Amend City Code to reduce permit submittal requirements and temporarily suspend City-imposed development upgrade requirements (amend Code Chapters 11.50, 11.60, 24.85, and 33.258, and allow exception to Code Subsection 17.88.020 B.)
The City of Portland ordains.
Section 1. The Council finds:
- City audits between 1997 and 2021 have identified problems contributing to ongoing development review and permitting delays. Audits identified that permit processing times are slowed, in part, because of the complexity of regulations.
- In 2021, in response to regulatory and other permitting concerns, the Council appointed a cross-bureau Permitting Improvement Task Force to identify solutions to permitting delays.
- In September 2022, a new Permit Improvement Team was appointed to lead, coordinate and build capacity for a Citywide permit improvement effort.
- In February 2024, a regulatory initiative was launched called the Code Alignment Project (CAP). Over time, this project is intended to systematically bring multiple Code chapters that govern our built environment closer into alignment to reduce regulatory complexity and simplify permitting.
- The CAP team consists of policy development and implementation staff from across two services areas: Community and Economic Development and Public Works.
- Project staff assembled a list of roughly 100 different development issues compiled from customer and staff surveys, City audits, permit applicant feedback, the Empowered Communities Program, and the Development Review Advisory Committee and presented them to the project team and asked them to rank the issues starting with the most challenging.
- After evaluation and analysis, the project team determined that the issue of cost upgrade thresholds was one of the most significant pain points for customers and staff, citing inconsistencies across Code provisions, complexity, and lack of transparency as primary challenges.
- Cost upgrade thresholds are City-imposed upgrades that permit applicants must build to improve a site, building or right-of-way frontage to move it closer into conformance with current Code provisions. Upgrade requirements include but are not limited to street and sidewalk improvements, tree planting, bicycle parking, landscaping, pedestrian connections, and seismic evaluation reports.
- These added requirements can create confusion and unpredictability for applicants in general and can have a disproportionate impact on small businesses and small project types, which are often less resourced to hire professionals and absorb the added cost to install the required improvements. Some projects are abandoned or reduced in scope because of these requirements.
- In response to the need to act quickly to address the current economic climate in Portland and the need to provide immediate relief to small businesses and small project types, the CAP team proposed a temporary suspension of four cost upgrade thresholds.
- On April 17, 2025, project staff provided a briefing on the project to the Urban Forestry Commission.
- On May 5, 2025, the Code Alignment Project Proposed Draft was released.
- On April 14, 2025, notice of the Code Alignment Project Proposed Draft and Urban Forestry Commission public hearing was posted online, sent to recipients required to be notified by Title 11, and posted in the Daily Journal of Commerce and the Oregonian.
- On May 5, 2025, notice of the Code Alignment Project Proposed Draft and Planning Commission hearing was sent to the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability’s legislative mailing list and the CAP mailing list.
- On May 15, 2025, the Urban Forestry Commission held a public hearing on the proposed amendments to Title 11 (Trees).
- On June 10, 2025, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the discrete land use-related portion of the Code Alignment Project Proposed Draft that modifies Title 33 land use regulations. They unanimously voted to recommend that City Council adopt the proposed changes to Title 33 (Planning and Zoning).
- On June 12, 2025, the Urban Forestry Commission held a work session in which they amended the Proposed Draft as described in a staff memo dated May 30, 2025, and voted to recommend that City Council adopt most proposed changes to Title 11, as amended by the May 30, 2025 staff memo. The Commission abstained on a vote pertaining to suspending the street tree planting requirement, noting concerns with potential impacts to the urban canopy.
- On August 4, 2025, the Code Alignment Project Recommended Draft was released for public review.
- On July 29, 2025, notice of the August 12, 2025 City Council Housing and Homelessness Committee hearing on the Code Alignment Project Recommended Draft was mailed to those who presented oral and written testimony at the Urban Forestry Commission and Planning Commission Public Hearings.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:
- Adopt Exhibit A, Findings of Fact Report, as additional findings.
- Adopt the Commentary in Exhibit B, Code Alignment Project Recommended Draft, dated July 2025, as legislative intent and further findings.
- Amend Title 33 (Planning and Zoning), Title 24 (Building Regulations), and Title 11 (Trees) as shown in Exhibit B, Code Alignment Project Recommended Draft, dated July 2025.
