Bend is in the Goldilocks zone for enjoying the outdoors — with the mountains, with the river, with the forests, with the desert, with the ski area.

What makes it more just right is everything else on top. It’s a special boon to have a thriving downtown. And Bend has two of them, really. Bend’s been a place where people can enjoy the outdoors and make a living.

As much as Bend is an outlier in a good way in outdoor opportunity, it is an outlier in a bad way in home prices and relative wages. That was captured in a chart Damon Runberg, Business Oregon economist, showed recently to city staff. Home price growth has outpaced wage growth in many places across Oregon. The worst gap was in Deschutes County. As the city says: “Bend’s median home price is almost double what an average household can afford.”

People used to joke Bend was poverty with a view. These days, people with low incomes can be priced out. City staff were even worried Bend might be disqualified from an opportunity created by the Oregon Legislature to add in 100 acres for housing without the usual land use restrictions. Why? The city’s changing demographics. Too many people struggling to afford housing don’t live here anymore.

Bend will soon have some newly elected city councilors take office. One of their first tasks will be to nestle in for some goal setting and a work plan for city government. They will surely talk about housing affordability.

There is no hint of political realignment with the new council. Councilors come from diverse backgrounds and diverse experiences and will bring different perspectives to city decisions, though, they seem clustered on the political spectrum. Councilor Barb Campbell has been relied on to challenge some council decisions, arguably from the left. She will be gone. It’s been a few years since there has been anyone with a voice from the right. Left and right are, of course, a poor shorthand to categorize decisions about Bend government. It might be more accurate to say there is more optimism than pessimism about the city government’s ability to create positive change.

What will the new council do to help Bend’s housing situation? What should be among its goals?

Despite the city’s conspicuous efforts, builders and developers complain about how long and complicated it is to get something approved and built. The city should retain the focus it has had on improving permitting.

The Bend City Council may move ahead on new limits on the use of natural gas and new fees for buildings that use it. We understand why. The city should look for ways to make the choice of electrification easier, not just limit natural gas or make gas more costly.

Gov. Tina Kotek convened a Housing Production Advisory Council on her first day in office. It came up with a number of strong ideas. The Bend City Council used community roundtables to good effect to structure the city’s new transportation fee. The city could hold a series of Bend roundtables on housing, including residents struggling to own or rent and the people who build and develop housing. That effort won’t be a Roman candle sparking with ideas nobody thought of before. It might help identify priorities for city action.

Bend City Council’s goals on housing affordability will be more than symbolic and less than decisive. So much of housing is beyond its control. Bend needs every edge it can get.