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November 2024 – BPS Long-range Planning Project Updates

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A monthly newsletter of BPS's active land use planning work going on across the city of Portland. See the project updates below for more details, and to find contact information for the City staff working on specific projects. Subscribe to get email notifications when these updates are posted.
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November 2024 highlights

  • Montgomery Park Area Plan (MPAP) to have City Council hearings and take public testimony on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. on the MPAP Recommended Draft and the Locally Preferred Alternative for streetcar and Thursday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m on the public benefits agreement for the MPAP. Read more.
  • Housing Adjustment Compliance Project unanimously approved by City Council on Oct. 30 through an emergency ordinance to bring the City into compliance with Senate Bill 1537; code changes take effect Jan. 1. Read more.
  • Rose Quarter Sign Code Project and Odor Code Update Project both heading back to City Council for second readings on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 10:10 a.m. and are expected to be adopted.
  • LGBTQ+ Historic Sites Project, which honors and recognizes places of significance to Portland's queer history, published an interactive StoryMap for the public to learn more about this important and often erased history. Read more.

LGBTQ+ Historic Sites Project

What: The City of Portland’s LGBTQ+ Historic Sites Project seeks to identify, document, and preserve historic resources associated with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+ histories.

Status: The project team has published the final historic context statements, historic resource surveys, and individual National Register of Historic Places nomination forms for resources significantly associated with LGBTQ+ history. The publication of the survey and historic context statements, as well as an online interactive StoryMap mark the completion of the 2022-2024 phase of the LGBTQ+ Historic Sites Project. The StoryMap provides an overview of the project's findings in a compelling and accessible format, and showcases Portland's vibrant queer history throughout the 20th century. Read the announcement.

Next opportunity to engage: None currently. Check the project website for updates and to learn more.

Montgomery Park Area Plan (MPAP) and Montgomery Park to Hollywood Transit and Land Use Development Study (MP2H)

What: The Montgomery Park Area Plan (MPAP) is an outcome of the Montgomery Park to Hollywood (MP2H) Strategy, a joint effort between the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) and the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to explore options for a successful land use and transit system, including potential future streetcar links to Montgomery Park in NW Portland and Hollywood Town Center in NE Portland. The study considers affordable housing, as well as economic development and business stabilization opportunities associated with potential transit investments, including the possible extension of the Portland Streetcar. While a proposed plan for the northwest area is moving forward, study of the northeast area has concluded.

The MPAP proposes land use and transportation changes to establish a new transit-oriented district in Northwest Portland, west of Highway 30, between NW Vaughn and NW Nicolai Streets. The plan envisions the area as a mixed-use employment district that supports job growth and housing development. Land use changes promote equitable, transit-oriented development and complement a future extension of the Portland Streetcar. The changes include proposed amendments to Portland’s Comprehensive Plan map, zoning map, zoning code, and design guidance.

Status: The Planning Commission and Design Commission's Recommended Draft of the Montgomery Park Area Plan (MPAP) will be considered by City Council at two public hearings in November. The MPAP Recommended Draft documents and potential amendments, published Nov. 6, are available for review. The related MPAP Public Benefits Agreement will be published the week of Nov. 12.

Next opportunity to engage: City Council will hold a public hearing and take public testimony on the MPAP Recommended Draft, including potential amendments, and the Locally Preferred Alternative for the Portland Streetcar extension on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. The public can submit testimony in writing via the Map App or register to testify verbally to City Council at the Nov. 13 hearing. A separate hearing on the related Public Benefits Agreement, and work session on the plan, is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m., with registration for verbal testimony opening on Friday, Nov. 15. Additional City Council work sessions may be held as needed. Check the project website for updates, upcoming hearings, and to sign up for email updates.

Odor Code Update Project

What: Portland’s approach to regulating and enforcing odors is outdated and in need of workable, more equitable rules. The Odor Code Update Project will make changes to the City Code for off-site odor impacts, providing flexibility for retail businesses to operate. Read more about the Odor Code Update Project.

Status: On Oct. 30, City Council held a public hearing and passed the Recommended Draft to second reading.

Next opportunity to engage: Second reading at City Council is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 10:15 a.m. Public testimony is closed. Check the project website for updates and if interested sign up for email updates.

Reconnecting Albina Planning Project (RAPP)

What: The Reconnecting Albina Planning Project (RAPP) is a two-year project involving the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS), Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), and Prosper Portland, in partnership with Albina Vision Trust, to create urban development strategies for Lower Albina and the Rose Quarter areas. These strategies will foster equitable, sustainable outcomes and restorative development for Portland’s historic Albina and Black communities. The collaborative effort will also look at how the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project (I5RQIP) planned highway cover can be integrated into the broader area to reconnect local streets; create new opportunities for future urban development, economic development, and public open space on top of the highway cover; and build on and coordinate with several key initiatives, such as the Albina Vision Trust Community Investment Plan (AVTCIP) and the Broadway Main Street project.

Status: The project team is currently in an existing conditions assessment phase, where information about land use, transportation, and community assets are being compiled, before scenario development work is set to begin. Read about the RAPP kick off.