- Apply a partial waiver of the requirements in Code Section 17.88.020 B. so that significant alterations to an existing building that will not result in increased occupancy are exempt until January 1, 2029. This partial waiver does not apply to alterations or additions on a site with certain Commercial-Institutional land uses, such as K-12 schools, university/colleges, hospitals, and parks, or where street frontage improvements are required as a condition of an approved land use decision.
- For street frontage improvements eligible for the waiver in directive D:
- A project for which a permit application has been submitted prior to the effective date of this ordinance but for which a permit has not been issued is subject to the provisions of this ordinance.
- A project for which a permit was issued prior to the effective date of this ordinance but for which no construction in the right-of-way has commenced is subject to the provisions of this ordinance.
- Notwithstanding Code Sections 33.700.080 A.2. and 33.700.090 A., development that has been or will be approved by a land use review that was deemed complete prior to the effective date of ordinance, and has not expired and building or development permits submitted prior to the effective date of ordinance, that have not expired and have not received final inspection are subject to the amended Code provisions as shown in Exhibit B.
- Permits applying the provisions of this ordinance are subject to existing requirements related to permit cancellations and revisions, as applicable, including charges, fee reductions and refunds.
Official Record (Efiles)
An ordinance when passed by the Council shall be signed by the Auditor. It shall be carefully filed and preserved
in the custody of the Auditor (City Charter Chapter 2 Article 1 Section 2-122)
Passed by Council
Auditor of the City of Portland
Simone Rede
Impact Statement
Purpose of Proposed Legislation and Background Information
The City of Portland is simplifying its permitting processes through the Code Alignment Program. This first project under the code alignment program is focused on aligning upgrade requirements for existing buildings across multiple development codes. It aims to remove regulatory barriers by suspending specific development requirements until January 1, 2029. Beyond streamlining the permitting process, these modifications are also designed to provide temporary financial relief to applicants seeking to expand, renovate, repurpose, or otherwise enhance existing development.
This strategic initiative bolsters businesses and other types of small development by pausing the following regulatory obligations:
- Street tree planting for property additions and alterations (Title 11)
- Sidewalk and street improvements for significant alterations (Title 17)
- On-site upgrade mandates for non-conforming situations (Title 33)
- Seismic vulnerability assessment for older buildings (Title 24)
This proposal changes policies in the four development-related policies listed above.
Financial and Budgetary Impacts
This project does not amend the budget, change staffing levels, reclassify staff, or authorize new spending or other financial obligations (IGAs, contracts, etc.), and therefore there are no significant long term financial or budgetary impacts to the City. The proposed temporary suspension of four upgrade requirements will expire January 1, 2029, leaving little risk for long-term negative financial impacts.
The cost reductions are largely benefitting permit applicants who otherwise would have to make additional costly physical property improvements and experience added time and complexity in the permit process.. In the short term, the changes represent a potential minor to nominal reduction in required permit staff review time as there will be fewer requirements to review.
Portland Permitting & Development has noted there are many permits that have successfully completed most steps of the City review process, but applicants are holding off pulling their permit including payment of issuance fees, presumably because they are waiting for more favorable development conditions. This amendment proposal could incentivize permit completion and thus increase permitting fees/revenue.
Additionally, some projects that are in the inspection process will seek to revise their approved permits to remove some of the requirements allowed through this ordinance. These revisions will also generate additional permit volume and revenue. Applicants who propose to revise their submittals based on these new rules will be subject to current cost recovery-based charges.
Costs that may be considered as being passed on to the City are largely in the context of public street frontage improvements, where development projects are often required to construct sidewalks, curbs and ADA ramps. For the most part, these are not direct cost pass throughs, as the City has its own capital program and budgets to construct these improvements. However, for each improvement that is not constructed through private development, this remains a need of the overall citywide capital project. Staff estimates that the pause proposed with this legislation annually affects only 10% of the overall development-related improvements to the public right-of-way, and these largely fall outside of areas within the City’s capital project list. The reduced construction of ADA ramps by private development, estimated to be around 15 ramps per year under the temporary proposal, would have the most direct impact to the City budget, due to the City’s ongoing obligations to install ADA ramps per the terms of the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center (CREEC) settlement. However this impact is estimated to be somewhat nominal, representing just 1% (approx. $500,000) of the City’s annual obligation.
