The City of North Bend is expected to take up a letter sent to Mayor Rick Wetherell from Sylvia Mangan, talking about the appearance of the city and the Bay Area in general. She tells of friends, relatives and visitors to the area and said they would not stay and wrote, “They plainly and clearly do not like the appearance of this downtrodden appearing town.”-World Photo by Lou Sennick

NORTH BEND — Even the mayor won’t deny it. The entrances into North Bend, whether heading north or south, aren’t exactly attractive. Nor is the downtown corridor.

So when a county resident complained about its condition, along with others in the community, city officials began considering what they could do to give North Bend a makeover.

The result may be an ordinance that deals with the upkeep of yards and business properties, said Mayor Rick Wetherell.

City councilors directed staff to look into a similar ordinance from the city of Bandon as a possible model for their own.

“We want to gather information to see if it works for us without infringing on the individual rights of our citizens,” Wetherell said. “In our city, we have such a mix of residences and businesses. ... I think we’re looking at both to see if we can improve the atmosphere and look of our city.”

In a letter received by the city on July 7, Sylvia Mangan stated she is appalled at the impoverished and sad state of Coos Bay and North Bend.

“We have so much potential in this area, at least regarding drawing people to this area for its many natural resources and beauty. However, when people drive through town or 101 from either south or north, people do not even want to stop or are shocked to see what these towns look like.”

Mangan, who lives north of North Bend, went on to say that she’s had visitors who were interested in moving to the area until they saw its limited culture, limited transportation services, and questionable shopping and restaurants, as well as an apparent economic disaster.

“What can be done? I ask you to please drive into North Bend from the north and drive into Coos Bay from the south, and really look with transparent eyes, and tell me what you see and what is your impression,” she said. “Longtime residents become immune to the appearance that surrounds them. But, unfortunately, we are reminded by the impressions of our visitors.”

Wetherell said the city is not oblivious to its appearance. Rather, city officials are unable to do much with current ordinances. They only address buildings that are dangerous or present public health hazards.

“I think concerns Mrs. Mangan raises are concerns we all have,” the mayor said. “I don’t think the city is in denial. I think the city is handcuffed by the ordinances we now have. That’s why we’re searching for ordinances other cities have used effectively.”

If he had his druthers, Wetherell said he’d like to see intense beautification efforts.

“I would like a fantastic entrance to our city where everybody would say ‘Wow! What a wonderful place.’ But this is America, and we can’t control every individual in it. Nor would we want to.”

He added that much of the land near the city’s entrance is private property, which limits the municipality from what it can request of property owners. However, there are some opportunities and endeavors to improve the city via low-interest loans for facade improvements for downtown businesses in the urban renewal area. The North Bend Historic Landmark Commission works to encourage preservation and improvements of buildings in keeping with the eras in which they were built as well.  

On Tuesday afternoon, Mangan, 59, described the area as “just plain ugly,” and would like to see more enforcement on the part of the cities to improve their appearance.

“I’ve lived here almost 20 years and every year I keep hoping it will improve and we’ll make some progress,” she said.

Mangan said she became more aware of the condition of the cities — empty store fronts, wild yards filled with debris — when friends from Alaska came to visit and were considering moving to the area. They chose Ashland instead.

“They felt they would have to make excuses for the town here while enjoying the beautiful environment,” Mangan said.

She said city officials should consider hiring experts to help progress the community forward, or for the cities to merge. Mangan added that Coos Bay and North Bend have just as much potential as Florence and Bandon.

“It just doesn’t seem to be happening,” she said.

North Bend City Administrator Jan Willis said she’s not sure what the verbiage for the potential ordinance will be, or what exactly it will address, but the city is listening to residents’ complaints.

“This is something that we as staff thought we would bring to the council at a work session to basically determine whether or not our ordinances are adequate to address community concerns,” Willis said. “This is just very early in our discussions.”