Code Alignment Project Updates to TRN-1.30 (Thresholds for Frontage Improvement and Dedication Requirements)

What is changing? 

Portland City Code 17.88 says that when a building is constructed, altered so as to increase its number of occupants, or has significant alterations without resulting in increased occupancy, frontage improvements are required. As part of the multi-bureau Code Alignment Project (CAP), PBOT is proposing to pause frontage improvement requirements for private development projects that fit into the last category: significant alterations without increased occupancy. Significant alterations are defined as “changes to property that are 35 percent or greater than the assessed value of all improvements on the site.” There are two exceptions to the pause: new buildings that do not increase trips, and alterations to certain Institutional land uses, which include schools, universities, parks, and hospitals (see TRN 1.30 Appendix A). The pause would be in effect until Jan 1, 2029. 

In 2023 and 2024, about 10% of frontage improvements made by private development were required based on the significant alterations threshold, including 30 ADA curb ramps.  

Why these changes? 

The CAP examined requirements from four City Code titles: Title 11 (street tree planting), Title 17 (frontage improvements), Title 24 (seismic evaluations), and Title 33 (non-conforming upgrades). All four Titles include provisions that establish improvement requirements for development based on the permit valuation (the estimated cost of the permitted work). Each has a different permit valuation threshold, method of adjusting for inflation, and exemptions.  

The CAP convened a workgroup to better align the four requirement thresholds. One of the project’s goals was to right-size requirements for small business and small-scale development. Many of the development projects that meet PBOT’s definition of significant alterations are small businesses seeking permits to alter existing commercial buildings. When a building has a low assessed value (often because it is older and/or smaller), the cost of an alteration project does not have to be very high to pass the 35% threshold. The CAP workgroup sought to relieve these smaller-scale projects from frontage improvements, while maintaining the requirement for large, transformative alterations to important community destination (i.e., Institutional land uses).  

Ultimately, the workgroup decided to propose suspending the requirements from all four Code Titles for roughly 3 years. While the pause is in effect, staff will continue to develop a proposal for a long-term change to the significant alterations policy. Changes to TRN 1.30 are needed to support the Council ordinance implementing the pause and provide more detail on how staff will implement it.