A city of Bend hearings officer halted progress on a controversial four-story mixed-use development on Awbrey Butte based on “procedural issues” with the developer’s application.

The proposed development — called Compass Corner — would have created 40 residential units and commercial space in an area predominantly composed of single-family homes. Opponents of the project viewed it as out of step with the surrounding neighborhood, whereas supporters argued the development would create more affordable housing in the Awbrey Butte area.

The lot at the intersection of Awbrey Road and Mt. Washington Drive overlooks a sweeping view of Bend’s east side and is flanked by single-family homes. Downhill and to the north is River’s Edge golf course. The project, which would include businesses on the ground floor and three floors of apartments reaching 45 feet high, generated more than 200 public comments in its planning stage, more than half of them in opposition.

Colin Stephens, director of the Bend community and economic development department, said public opinion held no sway over the city’s decision.

“The city — and all cities in Oregon — are required to apply clear and objective standards to developments with housing involved. That’s intended to remove subjective decisions in providing much-needed housing … If a developer wants an exception to that, they have to apply for it,” Stephens said.

Grounds for rejection

The development was halted last week when Hearings Officer Gregory J. Frank rejected Blackmore Planning and Development’s site plan for the property owned by Hotel Management LLC because the proposal violated three sections of Bend development code.

The first and third violations had to do with the fact that the applicant did not file waivers for special variances on block perimeters and setbacks.

However, the second violation had to do with a section of code the city repealed in November. That section — which required parking areas to have a minimum clearance of 13 feet, 6 inches — must be applied to the Compass Corner development, said Stephens, because of Oregon’s goal-post rule. That rule prevents local governments from changing permit criteria after applications have been filed.

In this case though, a law meant to protect applicants is hindering Blackmore Planning and Hotel Management LLC.

“We generally recommend that folks (re-file) their application if they want to take advantage of a new section of the code. We are very lenient in that we will transfer fees over. It’s just a matter of giving them a new file number and we transfer over all the materials,” Stephens said.

The reason the application was not refiled is unknown. Neither Blackmore Planning nor Hotel Management LLC responded to The Bulletin’s questions.

Next steps for Compass Corner

As of Wednesday, Stephens said no appeals against Frank’s decision have been made. If an appeal is submitted within 12 days of the decision, the case will be heard by either the Bend City Council or the Land Use Board of Appeals. Which agency hears the case is determined by the city council.

“While this had a lot of interest from the neighborhood, it was relatively limited to this neighborhood and it doesn’t have city-wide implications,” Stephens said. “Also, this is really a procedural issue based on our code and based on state statute so the Land Use Board of Appeals is a far better adjudicator of this disagreement than our council would be.”