BEND, OR -- A plan to increase the development of multi-family housing in Bend got a big boost this week. City Councilors unanimously approved, Wednesday, an ordinance easing some restrictions for duplexes and triplexes.

City Planner Pauline Hardie says the biggest change is to lot sizes for new construction. "Today, to build a duplex, you need almost a 12,000' sf lot; and the new code would be 6,000. And then, to build a triplex today, you need almost an 18,000' sf lot; and the proposed code would be half of that. You’d only need 9,000. So, just by reducing the lot sizes would open up a lot more opportunities for developers to be able to build duplexes and triplexes."

There are also some changes to building standards regarding things like garage and front door placement. "If any of those new lots are abutting a residential lot, or across the street from a residential lot, then those lots would still have to meet all the standards. If the lots are interior to that subdivision, then they are exempt." Hardie tells KBND News, "It’s not a guarantee, but it helps ensure that these duplexes and triplexes, when built – particularly in your existing neighborhoods – that they integrate well into the existing neighbors; that the mapping is compatible with the existing homes that are around it."

If the second reading of the ordinance is approved, later this month, it would go into effect in mid-January.