Deschutes County Commission race highlights Oregon's unhealthy business climate

The Bend Bulletin reports that voters and businesses in Deschutes County want to hear ideas on how to create jobs and attract new businesses from candidates running for two County Commission positions this year.

The Bend area candidates said county commissioners should hold the line on taxes, or even cut them. They also emphasized that maintaining good roads and other infrastructure is important to attract businesses.

County officials need to work on public relations and outreach to out-of-state businesses, says Tim Knopp, vice president of the Central Oregon Builders Association, because some businesses might view the state as undesirable after voters approved tax increases with Measures 66 and 67 in January.

Bill Robie, government affairs director at the Central Oregon Association of Realtors, said that how county officials handle land use issues is important to his organization’s members. The county should check whether land is incorrectly zoned for farm use, as allowed under a state law passed in 2009, Robie said.

“We need to make sure (exclusive farm use zoning) is not being used as a proxy for open space protection,” Robie said.