24.55.200 Residential Demolition Delay - Housing Preservation.

City Code Section

(Amended by Ordinances 171455, 176955, 187017, 187711, 188259, 188802 , 189012 and 191476, effective November 10, 2023.)

  1. A.  Purpose.  The residential demolition delay provisions are intended to allow an adequate amount of time to help save viable housing in the City while recognizing a property owner’s right to develop or redevelop property.  The regulations provide an opportunity for public notice of impending residential demolitions and coordination of the efforts of various City bureaus.  The regulations also encourage seeking alternatives to demolition.  The provisions accomplished this through a two part process:
    1. 1.  a 35 day notice period during which demolition is delayed, and
    2. 2.  a possible 60-day extension of the demolition delay period.
  2. B.  Where the delay applies.  The residential demolition delay regulations of this Section (24.55.200) apply to sites with residential structures that are regulated under the Oregon Residential Specialty Code and that are located in areas with a residential Comprehensive Plan Map designation.  The regulations only apply to applications for demolition of residential structures.  They do not apply to demolitions of accessory structures such as garages or other outbuildings.
  3. C.  Application for building permit for demolition.
    1. 1.  Signed statement.  The application for a building permit for demolition must include a statement signed by the owner(s) of the property.  The statement must acknowledge that the owner(s) are aware of the primary uses permitted under the current zoning on the site without a conditional use, zone change, Comprehensive Plan Map amendment, or other land use approval and that such an approval will be required before other uses will be permitted on the site.  The statement may be on forms that the Director may make available.
    2. 2.  Delay in issuing.  The building permit for demolition will not be issued except as provided for in this Section (24.55.200).
  4. D.  Notification.
    1. 1.  Mailed notice.  Within 5 days of receipt of a complete application for a residential demolition permit, the Bureau of Development Services will mail written notice of the demolition request to all properties within 150 feet of the site to be demolished, to the recognized organization(s) whose boundaries include the site, to the Architectural Heritage Center/Bosco-Milligan Foundation, Inc.  A complete application means when the Bureau of Development Services has received a complete permit application, project plans and the intake, review and notice fees have been paid.  The notification letter will contain at least the following information.
      1. a.  Notice that the site has been proposed for demolition,
      2. b.  The date the application for demolition was received,
      3. c.  Notice that there is a demolition delay period of 35 days which may be extended upon request from the recognized organization(s) whose boundaries include the site or an interested party,
      4. d.  The contact information of the applicant,
      5. e.  The last day that requests for extended delay may be submitted, and
      6. f.  The location where more information is available.
    2. 2.  Posted notice.  Not more than 2 weeks nor less than 72 hours before demolition activity commences, the applicant must post door hangers provided by the Bureau of Development Services on all properties within 300 feet of the site to be demolished.  The notice must contain all of the following information.
      1. a.  Name and phone number of the Demolition Manager.
      2. b.  Notice that the site has been proposed for demolition,
      3. c.  The demolition permit number,
      4. d.  The approximate date demolition activity will commence,
      5. e.  Contact information of the agencies that regulate asbestos and lead-based paint,
      6. f.  Contact information for the applicant,
      7. g.  Recommended safety information for surrounding properties, such as closing windows and keeping children away from the site, and
      8. h.  The location where more information is available.
  5. E.  35-day notice period.  The building permit for residential demolition will not be issued during the 35-day notice period.  The notice period begins on the day the complete permit application is received and all intake fees have been paid.  If no written request to extend the demolition delay is received during the 35-day notice period as provided in Subsection 24.55.200 F. below, then the Bureau of Development Services will issue the building permit for demolition. 
  6. F.  Requests for extension of demolition delay period.  Requests to extend the demolition delay period may be made as follows:
    1. 1.  Who may request.  Requests to extend the demolition delay period an additional 60 days may be made by a recognized organization whose boundaries include the site or any other interested party.
    2. 2.  How to request.  The request to extend the demolition delay period must be made in writing, on forms provided by the Bureau of Development Services.  The request must be submitted to the Bureau of Development Services by 4:30 p.m. on the last day of the initial 35-day notice period.  The request must be accompanied by an appeal of the demolition permit application submitted to the Bureau for a hearing before the Code Hearings Officer, as provided in Subsection 24.55.200 H. below, along with the appeal fee or a waiver of the fee and a copy of the letter requesting a meeting with the property owner as described in Subsection 24.55.200 H.1. below.  A fee waiver will only be granted to recognized organizations whose boundaries include the site.