Other potential shifted costs could include street tree planting. While the Urban Forestry Plan and other city goals seek to increase canopy generally, there is not a similar capital investment obligation. Nevertheless, the City is already investing in tree planting through Portland Clean Energy Benefits Fund and anticipates planting up to 15,000 trees over the next five years, which more than offsets the potential loss in street tree canopy through the temporary suspension, estimated at 400 trees per year.
Economic and Real Estate Development Impacts
Permit review staff have noted several projects that have stalled or been abandoned all together due to the additional and unforeseen expenses that some upgrade requirements have imposed. In outreach with the builder/development community as part of developing this proposal, builders/developers expressed support for suspending street tree planting standards for most alterations and additions to existing buildings while continuing to require street tree planting for new construction.
The proposal improves development feasibility in several ways:
- Removing upgrades leaves more money in the project budget for direct benefit to the business investments.
- Businesses that are proposing modest to significant investments in their properties will be positively impacted by reduced application reviews, and fewer construction requirements.
- Removing requirements means quicker permit reviews, and less time and cost preparing applicants and plan corrections.
Initial comparisons between peer cities revealed that Portland has more threshold triggers than peer cities, requiring more improvements more frequently than other municipalities. This could potentially be giving competing jurisdictions a competitive advantage over Portland. Based on initial feedback, the upgrade requirements proposed for temporary suspension create a more comparable development expectation with peer cities.
This project improves development feasibility but is primarily targeted at existing businesses, since upgrades are tied to alterations to existing development. There may be some nominal housing production benefits, for example where units are being added to an existing site.
Please see the Community Impacts and Community Involvement for information on how the proposed legislation was shared with those potentially impacted, and feedback shared.
Community Impacts and Community Involvement
On April 1, 2025, the Community and Economic Development Service Area staff sent an email to stakeholders with information on the CAP amendment concepts and extended an invitation to meet and discuss the changes before advancing a formal proposal to the Urban Forestry Commission and Planning Commission for public hearings and assessment. Meeting with constituents was also intended to help project staff understand community concerns and evaluate potential refinements to the amendment concept. These constituencies included developers, land use specialists, architectural professionals, and advocacy organizations listed below.
- Bike & Pedestrian Modal Committee
- Bird Alliance of Oregon
- Oregon Walks
- Pedestrian Advisory Committee
- Disability Advocacy Group
- Trees for Life
- Shade Equity Coalition
- Mackenzie Group
- GBD Architects
- KPFF Consulting Engineers
- Studio Cropp Architecture
- National Association of Minority Contractors
In addition to these interest groups, project staff presented the concepts to:
- Development Review Advisory Committee (DRAC)
- Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), and
- National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP).
Staff also published project information on a dedicated webpage on the City’s Permit Improvement website and provided this as a resource to in presentations and other communications.
As a result of this outreach, staff learned that applicants and consultants involved in the development application process saw meaningful value in revisions to the upgrade thresholds and appreciated the proposed pause on these requirements to help advance permits and projects in the current challenging economic times.
Advocates for trees and tree planting posited that pausing the requirements could reduce the number of street trees planted and potentially reduce available space for on-site tree planting when those areas are covered by impervious surfaces. They suggested that the amendments exempt the tree planting requirements to situations where applicants are proposing interior structural modifications, only.
Advocates for pedestrian access and safety expressed concerns in the opportunity costs of losing the ability to impose pedestrian circulation upgrades during the pause period, noting that it may be a long time before the city has an opportunity to require these beneficial improvements again.
The Planning Commission and Urban Forestry Commission held public hearings related to proposed Tree Code changes. The Planning Commission hearing also included deliberation and testimony on changes to Title 33 (Planning and Zoning). Public notices were sent two weeks prior to the hearings.
100% Renewable Goal
Not applicable
Economic and Real Estate Development Analysis
Analysis provided by Prosper Portland
Prosper Portland staff has reviewed the Economic and Real Estate Development Impact Analysis submitted for this action and finds that it satisfies the requirements set forth in City Council Resolution 37664. The analysis is sufficiently detailed and complete to be considered a final statement for purposes of this action.
Financial and Budget Analysis
Analysis provided by City Budget Office
Document History
Document number: 2025-314
President's referral: Homelessness and Housing Committee