Next opportunity to engage: Community are invited to share their thoughts, general concerns, and identify community assets or development opportunities within the RAPP study area by using an interactive mapping tool: Pin It, Portland. Those interested can also subscribe to project updates.

Rose Quarter Sign Code Project

What: The Rose Quarter Sign Project amends the current Sign Code, Title 32, to provide greater sign allowances and flexibility for signs within a mapped designated area called the Rose Quarter Entertainment subdistrict. The project is the result of a City Council resolution that directed BPS staff to draft Title 32 code amendments allowing for increased flexibility in developing signage in the Rose Quarter and reducing the need for adjustments or modifications.

Status: On Oct. 30, City Council held a public hearing and passed the Recommended Draft to second reading with an amendment to allow larger signs along the east façade of the Moda Center closest to Interstate 5.

Next opportunity to engage: Second reading at City Council is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 10:10 a.m. Public testimony is closed. If approved, the amendments will take effect on Mar. 1. Check the project website for updates and if interested sign up for email updates.

Ongoing projects (active projects with no updates this month)

Columbia Corridor-Industrial Lands Ezones Project

What: Evaluating changes to Environmental overlay zones (ezones) in the Columbia Corridor and other industrial areas to better align with rivers, streams, sloughs, wetlands, floodplains, forests, and wildlife habitat. Policy proposals under consideration will aim to ensure needed lands for future industrial and other economic growth while also preserving natural resources that serve as green infrastructure and help to make Portland resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Status: An online interactive Columbia Corridor / Industrial Lands Environmental Zoning Project map of preliminary draft ezones is available for review, based on the Natural Resource Inventory. The natural resource mapping is subject to onsite verification at the request of property owners, and the draft ezones mapping may change as the project progresses. Project staff are coordinating their work with the citywide Economic Opportunity Analysis to ensure adequate protection for natural resources and sufficient industrial and employment land to meet future needs.

Next opportunity to engage: Property owners can request a free site visit to confirm or correct natural resource mapping through the interactive Columbia Corridor / Industrial Lands Environmental Zoning Project map. To request a site visit, enter your property address and click the “Request Site Visit” link in the upper right corner. Property owners may qualify for free wetland determination, learn more about draft wetland mapping, and check if your site qualifies. Check the project website for updates and if interested sign up for email updates.

Economic Opportunities Analysis (EOA)

What: The purpose of the EOA is to analyze and forecast growth in Portland’s industrial and other business districts, then designate an adequate 20-year supply of developable land for businesses and jobs.

Status: BPS staff are working on the draft employment forecast and industrial buildable lands inventory. BPS also has received a Metro grant for an Industrial Land Readiness Study, which will identify development-ready sites suitable for target cluster industries and other industrial sectors; conduct a development feasibility analysis on a broad range of sites; and identify strategic actions to expand Portland’s development-ready supply of constrained industrial sites.

Next opportunity to engage: The draft EOA will be available for public review in 2025. Check the project website for updates and if interested sign up for email updates.

Fossil Fuel Terminal Zoning Amendments

What: This ordinance readopts the remanded zoning code amendments that restrict bulk fossil fuel terminals to address the policies identified by the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) that require additional findings.

Status: The City Council adopted the ordinance in August 2022. On Sept. 29, 2023, the LUBA denied an appeal by the Portland Business Alliance, Working Waterfront Coalition, Western States Petroleum Association, Oregon Business and Industry, and Columbia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council. This LUBA decision was appealed to Oregon Court of Appeals, which upheld the LUBA decision to affirm the City Council’s adoption of reasonable limits on fossil fuel infrastructure. The Court of Appeals decision has not been appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court; however the ordinance has been challenged in federal court by the State of Montana, Western Energy Alliance, Pacific Propane Gas Association, Idaho Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, and Christensen, Inc. The federal case is still pending.

Next opportunity to engage: None currently.

Adopted projects (pending effective dates)

Housing Adjustments Compliance Project

What: This project amends the Zoning Code, Title 33, in compliance with the provisions of State Bill 1537, to allow more adjustments to development and design standards that were previously prohibited for residential projects. While much of the city’s current development standards are already adjustable, some specific standards related to lot sizes and maximum heights and bonuses are not. The project will create a temporary option to allow adjustments to these development standards as required by the bill, that will be allowed until 2032.

Status: On Oct. 30, City Council unanimously approved the Housing Adjustments Compliance Project through an emergency ordinance. City Council's approval includes the Planning Commission’s recommendation of an increased allowance for height adjustments in the Central City to remove the 20% threshold stated in SB 1537. City Council also approved an amendment to clarify what elements of the zoning code should apply in the right-of-way (i.e., in streets). The amendments become effective on Jan. 1, 2025. Read the announcement. The code amendments become effective on Jan. 1, 2025.

The City will be working with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) to allow our current zoning adjustment process to substitute for the adjustment requirements of SB 1537.

Useful resources

Contact

District Planning

A program of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS)
bpsdistrict@portlandoregon.gov
phone number503-823-7700

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City planning

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