City of Portland publishes Design Review Reform Report outlining options to improve urban design regulations to help spur development

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The City of Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS), in collaboration with Portland Permitting and Development (PP&D), has released a report that evaluates design regulations included in the Portland Zoning Code and identifies eight reform concepts that could potentially streamline review processes and encourage development while maintaining Portland's commitment to urban design and historic preservation. 

The Design Review Reform Report was prepared in response to a December 2025 Council resolution, sponsored by Councilors Zimmerman and Morillo, which initiated a collaborative process to explore improvements to the city's design review processes, complementing other City efforts to remove barriers to development in the current economic climate.

Read the report

Regulations that guide the evolution of Portland's built environment

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For more than 50 years, design regulations have played a central role in shaping the evolution of the city's built environment. These regulations help ensure that new development responds to neighborhood context, contributes to the public realm, and is built to last.

The City's two primary design-related overlay zones – the Design Overlay Zone and the Historic Resource overlay zone - are applied in specific geographies and are implemented to advance the goals and policies of Portland's Comprehensive Plan. The Design Overlay Zone covers approximately 7.5% of the city and is primarily located in the Central City, regional and urban centers, and other areas zoned for higher-density development. The Historic Resource Overlay Zone applies to approximately 4% of the city and includes a variety of designated historic landmarks and districts distributed across Portland.

In the Design Overlay Zone, design review provides a flexible, performance-based approval pathway for proposed development that meets established design guidelines. In the Historic Resource Overlay Zone, historic review similarly guides exterior alterations and new development affecting designated historic resources, balancing preservation objectives with opportunities for both rehabilitation and new development.

The report finds that while these tools continue to support the thoughtful evolution of the city's built environment, there are opportunities to improve how they are applied in the context of current economic conditions and development trends.

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Report methodology and approach

The report is informed by technical analysis drawing from trends, staff expertise, and targeted expert input. Project staff analyzed recent development activity and design review cases, reviewed existing regulations and prior reform efforts, and consulted with the Design Commission, Historic Landmarks Commission, and Development Review Advisory Committee. A small group of development industry representatives also provided input on the reform concept recommendations.

The report represents an initial assessment. Follow up on many of the recommendations in the report would involve zoning code amendments that would require public engagement to inform final proposals, in compliance with state land use requirements.

Building on recent regulatory reforms

The report builds on recent City Council actions to modernize design regulations, including the 2021 Design Overlay Zone Amendments (DOZA) project and the 2024 Housing Regulatory Relief (HRR) project. These efforts streamlined aspects of the design review process, clarified development allowances in the Design Overlay Zone, and reformed the objective Design Standards that can sometimes serve as an alternative to discretionary Design Review.

While these changes improved the predictability and efficiency of regulations in the Design Overlay Zone, the report identifies possible opportunities to further align the City's design regulations with current development conditions to support the feasibility of new construction projects.

Eight reform concepts for consideration

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The report presents eight potential regulatory reform concepts for City Council consideration. The concepts are provided as a range of options—some permanent and some temporary—rather than a single recommendation. Not all concepts would need to be advanced, and some could be modified or combined. The eight reform concepts are:  

1. Update administrative processes,
2. Temporarily expand the staff review alternative to Design and Historic Landmarks Commission review,
3. Temporarily suspend required discretionary Design Review,
4. Reimagine Design Review approval criteria for the Central City,
5. Streamline Design Overlay Zone code requirements,
6. Guarantee base height and floor area ratio (FAR) for new development in Historic and Conservation Districts,
7. Revise Historic District design guidelines to better accommodate development, and
8. Modernize Conservation District size and regulations.

Collectively, the reform concepts are intended to streamline new development in both the Design and Historic Resource overlay zones, improve development predictability and efficiency, and modernize design regulations and processes while maintaining adopted Comprehensive Plan objectives.  

Next steps

The directors of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and Portland Permitting and Development have provided City Council with recommended next steps:

1. Temporarily suspend required design review for two years. Additional analysis, opportunities for public input, and a legislative land use process would occur prior to City Council action (expected in late 2026). Voluntary design review would still be allowed during the temporary suspension period. 
2. Subsequently, advance the highest priority recommendations of the report including overhauling the design guidelines that apply in the Central City and amending zoning code design requirements that apply outside of the Central City. 

Read the Director Memo to City Council to learn more about recommended next steps. 

Learn more

The full Design Review Reform Report is available for download, and provides detailed background, analysis, and discussion of each reform concept.