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June 2025 highlights
- Code Alignment Project (CAP) heads to Planning Commission for a briefing, public hearing, and recommendation on Tuesday, June 10 at 12:30 p.m. Written public testimony will be accepted until the end of the hearing. Read more about the hearing.
- Affordable Housing Opportunities Project (AHOP) launches with draft zoning map changes to help non-profit partners reach their production goals by reducing barriers in priority locations; now accepting public comments through July 3, plus information sessions on Thursday, June 12 at 12 p.m. and Wednesday, June 18 at 6 p.m. Read more about the new project.
- Keep Portland Queer-ed walking tour on Saturday, June 21, 1-3 p.m., will highlight some of the stories and places that were documented in the LGBTQ+ Historic Sites Project. The tour examines places in Portland’s Old Town and Downtown to understand the breadth of 20th century queer life. Learn more and register.
Affordable Housing Opportunities Project (AHOP)
What: The Affordable Housing Opportunities Project (AHOP) will remove zoning barriers to affordable housing in Portland. This project proposes zoning map changes to approximately 17 properties owned by nonprofit affordable housing providers and public agencies. These changes will allow for more housing opportunities and will support the continued use of the sites for affordable housing and community services.
Status: A Discussion Draft, which outlines project recommendations, and background materials are now available for public review and comments. Project staff are coordinating with residents, community groups, and the public to collect public feedback through Thursday, July 3. The public can view proposed zoning map changes and submit comments using the online interactive Map App tool. Two online information sessions are scheduled in June, providing the public with opportunities to hear directly from project staff, ask questions, and provide input.
Next opportunity to engage: Community members can submit comments through the Map App until July 3. The public is also invited to attend one of the two virtual information sessions scheduled on Thursday, June 12 at 12 p.m. or Wednesday, June 18 at 6 p.m. If your neighborhood association or community group is interested in a tailored presentation, the project team is available to attend meetings in June to walk through the Discussion Draft and answer questions. Check the project webpage, portland.gov/ahop, for the latest updates. Those interested can also sign up for email updates.
Code Alignment Project (CAP)
What: The Code Alignment Project is part of the City’s ongoing efforts to improve the permitting process. This project intends to reduce permitting delays, costly project redesigns, and additional reviews, starting with an evaluation of changes to upgrade requirements for certain project sites. Upgrades are currently required when a site has substandard or lacking street trees, street improvements, on-site bike parking, pedestrian circulation, landscaping, or older buildings needing seismic evaluation. The CAP proposes changes to Title 33 (Non-conforming upgrades), Title 11 (Street trees), Title 17 (Street improvements), and Title 24 (Seismic evaluations) to suspend these upgrade requirements for most alterations and building additions until Jan. 1, 2029.
Status: The Proposed Draft was published last month. Last week, a memorandum detailing several additional revisions to the proposed amendments for Title 11 was published.
Next opportunity to engage: The project is scheduled for a public hearing with the Planning Commission on Tuesday, June 10 at 12:30 p.m. on the proposed changes to Title 11 and Title 33. Written public testimony is being accepted through the Map App from now until the end of the June 10 Planning Commission hearing. Registration for verbal testimony closed at 5 p.m. on June 9. Read more about the public hearing. Check the project website for updates. Those interested can also sign up for email updates.
Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project
What: This project will facilitate needed improvements to public infrastructure and allow for management of trees, vegetation, and other natural resources in publicly owned and maintained natural areas. These proposals aim to ensure natural resource protection while also recognizing the need for the operation, maintenance, and in some cases, replacement of public infrastructure facilities. A variety of minor proposals are also included, such as updates to site enhancement, noticing requirements, and review procedures. Read more about the project.
Status: The public comment period on the project’s Discussion Draft closed on May 9. Read the news article for more about the Discussion Draft and project background. An overview presentation video of the Discussion Draft is also available. Project staff plan to publish the Proposed Draft on June 20.
Next opportunity to engage: The public will have the opportunity to give testimony on the Proposed Draft following its publication in June. Public testimony will be accepted both in writing via the Map App and verbally at the Planning Commission’s briefing and public hearing, tentatively scheduled for July 22. Check the project webpage, portland.gov/infrastructure-ezones, for updates. Those interested can also sign up for project updates.
