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Label:
Ordinance
Adopt the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project to streamline environmental zoning regulations to accommodate needed infrastructure projects and support ongoing natural resource management (amend Code Title 33)
Passed
Amended by Council
The City of Portland ordains.
Section 1. The Council finds:
- The City applies Environmental overlay zones, River overlay zones and the Pleasant Valley Natural Resources overlay zone, collectively known as environmental zones, to significant natural resources that are identified in the City's adopted Natural Resources Inventory to ensure that impacts from development on these important natural resources are minimized and mitigated.
- Environmental zones are applied to identified natural resources such as streams, wetlands, rivers, floodplains, forested areas, steep slopes and special habitat areas.
- The zoning code regulations that apply within the environmental zones generally include exemptions for development and other activities that will have little to no impacts on identified natural resources, development standards that encourage sensitive development that minimizes impacts by providing clear limitations on how much and where development can occur, and environmental review approval criteria for development that cannot meet standards.
- When development or redevelopment is proposed near sensitive natural resources, it is often subject to environmental review. As a part of environmental land use review, applicants must conduct an alternatives analysis to identify options that minimize impacts to natural resources. When avoidance isn't possible, mitigation is required to address impacts.
- Public infrastructure serves vital functions, including water delivery, waste treatment and flood protection. Parts of these systems are decades old and long overdue for replacement. Modern safety standards, building codes and increased capacity needed to serve population growth mean that these structures frequently must be expanded during replacement. Additionally, climate change has made the Portland region more susceptible to potential natural disasters, such as wildfires and flooding, which increases the urgency of on-going maintenance and upgrades to public infrastructure.
- Many public infrastructure facilities, such as pump stations and flood control structures, are in low lying areas near protected waterbodies, or in protected forested natural areas. These facilities are also often located on small parcels or within easements surrounded by natural resources with little room to change the building location or orientation.
- As a result of this limited flexibility, many of the expected benefits of environmental review are often not achievable because, for example, alternative layouts for these types of facilities are not possible. As a result, the process can result in additional expense and delay without additional benefit.
- City of Portland bureaus are also responsible for management of over 10,000 acres of natural areas and open spaces throughout Portland. In these important places, City of Portland staff must take management actions to ensure ecosystem health and to support a variety of threatened, endangered and at-risk fish and wildlife species. The requirements of environmental zones frequently do not allow for a streamlined approval of these varied actions. Often, these actions can only be approved through environmental review.
- The Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project amendments aim to minimize delays and avoid the additional expense of environmental review by allowing standards to be met, where appropriate, for infrastructure upgrades and natural resource management approaches.
- In addition, the amendments also address several minor and technical issues that further clarify zoning code regulations.
- On June 17, 2025, notice of the July 22, 2025, public hearing on the proposed amendments was mailed in accordance with Code Section 33.740.020.B, Public notice for the hearing.
- On June 20, 2025, the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project—Proposed Draft was released for public review.
- On July 22, 2025, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed amendments.
- On August 12, 2025, the Planning Commission voted to forward the amendments to City Council.
- On January 27, 2026, the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project—Recommended Draft was released for public review.
- On January 27, 2026, the notice of the February 12, 2026, public hearing on the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project—Recommended Draft was mailed in accordance with Code Section 33.740.030.B, Notice.
- On February 12, 2026, the Climate, Resilience, and Land Use Committee of the Portland City Council held a public hearing on the amendments.
- On February 25, 2026, the Portland City Council held a public hearing on the amendments.
- The Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project Findings of Fact Report, attached as Exhibit A, includes additional findings demonstrating consistency with the Oregon Statewide Planning Goals, Metro Urban Growth Management Functional Plan, and the City of Portland 2035 Comprehensive Plan.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:
- Amend Title 33, Planning and Zoning as shown in Exhibit B, Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project—Recommended Draft, dated January 2026.
- Adopt the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project Findings of Fact Report, attached as Exhibit A, as legislative intent and further findings.
- Adopt the commentary in Exhibit B, Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project—Recommended Draft, dated January 2026, as further legislative intent and findings.
Section 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect on July 1, 2026.
Section 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, diagram, or drawing contained in this ordinance, or the map, report, inventory, analysis, or document it adopts or amends, is held to be deficient, invalid, or unconstitutional, that shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions. The Council declares that it would have adopted the map, report, inventory, analysis, or document each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, diagram, and drawing thereof, regardless of if any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, diagrams, or drawings contained in this Ordinance, may be found to be deficient, invalid, or unconstitutional.
