September 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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September 2024 highlights

  • Housing Adjustment Compliance Project, Odor Code Update Project, and Rose Quarter Sign Code Project — a trio of unrelated-but-in-sync code amendment projects were each recommended for approval to City Council at the Sept. 10 Planning Commission meeting. The projects head to City Council next.
  • Housing Production Strategy (HPS) unanimously passed by City Council on Aug. 28 as Portland’s first-ever Housing Production Strategy. Read more.
  • Reconnecting Albina Planning Project (RAPP) invites community members to give their input on assets, opportunities, and issues in the Lower Albina area using the Pin It, Portland tool. Read more.
  • Oct. 1 effective date for multiple planning projects with zoning code, zoning map, and comprehensive plan updates. The projects with Oct. 1 effective dates are the Floodplain Resilience Plan, Land Division Code Update, Lower SE Rising Area Plan, and Regulatory Improvement Code Amendment Package 10 (RICAP 10). Read more.

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 for small deviations required by the bill, that will be allowed until 2032.

Status: The Planning Commission held a hearing on the project on August 27 and considered amendments at a work session on September 10, which concluded with the Planning Commission unanimously recommending the Proposed Draft with amendments to City Council. The Planning Commission’s Recommended Draft will be available in October.

Next opportunity to engage: None currently. Prior to the City Council hearing, public testimony will be accepted through the Map App. Check the project website for updates and if interested sign up for email updates.

Housing Needs Analysis (HNA) and Housing Production Strategy (HPS)

What: The Housing Needs Analysis analyzed the status of Portland’s housing supply, housing affordability issues, and the City's ability to meet projected housing demand through 2045. The Housing Production Strategy (HPS) addresses how Portland will accommodate future population growth with strategies that support the development of needed housing. These actions consider impacts on low-income households, communities of color, people with disabilities, and other state and federally protected classes.

Status: On Aug. 28, City Council unanimously adopted the 2024 Housing Production Strategy (HPS). Read the announcement. Read the adopted Housing Production Strategy.

Next opportunity to engage: The City Council’s decision is the final review process available through the City. As specified in the Oregon Revised Statute (ORS)197A.103, the City has also submitted the adopted strategy to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). Comments on the strategy may be submitted to DLCD within 45 days after DLCD has received the submission. A determination by DLCD is not a land use decision and is final and not subject to appeal. Check the project website for updates and upcoming events. Those interested can sign up for email updates.

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 is finalizing historic context statements, historic resource surveys, and individual National Register of Historic Places nomination forms for resources significantly associated with LGBTQ+ history. The project concludes this fall.

Next opportunity to engage: A presentation on the historic context statement and historic resource survey will be made before Portland Historic Landmarks Commission on Monday, Oct. 14. A third National Register of Historic Places nomination for HIV/AIDS facility Juniper House is available for public review. Public comments on the nomination will be accepted at the Friday, Oct. 18 meeting of the State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation. Check the project website for updates.

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 will send their recommended version of the Montgomery Park Area Plan (MPAP) to Portland City Council in September. The City Council is tentatively scheduled to hold a public hearing on the MPAP on Thursday, Oct. 24. The Planning and Design commissions previously held a joint public hearing and took testimony on the MPAP Proposed Draft on May 21. You can review public testimony via the online testimony reader. The Planning Commission held work sessions on June 11, June 25, and July 9 and voted to recommend adoption of the amended MPAP to City Council on July 9. The Planning Commission meetings are available to watch on YouTube. The Design Commission held work sessions on the MPAP Character Statement on June 6, June 20, and July 18, and voted to recommend adoption of the amended Montgomery Park Character Statement to the City Council on July 18. Meeting materials, including the draft amendments, and recordings are available online.

Next opportunity to engage: The Portland City Council will hold a public hearing and take testimony on the Recommended Draft of the Montgomery Park Area Plan at a hearing tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 24 at 2:00 p.m. Council work sessions on the plan, and a final vote, are scheduled for later this fall. 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 August 27, the Planning Commission held a hearing and heard public testimony on the Proposed Draft. On September 10, the Planning Commission held a work session and concluded with unanimously recommending approval to City Council. The Recommended Draft will be published in October in advance of the City Council hearing.

