The Deschutes County Commission on Wednesday rejected a proposal to create a new city southwest of Bend called Mountain View.

Deschutes County could be getting a brand new city.

A Deschutes County resident running for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District has submitted an application and petition with the county to form a new town near Millican called Mountain View.

With the application submitted and enough signatures collected from residents of the unincorporated area east of Bend, the matter will be discussed at a public hearing before the Deschutes County Commission, possibly next month.

After the hearing, and depending on the outcome, the incorporation of the town would have to be placed on the ballot in a future election and voted on by residents.

The proposed location of the new approximately 169,550-acre city is west of Diamond T Road, ending in the east at the intersection of U.S. Highway 20 and state Highway 27, also known as George Millican Highway.

The man behind the initiative, Andrew Aasen, is running as an independent for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, currently occupied by U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Happy Valley.

Aasen currently serves on the Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District board .

“The main motivation for it (the creation of Mountain View) is the lack of municipal services currently provided by the county. When it comes to very rural unincorporated areas, it’s hard for our local government to have the funds and the reach to really help the people living there,” Aasen said.

Aasen, who lives in the area of the proposed city, said an overwhelming majority of the registered voters in the area signed a petition, which was certified by the Deschutes County Clerk’s Office in April , county documents show.

About 160 people live in the proposed city’s boundaries about 15 miles southeast of Bend, according to application materials.

The proposed tax rate for Mountain View is $2 per $1,000 of assessable value of real property, the documents say. With an assessed value of $15,000,000 on all property within the cities proposed boundaries, the first year’s projected income from taxation is $30,000, which is sufficient to cover the minimum operating expenses for Mountain View’s incorporation.

“Instead of having the community live in situations that the county considers illegal or unsustainable it needs to make sure that they can develop in the method that benefits them and the community as a whole,” Aasen said.

Aasen said while he is aware of some residents who are not interested in incorporation, the vast majority of the community is in support.

Aasen said the long term goal of the initiative is to ensure sustainable economic development in the area. Short term, he hopes incorporation will bring a few minimal services to the area, allow people to set up a local government, and to rezone the area for residential development.

“Especially with zoning, if you had a major fire, unless you have a fire that spreads to public lands, no one is going to help you out there. Your house is going to burn down. Your car is going to burn down,” Aasen said. “If you have a medical emergency the closest fire station is in east Bend, you are looking at a 30-40 minute drive before somebody is going to come and help you. Not to mention how busy our fire stations and medical services are currently.”

The incorporation of La Pine, the newest city in Oregon, was the last time an unincorporated community was incorporated as a city in Deschutes County.

Deschutes County Commissioner and La Pine resident Tony DeBone and his wife Kathy DeBone remember being in town during the effort to get their town incorporated in 2006.

“My wife and I have been through this. We just happened to be residents and working in the previously unincorporated community of La Pine during this process, so we have a little experience in the community with that,” DeBone said.

DeBone said now that the county has received the petition to incorporate Mountain View, the county commission is required to hold a public hearing on the matter. He said the county commission will select a date for the public hearing on Wednesday. Until then, he and his colleagues on the board are not able to comment on the incorporation.

Nicole Mardell, senior planner with Deschutes County Community Development, who is managing the Mountain View case, confirmed the department will meet with the county commissioners on Monday afternoon to set up a date and time for the public hearing.

“By statute we are required to hold a public hearing for this item, to essentially review the application, and if it is approved then it would go on the next ballot for voters in the boundary to vote on actually incorporating it or not,” Mardell said.

Mardell said a tentative date for the hearing is Sept. 20.