The Residential Infill Project – Part 2 (RIP2) Recommended Draft is now available for public review. The proposed changes will bring Portland into full compliance with House Bill 2001 (HB2001) and Senate Bill 458 (SB458), the state’s middle housing legislation that allows for more housing options in single-dwelling zones. Portland must be in compliance with these state regulations by July 1, 2022.
Portlanders can learn how their property could be affected, then provide written testimony using the RIP2 Map App.
About RIP2
The Residential Infill Project, which passed in August of 2020, allows duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and affordable five- or sixplexes in some single-dwelling zones. RIP2 extends those allowances to all single-dwelling zones, including Portland’s larger lots (R10 and R20). It also allows cottage clusters and higher density townhouses and includes a new land division process for middle housing.
The Recommended Draft incorporates amendments made to the proposal by the Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC) based on public testimony. Commissioners made several technical amendments and five more substantive amendments to the Proposed Draft, including:
- Modifying the Constrained Sites Overlay Zone (‘z’ overlay) to remove the wildfire hazard risk component of the overlay for the R2.5, R5, and R7 zones.
- Creating a “detached unit duplex” option for sites with an existing house. This would allow a second detached unit that can be divided onto its own lot through the Middle Housing Land Division (MHLD) process.
- Making ADU rules more flexible by increasing the allowed footprint for detached accessory structures. Overall building coverage for all structures would remain unchanged.
- Modifying cottage cluster rules to increase flexibility for common outdoor area design and adding standards for the pedestrian circulation system.
- Reducing minimum lot sizes for triplexes and fourplexes in order to increase the pool of eligible lots.
With these amendments, the draft plan (the Recommended Draft) heads to City Council for public hearings and deliberation before commissioners vote to adopt the new regulations.
Next steps
City Council will hold a public hearing on the Recommended Draft on April 21 at 2 p.m. Commissioners will follow up with additional hearings and/or work sessions, before voting to adopt the RIP2 proposal by the July 1 compliance deadline for HB2001 and SB458.