The public deserves to be heard on the four-story apartment building proposed near the Bend Whitewater Park. The city should require a public hearing.

Some neighbors are anxious about changes the apartment building may bring. Their stated concerns are mostly parking. The building will have a total of 181 apartment units.

The parking plan is for 199 spots for off-street parking and another 25 spots of on-street parking along Bradbury Way and Shevlin-Hixon Drive. The on-street parking places are not new spots. They are existing spots that the developers expect will be used by apartment dwellers.

Will that plan cause real safety issues? Is it enough parking? It is adequate under city rules. But all that parking on-street and the additional traffic from the apartment building will represent a change for people who live and work in the area. We’ve even heard some complain about the shadow the building will cast.

Public hearings exist for governments to gather input on important decisions. The city has the discretion to allow a public hearing in this case. Why not do it? It doesn’t mean that the project will be scrapped or even adjusted. It’s not going to set a bad precedent. It allows for an open, public discussion of the issues that are bothering some neighbors.

Bend needs more housing options of all types to help keep prices affordable, including apartment buildings. And as Bend grows, there won’t always be the exact same number of people living in an area, the exact same amount of parking on the street or the exact same amount of children in the schools.

The challenge for the city is balancing the need for changes with the legitimate concerns of the people who are already there. The city shouldn’t turn a deaf ear to neighbors. And the neighbors surely wouldn’t want to effectively exclude apartment dwellers from an attractive west-side location based on income. Call a public hearing.