A Bend conservation group is mounting a legal challenge against the city’s plans to overhaul its surface water system.
Central Oregon Landwatch wants Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals to put the brakes on the project.
The project has been a source of controversy both because of its price, and the long-term impacts it could have on fish in Tumalo Creek.
Opponents want to see the city go to an all-groundwater solution. While certain components of the project have been delayed to defray costs, work on it continues. And so does the resistance.
Attorney Paul Dewey says the city failed to follow state land use rules when it voted last month to move forward with the project without passing what’s known as a public facilities plan.
“We may be naive, but we actually think that if they go through planning, they will see that their needs can be accommodated with far less than they are proposing to do.”
City Attorney Mary Winters says the city is asking the board to dismiss the appeal.
