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Winter weather: office closure, emergency shelters and city services
  • City offices, community centers, arts centers, and city recreation facilities are closed Friday, Feb. 14, due to winter weather.
  • Shelters are open until at least noon Friday. More information: Multco.us/Cold.
  • City services information
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Portland is a Sanctuary City

Find sanctuary city resources from the City of Portland's Immigrant & Refugee Program, including free legal services and state resources for reporting hate crimes, bias incidents, discrimination, and violations of Oregon's sanctuary laws.

Residential Infill - Conversions and the Building Code

Guide
Converting a structure with one or two dwelling units to one with three or more units can trigger additional building code requirements.

Commercial Building Permit requirement

Upgrading from a house or duplex to three or more units could require a Commercial building permit, and your project must follow the commercial building code, which has different requirements than the residential code.

Commercial building code requirements include details such as:

  • Sprinkler systems
  • Increased fire rating of exterior walls based on distance from the property line
  • Window and door opening limitations based on the property line

NOTE:  Applicants can seek relief or alternatives to these requirements through a building code appeal process.


Seismic Upgrade Required

Change of occupancy from a house or duplex to 3 or more units will trigger a seismic upgrade under City Code Chapter 24.85 (i.e. change of occupancy from R-3 occupancy to R-1 or R-2).

Contact

General Inquiries

Portland Permitting & Development
phone number503-823-7300Our front desk team will be available to answer Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please leave a message if you call outside of those hours.
Oregon Relay Service711Oregon Relay Service
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