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New tiny home village in Bend welcomes first resident amid celebration and complaints
- Homelessness: Real Stories, Real Solutions
- Oct 14
- 10 min read
Updated: Oct 15
Tiny home villages are increasingly considered a solution to the affordable housing crisis, offering temporary stability to unhoused people as they get back on track. But concerned neighbors continue to fight these developments every step of the way. One local developer was undeterred.
By DAVID DUDLEY
The tiny homes on the corner of Franklin Avenue and 5th Street in Bend went up quietly enough. The lot was cleared with the help of several local Eagle Scouts, and preparations were underway in May. Four tiny homes reserved for families and elderly people were delivered to the site in June.
Later that month, at least one neighbor expressed his concerns to Central Oregon Daily News. He complained that the proper notice required by law hadn't been given.
Donna Burklo, former interim director of the nonprofit Central Oregon Villages, a local nonprofit that runs one 20-unit village and two safe parking sites, told FORJournalism that her organization sent letters to neighbors in April.
"But nobody complained then," said Burklo. "If they had, we would have called a meeting to address folks' concerns."
The spat is emblematic of a struggle that has plagued efforts to build shelters nationwide, according to a study by Independent Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan, public-policy research and educational organization. As the homeless population across the country has surged to record highs in each of the past two years — hitting 770,000 in 2024 amid a cost-of-living crisis fueled by an affordable housing shortage — elected leaders are tasked with figuring out how to better serve this growing population of vulnerable people.
As they're forced to live in the streets or their vehicles, citizens complain about the presence of unhoused people in their neighborhoods. When law enforcement officers make them move, they camp in forests and deserts like the recently closed China Hat woods, south of Bend, and Juniper Ridge.
Tiny home villages, like those managed by Central Oregon Villages, may offer a sustainable solution. They give unhoused people a temporary home while they try to get their lives in order. Yet the villages are often met with resistance from neighbors whose primary concerns are the value of their homes and safety. Though it's rare, a local developer decided to do something to help.
There's going to be a fight
Mary Hearn, a 56-year-old developer who moved with her partner and their two kids to Bend from California in 2017, has owned that lot for two years. She acknowledged the need to earn a living, but said she's also keen to do something good for the community whenever it's possible.
"I care about housing in our community," she said. "I think there's a direct relationship between the cost of housing and homelessness in our community."
Hearn specializes in what she called "infill housing."
"These are smaller developments," she explained. "Parcels of land that are within the urban core, and usually serviced by local infrastructure. They're often ripe for development."
However, the land on the corner of Franklin Avenue and 5th Street hasn't been connected to the electric grid, and 5th Street is still a gravel road. As a developer, Hearn would have to pay to improve the infrastructure, which includes paving the street, adding sidewalks and street-side trees, a permanent electric line, water and sewage services.
She wasn't ready to develop the land, but she didn't want it to sit vacant. Then, a year ago, inspiration struck.
"I thought: 'Wouldn't it be great to build some temporary shelters on that site, while we figure out what to do with it?'" said Hearn. "I knew of Central Oregon Villages. Here's a chance to help the community with a pressing problem."
Hearn called Burklo, a friend, to see if Burklo could make use of the property. Burklo's first response was to laugh. Not in a condescending way, but with a sense of amazement and joy.
"The important thing to know about this project," Burklo said, "is that we never get calls from developers asking us to do a project. Never. It just doesn't happen."
Which is a shame, Burklo added, because tiny homes are increasingly being used to solve challenges around homelessness in hard-hit areas like Seattle, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.
Projects like the one at Franklin and 5th must be approved through a city application process. The shelters are temporary, so the site is subject to the city's Safe Parking rules.
There must be six or fewer parking spots or moveable shelters on the site. Property owners and managers must provide porta-potties — the temporary tiny homes aren't connected to sewage — at least one of which must be ADA accessible, a hand-washing station, and weekly trash removal.
"We've seen success with this model," Burklo said. "We know it works. But every time we propose a project, we know there's going to be a fight."
Lessons from Texas
Alan Graham, the founder of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, a nonprofit that delivers food and clothing to homeless people in Austin, Texas, knows the struggle described by Burklo all too well. He spearheaded the Community First! Village in Austin, which currently serves more than 550 formerly unhoused people. With another 1,400 tiny homes in the works, Community First! Village will eventually house nearly 2,000 people.
But Graham, who lives in Texas and recently visited Redmond, where he advised Mountain View Community Development on a 74-home development that will be completed in 2026, didn't start big.
"We started by trying to help just one person, with one RV," Graham told FORJournalism via phone. "Then, we started to think big."
Graham tried to launch a 150-space RV park within city limits to support people trying to escape chronic homelessness. The project was approved four separate times, and on four separate sites, by the Austin City Council. But it was met each time with furor from neighbors who didn't want formerly unhoused people living in their neighborhoods. So, Graham decided to build the project outside of city limits.
"That was a game-changer," Graham said, "One thing you have to understand about Texas, is that there are no zoning laws outside of municipal boundaries. If you can find land outside of city limits, the NIMBYs can't stop you."
The most common complaints from neighbors who seek to block such developments are fears of plummeting property values and public safety concerns. Graham said that Community First! Villages abuts a community of homes, and the results run counter to the concerns expressed by some neighbors.
"Those homes have appreciated from $140,000 to $450,000 since 2010," he added. "And there have been no reported crimes by any of our residents in the neighboring community."
Graham said that the two primary forces driving homelessness in the U.S. are the dissolution of the family and a dearth of single room occupancy (SRO) units across the country.
