Troutdale Planning Commission forwards historic-district code amendment to city council

The Troutdale Planning Commission voted 6-0 on Sept. 10 to forward a development-code text amendment to the City Council that would add procedures for creating a local historic district, a staff member said. The change would add "historic district designation" to Section 6.515 of the Troutdale Development Code and add criteria for designating local historic districts.
The amendment establishes application and approval criteria, including a requirement that a majority (50% or more) of resources within a proposed district be over 50 years of age or be of extraordinary historic importance if younger. Staff recommended approval and identified an October city-council schedule for the item if the commission recommended adoption.
The change matters because the current code mentions districts in purpose statements but contains no procedure to actually establish a local historic district, staff testified. The Planning Commission's recommendation is advisory; the City Council will make the final decision.
Staff explained the proposal would insert a new subsection (historic district designation) into Section 6.515, shifting existing lettered subsections down to accommodate the addition. The draft approval criteria reference the city's comprehensive plan, applicable statewide planning goals, provisions of Metro code, and the development-code amendment criteria in Section 6.112.
Commissioners asked about practical effects: whether property owners would be forced into a district (staff said owners must opt in for many measures), the district's geographic scale (the code focuses on historic significance rather than strict minimum parcel counts), and whether properties already on the National Register could be included locally (staff said a local designation could be proposed for those properties). The historic landmarks commission chair provided written support, citing long-term work on a "Hungry Hill" local district to reflect Troutdale's early plats and history.
Commissioners made a minor edit during deliberations to the draft code language so the list of application types in Section 6.515 would enumerate five types (inserting historic district designation as the new second item) rather than four; staff agreed to that editorial change. After that amendment, Commissioner Preckett moved to forward the recommendation to council "as amended," a motion that was seconded and passed on a roll call vote with the following recorded votes: Glantz: yes; Minkoff: yes; Kester: yes; Wilcox: yes; Chair Stephenson: yes; Allen: yes.
The commission record shows the amendment will go to City Council tentatively on Oct. 14 and Oct. 28 for final consideration. If council adopts the amendment, the city will have an explicit local process to consider applications to form historic districts, enabling future proposals such as the Hungry Hill concept and related interpretive signage or street sign toppers.
No final designation was made at the Sept. 10 meeting; the commission's action was limited to recommending the code amendment to the council.
The planning staff's full report, including the redlined draft code language and HLC chair Erin Janssen's public comment, will be included in the formal record sent to City Council.