Exhibits and attachments
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 as amended by Council
Auditor of the City of Portland
Simone Rede
Impact Statement
Purpose of proposed legislation and background information
The primary purpose of the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project is to amend the standards and procedures for development in the chapters of the zoning code (Title 33) that pertain to environmental zones (33.430, 33.465, and 33.475) to better address needed improvements to existing public infrastructure as well as to address future infrastructure projects expected throughout the city in the coming years. This project also includes a number of other zoning code amendments that provide more streamlined approval processes for natural resource management by City staff, update some tree replacement and site enhancement requirements, update noticing requirements and address other more technical issues. This legislation supports the public infrastructure policies of the Portland Comprehensive Plan.
Financial and budgetary impacts
Adoption of the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project will reduce the costs to the City for needed public infrastructure improvements. Currently, many City infrastructure projects located in environmental zones must go through a costly and time-consuming land use review in order to be approved. The goal of this project is to reduce the need for a land use reviews for projects that upgrade or replace important public infrastructure, such as pump stations and flood control structures. The amendments will also streamline the management of City-owned and operated natural resources and open spaces.
The zoning code amendments proposed in the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project—Recommended Draft will not require the creation, elimination or re-classification of any positions. The amendments will not result in the need of any additional staff. Existing staff at Portland Permitting and Development will apply these regulations to proposed development as they do now.
This project does not amend the budget or result in any new or modified financial obligation or benefit.
Economic and real estate development impacts
Adoption of the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project amendments will not result in any economic or real estate development impacts. The amendments create or expand development standards for certain public infrastructure projects and do not affect job creation, household income or businesses. The amendments primarily affect City of Portland or other public agency sponsored infrastructure projects. The few technical amendments that will affect private property provide greater flexibility in meeting mitigation requirements, reduce requirements, or provide clarity/remove redundancies in the code. These amendments are expected to have no effect on housing production or other real estate development projects, including cost or timelines, and will have no impact on business competitiveness or job growth.
The Discussion Draft was released for public review on April 3, 2025. The Discussion Draft public comment period closed on May 9, 2025.To notify the public about the project and gather input, two open houses were held after the release of the Discussion Draft:
- April 21, 2025, at 5:30 pm – Hybrid open house held at the BPS office in the Vanport Building, located at 1810 SW 5th Ave.
- April 23, 2025, at 12:00 pm – Virtual open house provide by BPS staff.
Additionally, project staff contacted the following Tribes to request input on the Discussion Draft proposals: Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, The Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Staff from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde submitted comments. City staff provided responses to their comments in a reply letter
Throughout the project, updates were shared at key project milestones (e.g., release of drafts for public review, dates of hearings, etc.) through the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability website, the project listserve, social media channels and the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability monthly project updates. Since project initiation, interested parties have been able to sign up on the project listserve to receive project updates. Interested parties sign up for project updates at the following website: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/ORPORTLAND_ENT/signup/39732 .
No comments were received from the public in response to the Discussion Draft and a total of 13 comments were received in response to the Proposed Draft. These comments suggested modifications to the tree management requirements of the River Environmental overlay zone and a request by the Port of Portland to apply some of the proposed amendments to its activities, similar to City bureaus and the Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District. The Planning Commission considered public testimony on the Proposed Draft and made two minor amendments to the proposal, including the incorporation of an amendment requested by the Port of Portland.
Community impacts and community involvement
Adoption of the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project will allow for more streamlined approvals of City of Portland and the Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District projects that will upgrade, expand or replace certain public infrastructure throughout Portland. No particular communities, geographic areas or neighborhoods, or businesses are affected by the amendments. The intent of the amendments is to streamline the process for, and reduce the cost of, replacing or upgrading public infrastructure. To the extent that the cost of replacing public infrastructure is reduced, Portlanders, as a whole, benefit from the amendments through a reduction in tax dollars needed to complete the projects. To the extent that a particular public infrastructure project is completed faster than if it were required to go through a land use review, the geographic area or nearby neighborhood or businesses that the infrastructure serves will benefit.
It is expected that public testimony on this item will be limited, as was the case for the Planning Commission. It is expected that the Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District and Port of Portland will provide testimony in support of the project.
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.
Document history
Document number: 2026-063
President's referral: Climate, Resilience, and Land Use Committee