"As long as you've got family, you're less likely to be homeless," he said. "For those who are living on fixed incomes and have no family, SROs were a lifesaver. We're trying to address both of those challenges through these tiny home villages."
That needs to change
In response to concerns about the development at Franklin and 5th, Central Oregon Villages held two informational meetings in July. Central Oregon Villages staff, Bend police officers, city of Bend staff, Mayor Melanie Kebler and Mayor Pro Tem Megan Perkins were there to discuss the project with curious community members.
Mayor Kebler told FORJournalism that the project is one example of the city's creative solutions to the ongoing challenge of homelessness.
"We've got too many people sleeping in their vehicles, or outside," Kebler said. "These shelters give unhoused people a place to stay while we get them connected to services and resources. It's an important step toward solving these problems in a humane, sustainable way."
When asked how she feels about private property owners stepping up to help, Kebler smiled.
"It's great to see a community member who is open to this kind of arrangement," Kebler said. "This kind of project provides temporary stability and a pathway out of homelessness. That's what the solution is."
Perkins agreed, adding that she's excited to see four families make use of the shelters.
"This is a key component to our homeless continuum," Perkins said. "We've seen great rates of success in transitioning people into more stable, permanent housing. We want to be able to provide more opportunities like this to people who need it."
Perkins said she understands why some neighbors may become concerned, as they don't know who will be moving into their neighborhoods.
"That's why it's important to attend these meetings," she said. "The people at Central Oregon Villages are knowledgeable, and they're here to help."
While a few neighbors attended each of those meetings, they were not those who had complained about the potential impacts that may come with inviting formerly unhoused people into the neighborhood.
Megan Teeter lives around the corner from the site. The wife, mother and author attended the meeting to learn more about the project, and the people who will move into the cabins.
"I support anything that gives vulnerable people a chance to improve their lives," Teeter told FORJournalism. "If the pandemic showed us anything, it's that we're all closer to homelessness than we'd like to believe."
Teeter said that she's not concerned for the safety of her kids, as she knows that the cabins are reserved for families.
"I think that people are lacking empathy," she said. "That's what prevents people from embracing projects like this. That really needs to change."
Lifting people up
Scott Jones is the current executive director of Central Oregon Villages. He's led the organization for just a few months, but he's enthusiastic about the possibilities that small, temporary sites like the one at Franklin and 5th present.
"The important thing for neighbors to know about this site specifically, is that it's for families," he said. "These are high barrier shelters. That means potential residents must pass background checks and drug tests. They can't have been convicted of any violent crimes or those of a sexual nature."
It's about more than shelter, Jones added. When a single mom takes her kids outside to play, she may meet another neighborhood mom. And, as their kids play, the mom who's living at the shelter may learn that her new friend is hiring, or she may know of an opportunity that would be a good fit.
"We're trying to give these people a foundation from which to grow," Jones said. "We want to provide opportunities to lift people up."
Patricia "Trish" Smith was the first to move into the new cabins. A Bend native, and formerly homeless grandmother, she lived with her husband and a rotating cast of her kids and grandkids in various vehicles and tents throughout the years. Most recently, she lived with her husband and her grandson in a fifth wheel camper parked in the woods in La Pine.
"We lived there for five years," the 57-year-old Smith said. "Then, my husband died. We were made to leave the woods by the sheriff. We didn't know where we'd go."
Her grandson is in high school, and the new year was about to begin. Smith got the green light to move into the cabins in July, just in the nick of time.
"It's changed our lives," said Smith. "Before that, I didn't know what we were going to do, or how I was going to get my grandson through high school."
Smith added that her cabin represents more than shelter for her family.
"After all that struggle, it feels good to know that someone has faith in you," Smith said.
"Now that I'm not so consumed by surviving outdoors, I have the freedom I need to get back on track, to get back on my feet."
Unpopular solutions
Even though Oregon recently passed a law that caps annual rent increases at 9.5%, which goes into effect in 2026, most apartments on the market are unaffordable for working families. Workers in Oregon need to earn at least $33 an hour to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Dr. Deyanira Nevarez Martinez, assistant professor of urban and regional planning at Michigan State University, said that as long as expenses like housing and food continue to rise, and wages stagnate, the number of homeless people across the country will grow.
"But the current presidential administration is cutting funds for programs that work, like Housing First, which keep people off the streets," Martinez said. "Not only are we not helping the problem, we're making it harder for them to get back into housing by redirecting those funds to punitive measures that criminalize sleeping outside."
As an urban planner, Martinez bristled at the notion that homelessness is seen as a personal failing, rather than a systemic one.
"The lack of affordable housing is the problem," she said. "The solutions are simple, but unpopular in America.
"We need to provide housing," she added after a pause. "To do that, we need to expand the social safety net. We need public housing."
Martinez said that permanent supportive housing projects, like Cleveland Commons, in Bend, and tiny home villages, like those run by Graham and Central Oregon Villages, may be part of a broader strategy to protect working class Americans from falling victim to a problem that will likely worsen in years to come.
"It's easy to think that, if you're in the middle class, this isn't your problem," she said. "But as this problem gets worse, increasing numbers of people will experience housing insecurity. Many will become homeless. We need to address these problems before it's too late."
Editor's note: Those who may be interested in learning more about setting up a Safe Parking site on their property may reach out to Brook O'Keefe at 541-388-5544 or bokeefe@bendoregon.gov
Homelessness: Real Stories, Real Solutions (realstoriesrealsolutions.org) is a journalism lab funded by Central Oregon Health Council under FORJournalism (forjournalism.org), an Oregon nonprofit dedicated to supporting journalism statewide. Sign up for weekly newsletters to receive updates.
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