BEND, OR -- Bend City Councilors stopped short of formally rejecting a zoning change for Troy Field, at their meeting last week. The Bend-La Pine School District owns the downtown property and wants to sell it to pay for needed school projects. The potential buyer from Portland wants to build a hotel on the lot, but a zoning change is needed to allow for construction.
School Board member Andy High tells KBND News why they asked Councilors to delay their decision. "The City Council gave us an extension of 30 days before the vote. This will allow us to continue to explore the options we have with Troy Field and allow both parties a little bit more time to decide how we would like to move forward."
He adds, "We could just appeal the City Council's decision not to remove 'public facility,' or we could tell the buyer that 'it appears the City Council is not going to remove the public facilities designation. Therefore, you can either buy it as is, or --.' We just need more time exploring those options."
City Councilors are expected to make a final decision at its meeting on May fourth.
