Purpose
Multiple City Audits and customer and staff surveys have highlighted the need to improve how our development-related codes work together. The Code Alignment Project will begin to clarify the regulatory process customers experience when designing right-of-way improvements by aligning codes that give conflicting or unclear direction. The cumulative impact of the current obstacles is permitting delays, costly project redesigns, and additional reviews to work around disjointed code.
The code alignment project supports the overall permitting improvement strategy by creating a clearer regulatory path to permit approval, which will ultimately speed up the permitting process.
Objectives
- Propose a small technical code amendment package that removes code conflicts to City Council.
- Examine the thresholds for required infrastructure upgrades.
- Create a code alignment program to continue regular periodic and holistic right-of-way code improvement work.
- Reconcile and clarify decision making authority in city codes with PP&D structure realignment.
Background
In March 2021, Commissioner Mapps and Commissioner Ryan created a Permitting Improvement Task Force to address long-standing permitting issues raised by the Building Permit Review Audit. The Code Alignment Project originated as a recommendation from this task force, which recognized that meaningful, sustained improvements to Portland’s permitting system must be holistic in nature and include removing unnecessary and unintended regulatory barriers to development. Aligning the codes that govern the right-of-way; Title 11 Trees, Title 17 Public Improvements, and Title 21 Water, and correcting intersections with zoning regulations within Title 33 will help ensure efficient and effective development review.
Portland City Council adopted ordinance 191736 to establish a new single permitting authority, called Portland Permitting & Development (PP&D). PP&D combines permitting teams that implement regulations for right-of-way improvements with permitting teams that regulate private property development. This new structure creates an opportunity to evaluate the totality of our codes that govern the built environment, identify conflicts, and develop cross-functional solutions to improve customers permitting experience.
Steps and Timeline
This project is expected to conclude with a public hearing on proposed code amendments at City Council in the Summer of 2025, following public outreach:
- Winter 2025 – Finalize workplan, problem research and issue analysis
- Spring 2025 – Formulate code change proposals
- Summer 2025 – Public outreach and City Council hearing