State Land Use Compliance Project heads to the Housing and Permitting City Council Committee for consideration

In this article

This project updates the Portland zoning code to align with several state bills passed in Oregon's 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions. These changes are necessary to ensure compliance and public understanding of how the state rule changes will work together with Portland's zoning code.

The Recommended Draft is now available for public review and testimony. The draft reflects the Planning Commission's recommendations to City Council. Portland City Council will consider this report and zoning recommendations during a hearing at the Housing and Permitting Committee on Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. At this hearing, staff will give a briefing of the project and the recommendations, and City Council will accept public testimony.

These recommended changes:

• Help to facilitate middle housing development.
• Reduce notification and hearing procedures for residential development.
• Allow residential treatment facilities without a conditional use review.
• Enable non-conforming residential uses to be rebuilt when destroyed by natural causes.

View the Recommended Draft

What's changed since the latest draft?

After holding a public hearing on June 23, the Planning Commission made two small technical changes to the Proposed Draft before forwarding their recommendation to City Council. The first change removed the visitability requirement for accessory dwelling units, as those requirements are being replaced by accessibility bonuses. The second change removed procedures for appealing an expedited land division, which can now only be appealed by the applicant to the State Land Use Board of Appeals, per House Bill 2138.

Give testimony

The Recommended Draft will be considered by City Council in October, starting with a Housing and Permitting Committee hearing on October 6, followed by a full City Council hearing. There will be opportunities to provide both written and verbal testimony as part of the Council review process.

There are two ways to submit testimony:

1. Submit written testimony through the project's Map App by the time of the hearing.
2. Give oral testimony at the hearing. Registration for oral testimony will open on Friday, October 2 at 9 a.m.

Project steps and timeline

September 2026 - Recommended Draft released for public review and comment

Oct. 6, 2026 - Housing and Permitting Council Committee public hearing

Oct. 20, 2026 (tentative) - City Council public hearings and adoption

Jan. 1, 2027 (expected) - zoning code amendments become effective