Next opportunity to engage: None currently. Prior to the City Council hearing, public testimony will be accepted through the Map App. 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: On July 31, the Portland City Council adopted a resolution and passed an ordinance accepting $800,000 in Federal Reconnecting Communities grant funding to support the work of project partners in this effort. Read Commissioner Rubio’s announcement. At this time, the project is in an existing conditions assessment phase where information about land use, transportation, and community assets are being compiled in advance of scenario development work set to begin later this year. Read more about the RAPP kick off.

Next opportunity to engage: Community members who would like to share their thoughts, general concerns, and identify community assets or development opportunities within the RAPP study area can use the online interactive Pin It, Portland tool. 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: The Planning Commission held a hearing on the project on August 27 and considered amendments at a work session on September 10, which concluded with the Planning Commission unanimously recommending the Proposed Draft with amendments to the City Council. The Planning Commission’s Recommended Draft will be available in October. 

Next opportunity to engage: None currently. Prior to the City Council hearing, public testimony will be accepted through the Map App. Check the project website for updates and if interested sign up for email updates.

Ongoing projects (active projects with no updates this month)

Anti-Displacement Action Plan

What: The Anti-Displacement Action Plan (ADAP) aims to increase the resiliency of the city and our communities to deal with racial and economic disparities that contribute to displacement.

Status: A cross-bureau team of City staff continues to work internally to develop tools that better align City bureau strategies and actions to combat displacement and produce more equitable outcomes for communities. Staff is also working with the Anti-Displacement Coalition to support development of a civic leadership curriculum to identify community priorities.

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

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 later in 2024. 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)

Floodplain Resilience Plan

What: The plan updated floodplain regulations throughout the city to ensure that new development in the floodplain addresses flood risk from a changing climate, does not jeopardize threatened and endangered species, and allows Portlanders to continue to obtain federally backed flood insurance.

Status: In October 2023, City Council voted unanimously to adopt zoning code amendments that reduce the impacts of future flooding on those who live or work in or near Portland’s floodplains. City Council added several key amendments to the package. Most of the requirements went into effect on March 1 and the remaining items go into effect Oct. 1. Read the full announcement.

Land Division Code Update

What: The Land Division Code Update aims to encourage new housing development by streamlining the review of residential land divisions, reducing regulatory barriers, and uncertainty in the application process, while continuing to provide benefits to the community.

Status: On July 31, City Council unanimously adopted the project. Read the announcement. The bulk of the regulatory changes, which are all contained in Title 33, Planning and Zoning, will become effective on Oct. 1. A small change to Title 1, which clarifies the Planning Director’s authority to make minor map corrections, became effective on Aug. 30. See all the changes in the adopted report.

Lower SE Rising Area Plan

What: The Lower SE Rising (LSER) Area Plan addresses the historic lack of neighborhood commercial services, diverse housing options, and infrastructure investment in the Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood and nearby areas, including parts of the Mt Scott-Arleta, Woodstock and Lents neighborhoods. Informed by two years of community input, the plan includes zoning map changes and recommendations for transportation projects to implement the community’s aspirations for more neighborhood businesses and housing options, supported by transportation improvements, to make it easier to meet daily needs locally and help address affordability.

Status: On May 2, City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Lower SE Rising Area Plan’s land use map amendments and a directive to include the plan’s transportation projects in the in next update to the Transportation System Plan. The land use changes expand zoning for commercial and residential uses along the plan area’s major corridors and in mixed-use centers. The land use map amendments will go into effect on Oct. 1. Read the full announcement.

Regulatory Improvement Code Amendment Package 10 (RICAP 10)

What: The RICAP packages are an ongoing series of minor technical updates, clarifications, and refinements to Portland’s zoning regulations. RICAP 10 amendments included 83 items grouped into three themes: housing production, economic development, and regulatory reduction. Some items are minor policy changes, while others are technical amendments or clarifications with little policy impact. Cumulatively, the amendments support a more efficient and better functioning zoning code.

Status: On June 13, City Council unanimously voted to adopt a set of code amendments to help increase housing production and economic development as well as reduce regulatory barriers. The 83 items in the Regulatory Improvement Code Amendments Package 10 (RICAP 10) package become effective on Oct. 1. Read the full announcement.

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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