At this year’s Bonanza Days celebration in Bonanza, just twenty-five miles east of Klamath Falls City, Winterbrook Planning hosted an interactive booth to engage the Town of Bonanza and surrounding area community members about the Coordinated Housing and Infrastructure Planning Project funded by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). This two-phased project seeks to evaluate the Town of Bonanza’s housing and infrastructure systems to develop practical immediate- and long-term solutions that will eliminate residential development barriers and expand opportunities for Bonanza residents.

Bonanza, OR – Klamath County

What We Shared with the Community

Keava Campbell and Morgan Snyder generated awareness of the project and its two phases, including:

• Phase One: Land Use and Housing (LUH) Report (Target: October 2026). Although still in production, preliminary LUH Report findings reveal that while Bonanza has enough vacant, development-ready lands within its Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) to meet residential needs through 2046, additional infrastructure investment would unlock more choice and variety for the community. Winterbrook is looking forward to the upcoming Housing and Development Forum in which we’ll further refine the LUH Report with input from local development process stakeholders.
• Phase Two: Housing Action Plan (HAP) (Target: February 2027). Addressing the LUH Report findings and community feedback, Winterbrook will prepare action strategies designed to achieve compliance with State housing laws, remove regulatory barriers, streamline permitting, and more prior to formal adoption around April 2027.

Bonanza Housing Informational Poster

What the Community Shared with Us

Alongside a former Town representative, Keava and Morgan had many fruitful discussions and gained a fuller understanding of the community’s top housing priorities – that of affordability and good quality construction. For many residents, the financial accessibility of housing is just as important as how that same housing makes them feel in terms of safety, resiliency, lifestyle, and connectedness.

Having heard from at least 10% of Bonanza’s population across two languages, we’re confident that we can leverage this community insight to create locally tailored solutions for achieving the community’s goals into upcoming Bonanza HAP. We were graciously welcomed into the community and are grateful to everyone who helped and chose to share their perspective with us.