  7. G.  60-day extension of residential demolition delay period.  If a signed request for extension of the demolition delay is received as provided in Subsection 24.55.200 F. above, issuance of the building permit for demolition will be stayed until the Code Hearings Officer has rendered a decision of the appeal filed as provided in Subsection 24.55.200 H. below.
  8. H.  Appeal of the residential demolition permit application.  An interested party may appeal issuance of the demolition permit by completing an appeal application on forms provided by the Bureau.  The appeal application must be accompanied by the appeal fee or a fee waiver, along with a copy of the letter requesting a meeting with the property owner as described in Subsection 1. below.  Appeals will be forwarded to the Code Hearings Officer and will be governed by the provisions in Chapter 22.10, unless there is a conflict between Chapter 22.10 and this Section, in which case this Section shall apply.  The provisions of Chapter 22.03 shall not apply to appeals under this Section, except for Sections 22.03.050 (Hearing Procedure), 22.03.080 (Evidence), and 22.03.110 (Orders).  The appeal may be filed any time within the initial 35-day delay period.  The demolition permit may not be issued from the time the Bureau receives an appeal application and the fee or fee waiver, until the Code Hearings Officer has rendered a decision or the 60-day extension period has expired.  If the fee waiver is denied, the appealing party must submit the appeal fee to the Bureau within three business days of the denial or the appeal will be rejected.  The appealing party has the burden of proving that it is actively pursuing an alternative to demolition and must demonstrate all of the following by submitting evidence to the Code Hearings Officer, either with the appeal application or at the appeal hearing:
    1. 1.  The requesting party has contacted the property owner or property owner’s representative to request a meeting to discuss alternatives to demolition by sending a letter to the property owner by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested;
    2. 2.   The particular property subject to the demolition permit application has significance to the neighborhood.  Evidence of the significance may include, but is not limited to, architectural significance, the age and condition of the structure or other factors;
    3. 3.  The requesting party has a plan to save the structure; and 
    4. 4.  The requesting party has a reasonable potential to consummate the plan within 95 days of the date the Bureau accepted the complete demolition permit application by providing a proposed budget and either evidence of funds on hand or a fund raising plan sufficient to meet the financial requirements of that budget.  “Consummate the plan” as used in this Subsection means coming to an agreement among the parties within the 95 days; it does not mean that the plan itself must be completed in that time.
  9. I.  Moving as an alternative.  If the applicant decides to move the structure instead of demolishing it, then the demolition notice period and/or extended delay period becomes moot.  The demolition delay period is automatically terminated when a building permit to move the structure from the site and a building permit to relocate the structure to another site are issued.
  10. J.  Findings of the Code Hearings Officer.  If the Code Hearings Officer finds that the requesting party has demonstrated that it is actively pursuing an alternative to demolition and has met all of the criteria in Subsection 24.55.200 H. (1. – 4.) above, the Code Hearings Officer may grant an extension of the demolition delay for up to 60 additional days from the date the initial 35 day delay period has expired.  If the Code Hearings Officer finds that the requesting party has not met its burden, then the Bureau may issue the demolition permit immediately upon receipt of the decision, provided that all other requirements for issuing the demolition permit have been satisfied.
  11. K.  End of the extension period.  If the Code Hearings Officer has not rendered a decision within the 60-day extension period as provided in Subsections 24.55.200 H. and J. above, the building permit for demolition may be issued any time after 60 days have elapsed since the expiration of the initial 35-day notice period.  In no event will the permit issuance be delayed more than 95 days from the date the Bureau received the complete demolition permit application if all other requirements for issuing the demolition permit have been satisfied.
  12. L.  Exceptions to demolition delay.
    1. 1.  The provisions of this Section (24.55.200) do not apply to applications for building permits for demolition that are required by the City to remove structures because of a public hazard, nuisance, or liability.  The structure must be subject to a demolition order from the City, or be the subject of enforcement proceedings for demolition and be stipulated by the owner as a dangerous building, in order to be exempt from the demolition delay provisions.
    2. 2.  The provisions of this Section (24.55.200) do not apply to applications for building permits for demolition of structures that are subject to the demolition review provisions of Title 33.  In this situation, the provisions of Title 33, Planning and Zoning, apply to the application.  Any application not subject to the demolition review provisions of Title 33 is subject to the demolition delay provisions of this Section (24.44.200).

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Ordinance 191476

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