not seeing as many people coming forward for housing permits. We had to go through significant budget cutbacks as a result of that.”

From 2005 to 2006, the city grew by more than 7 percent, according to census figures.

From 2006 to 2007, the rate dropped to 3.83 percent.

“It wasn’t going to stay at that level, so we knew that was an exception. It was so much higher than it had been in the past and simply unrealistic that it would continue to grow at that level,” Abernethy said.

Brenda Pace, Deschutes County planning commissioner for Bend, said the slowdown in housing, which has been seen nationwide, affects population growth in two ways: there’s less housing available to move into and people can’t sell their own homes in other places as well.

Like Bend, Redmond has had steady population growth so far this decade, with slower growth in the past year.

Alan Unger, the mayor of Redmond, agreed with Pace. People still want to move to Central Oregon, but they have issues like not being able to sell their house wherever they’re at so they can move here, Unger said.

“As the nation sees a slowdown in house sales, we see that effect as fewer people move to Central Oregon,” Unger said.