History of River West Neighborhood Association

The River West Neighborhood Association was formally recognized by Bend City Council April 17, 2002. Since then, the association has hosted a City of Bend Town Hall Meeting, held general membership meetings, and distributed an area-wide newsletter. Board members have been meeting to address land use issues that have been proposed on the Westside.

Through the efforts of citizens who live in the west side of Bend, the River West association came about. In November 2001, organizers Dough Hollums and Heath Westcot sponsored advertising that was distributed as a flier in the Bend Bulletin to more than 3,000 households and businesses residing west of the Deschutes River.

On November 8, 2001, more than 45 members of the community met at Kenwood School and began the process of identifying boundaries for River West and two other neighborhood associations. By December 2001, three organizers volunteered to craft the association's bylaws for review by other organizers and residents. At the March 21, 2002, meeting, residents unanimously adopted the bylaws.

At the time of recognition by City Council in April 2002, 2,768 tax parcels were identified within the bounds of River West Neighborhood Association.