This page provides a high-level overview of the proposals.
For a detailed summary of the proposals, view Volume 1 Staff Report:
For all code proposals (1-4 and 5b, below), view Volume 2 Code and Map Amendments:
For the Portland Citywide Design Guidelines (5a, below), view Volume 3:
1. Purpose
What is the purpose of the Design overlay zone?
Revise the purpose statement for the Design overlay zone to reflect the goals and policies in the new Comprehensive Plan, including the three tenets of design: build on context, contribute to public realm, and promote quality and long-term resilience.
33.420.010 Purpose
The Design overlay zone ensures that Portland is both a city designed for people and a city in harmony with nature. The Design overlay zone supports the city’s evolution within current and emerging centers of civic life. The overlay promotes design excellence in the built environment through the application of additional design standards and design guidelines that:
- Build on context by enhancing the distinctive physical, natural, historic and cultural qualities of the location while accommodating growth and change;
- Contribute to a public realm that encourages social interaction and fosters inclusivity in people’s daily experience; and
- Promotes quality and long-term resilience in the face of changing demographics, climate and economy.
2. Map
What is changing in the design overlay map?
Remove the Design overlay zone from single-dwelling-zoned properties except for the Terwilliger Design District. This includes areas in and around Sellwood-Moreland, Hillsdale, Macadam, Floyd Light Middle School and North Prescott.
View a detailed concept map of the proposed changes in Volume 1 of the Recommended Draft:
3. Thresholds
How will the thresholds be enacted?
a. Establish review thresholds based on the size and scale of a project, with the goal of aligning the level of review with the project’s level of impact on the community. Require a higher level of review for larger projects and a lower level of review (or exemption) for smaller projects and alterations.
b. Expand the list of projects that are exempt or subject to a lower level of review in the Central City Plan District. Expand the number of small projects and alterations that use a Type II and Type I review procedure and exempt certain smaller alterations.
c. Allow smaller projects in the Gateway Plan District to use design standards. Allow projects under 35 feet high to use design plan check (design standards) as an alternative to a design review.
Explore more detailed thresholds for areas inside and outside of the Central City:
4. Process
How is Design Review changing?
a. Limit the number of design advice requests in design review and historic resource review processes.
b. Update the Design Commission membership to require an expert in natural resources and an expert in sustainable building practices. Clarify the remaining membership to allow landscape architects, architects and urban planners as industry experts and clarify that the public-at-large member is independent of these industries.
c. Make administrative improvements to the efficiency and transparency of the design review process.
d. Clarify that the design review process cannot require a reduction of proposed floor area ratio (FAR) or height of the project, if they are allowed within the zone, except in limited cases.
e. Clarify that mitigation may be required to lessen the impacts of modifications.
5. Tools
What are the tools used to evaluate projects in the Design overlay zone?
a. Portland Citywide Design Guidelines – Create new approval criteria for design review for areas outside the Central City. Use the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan and the three tenets of design (context; public realm; and quality and resilience) as a framework.
b. Design Standards – Create new objective standards for areas in the Design overlay zone (d-overlay) outside Central City that sync with the new Portland Citywide Design Guidelines. Use the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan and the three tenets of design (context; public realm; and quality and resilience) as a framework.