Ongoing projects (active projects with no updates this month)
Columbia Corridor and Industrial Lands Environmental Overlay Zone Project
What: This project evaluates 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 Opportunities Analysis (EOA) 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 their property qualifies. Check the project website for updates and 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 business and job growth.
Status: BPS staff are working on the draft employment forecast and industrial buildable lands inventory. In April 2024, BPS received a $350,000 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 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.
Legacy Business Preservation Study
What: This study will develop recommendations for the establishment of a City of Portland Legacy Business Program that would support and preserve longstanding, independently owned businesses. These "legacy businesses" — such as restaurants, retail storefronts, and beauty and barber shops— have long been overlooked for official recognition despite their significance to community identity. This project will consider the experiences of existing legacy business programs in other cities, and gather input from local businesses, community-based organizations, and City advisory bodies to develop recommendations for service offerings and policy changes that would better support legacy businesses.
Status: The Legacy Business Preservation Study has launched! Project staff are conducting preliminary outreach to community-based organizations and businesses groups to gather feedback. Read more about the study.
Next opportunity to engage: Opportunities for community participation and feedback to inform and shape recommendations for a future Legacy Business Program will be provided in 2025. Representatives of longstanding local businesses are especially encouraged to contact the project manager, Jordan Jordan (jordan.jordan@portlandoregon.gov), to provide insights and recommendations to inform the development of the project. Those interested can also sign-up for email updates.
Reconnecting Albina Planning Project (RAPP)
What: A two-year partnership to create urban development strategies for the district that foster equitable and sustainable outcomes and restorative development for Portland’s Black and historic Albina communities. The project involves the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS), Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), Prosper Portland, and Albina Vision Trust (AVT). The project builds on several initiatives, such as AVT’s Albina Vision Community Investment Plan (AVCIP), the Lower Albina Streetscape Project (LASP), and the highway cover for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project (I5RQIP) led by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). RAPP is looking at how the highway cover can be integrated into the broader area to reconnect local streets and the physical landscape of the district, as well as to create opportunities for wealth building, urban development, and public spaces.
Status: The project team continues working on development scenarios for the study area, building on the findings from the existing conditions assessment. Project staff is reviewing community input received so far and will be reporting out that feedback in the coming weeks.
Next opportunity to engage: None currently. The project team is planning to host another opportunity to engage with the project in the fall after draft development scenarios are ready for public review. Visit the project webpage, portland.gov/rapp, to stay up to date on opportunities to engage. Those interested can also sign up for project updates.
Regulatory Improvement Code Amendment Package 11 (RICAP 11)
What: Regulatory Improvement Code Amendment Packages (RICAP) are an ongoing series of minor technical updates, clarifications, and refinements to Portland’s zoning regulations. The purpose of this series is to remove barriers to development across the city. RICAP 11 proposed amendments are grouped into three themes: parking, exterior areas, and regulatory improvement.
Status: The RICAP 11 workplan was published in March. The workplan contains the proposed code amendments that will be included in the RICAP 11 package and can be found on the project website, portland.gov/ricap11. Read more about what’s included in the RICAP 11 package.
Next opportunity to engage: None currently. This summer, a draft of the proposed zoning code amendments will be released for public review and comment. Those interested can always sign up for email updates.
Useful resources
- Planning Commission
- View tentative agendas, upcoming meeting schedules, and subscribe to receive agenda notifications.
- Planning Commission meetings are held in hybrid format. Meetings are open to the public to attend in person, live-streamed and available on-demand, and broadcast tape-delayed on Channel 30.
- Check individual project pages or the meeting schedule for details on making public comments.
- City Council
- View upcoming City Council agendas or subscribe to receive agenda notifications.
- City Council meetings are held in hybrid format, broadcast live, and past meetings are available on-demand.
- Map App
- Look at interactive maps, submit testimony during public comment periods, and read submitted testimony through the BPS Map App interactive tool.
- PortlandMaps
- Look up zoning, building permit, transportation, natural resource information, and much more on PortlandMaps.com.
- Sign up for BPS email updates
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