For Bend’s real estate developers, the biggest hurdle to breaking ground is sometimes the city itself.

Their project plans must churn through a gauntlet of reviews by planners, engineers and other staff with heavy workloads that make sure developments jive with ever-changing codes and expectations of the city. Even a small miscommunication can delay a project for weeks.

But at the request of developers, the city has granted a potential remedy: a staff member to help guide large projects from start to finish, helping them move through the city’s process more efficiently.

It could result in more housing on the ground faster — something the city wants and needs badly.

“I just want somebody on the inside, on the city’s team, who is able to form a good relationship with a developer, be able to understand what their timing needs are, what their financial pressure points are,” said Colin Stephens, Community Development Director with the city of Bend.

“It’s a partnership getting a project all the way from concept to occupancy,” he added.

Applications for the new position, called the city’s “development navigator,” closed recently after more than two-dozen people applied.

Until late last year, the city had a staff person assigned to guide large developments inside an urban renewal district at the center of the city. When that person left, the role was revamped to help development across the city. It’s the latest tool from the city of Bend in an effort to speed up housing production as prices reach record highs. Streamlining the city’s permitting process was a key theme in city council campaigns in 2024. Some developers have complained that the city’s process is partially to blame for holding back affordable housing.

Getting development plans approved can be redundant, said Jesse Russell, CEO of Hiatus Homes, a local builder specializing in small, dense homes on infill lots. Sometimes, developers address an initial round of notes and revisions from city planners, only to have the same issues arise when a staffer from another department sees the plans.

And when city staff turnover, shift roles or reorganize departments, it can cause more confusion and delays. Developers need to know when they might get the go-ahead to build so they can line up a contractor in advance and break ground right away, Russell said.

He’s looking forward to having the new city employee on board.

“I think it will make it more efficient to have just one point of communication,” Russell said.

Hiatus Homes’ small infill projects are the type of housing the city of Bend and the state want to encourage. But they also require a higher level of attention from city planners because they’re often taking advantage of constant development code changes.

The Oregon legislature passed HB 2001 in 2019, and with subsequent amendments has opened the door for building multifamily units — like duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes — across cities. Different types of housing trigger different requirements for improvements developers must make to nearby streets or other infrastructure — and that’s not always clear either, said Sean McKeever, design director with Hiatus.

Development liaisons are employed by several other cities across Oregon, said Deb Flagan, vice president of community engagement with Hayden Homes, a large regional builder based in Central Oregon. When the position is set up to be focused on speeding up housing production, it usually results in people moving into their new homes faster, Flagan said.

“It is our hope that this role supports housing development in Bend and work as a problem solver when you need questions answered quickly and or help to get the questions to the right person,” Flagan said in an email.

Large commercial projects might also see benefits, said Jeremy McPherson, general manager with Taylor Brooks, a partnership between two longtime development companies in Central Oregon, Taylor Development and Brooks Resources. The company is developing eight acres of land in Juniper Ridge of northeast Bend, which is slated for industrial development, starting with a 47,000-square-foot campus for a biopharmaceutical company.

Planning is underway for the surrounding projects across four different parcels. McPherson said he requested consistency in city personnel assigned to the projects to keep plans moving forward.

“In a vacuum, if you’re just submitting all those individual applications, you could get any personnel. You’re left trying to explain all of those stories all over again, and revisit what you had worked out with one other reviewer, and then that reviewer needs to get on the same page with the prior one,” McPherson said.

“The development navigator position, it’s a really good idea. It’s important.”