City Council approves zoning code changes allowing more adjustments to bring the city into compliance with Senate Bill 1537

News Article

The Housing Adjustment Compliance Project amendments, approved under an emergency ordinance, will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

On October 30, the City Council held a public hearing to consider the Planning Commission recommendation to amend the zoning code as part of the Housing Adjustment Compliance Project. In addition, the Commissioners considered a technical amendment brought forward by the Mayor's office that clarified how the zoning code applies in the right-of-way.

After listening to verbal testimony from eight individuals and considering the written testimony on the proposal, the City Council moved forward to adopt the Recommended Draft with the one amendment under Emergency Ordinance No. 191942. The adopted regulations will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

Background

The Housing Adjustment Compliance Project amends several sections in Portland's Zoning Code, Title 33, to comply with Senate Bill 1537 (SB 1537), especially Sections 38 and 39 of the bill, which were adopted by the State in May. SB 1537 requires local jurisdictions to allow applicants to request adjustments to a variety of development and design standards. Jurisdictions must either apply the state language directly to a development review, incorporate the bill's language into their local zoning codes, or request a state exemption if their existing local zoning code and process achieves the same principle.

With the proposed amendments to Portland's Zoning Code, any current prohibitions on adjustments addressed by the bill are temporarily lifted to allow an adjustment or modification until Jan. 2, 2032. Some of the standards addressed in the proposed amendments include minimum lot size and dimension standards, maximum height thresholds, bike parking locations, and some middle housing provisions. In most cases, the adjustment allowance is limited to the amount of variation dictated by SB 1537, although height adjustments in Central City can be allowed to vary at a greater amount. After Jan. 2, 2032, the provisions allowing these adjustments will automatically be rescinded, and the Zoning Code that is currently in effect will apply again.