Portland planning panel recommends city adopt major Unified Development Ordinance updates, including Old Town LED overlay changes

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend that City Council adopt a package of amendments to the City of Portland Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) after a public hearing and a presentation by the city’s consultant planners.

The recommended changes would implement the city’s Plan 2040, expand site-plan requirements to multifamily and mixed-use projects, create a Leisure and Entertainment (LED) overlay for the Old Town area that limits some uses and removes minimum off-street parking for nonresidential uses there, add triplex and quadplex housing types, and streamline procedural items such as delegating some plat approvals to city staff.

The UDO is Portland’s combined zoning and subdivision code and is the principal tool to implement the comprehensive plan adopted in 2023, consultant Erica Craycraft of Friese and Nichols told the commission. “The UDO refers to the Unified Development Ordinance, which is the city’s zoning and subdivision regulations,” Craycraft said.

Why it matters: The amendments would change how developers and property owners can build in Old Town and elsewhere in the city, alter review pathways for plats and planned unit developments, and add new standards for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and short-term rentals. The commission’s recommendation moves the package to City Council for public hearings and final readings, so the measures could change how future development is designed and reviewed in Portland.

Key changes and details

- LED overlay (Old Town): The proposed overlay aims to encourage walkable, after-hours activity in Old Town by limiting uses deemed unlikely to generate foot traffic, and by removing the minimum off-street parking requirement for nonresidential uses in that overlay area. The overlay would not change standards adopted for the LED area in 2022 related to alcohol sales and hours of operation, Craycraft said. The amendment would treat some uses that are now permitted by right in the underlying Old Town 2 zone as requiring a special use permit (SUP), and would permit some additional uses not currently allowed.

- Nonconforming uses: Existing uses that become nonconforming under the new rules could continue, provided operations are not discontinued for more than one year. The UDO’s nonconforming provisions in chapter 8 would continue to apply, and staff emphasized that a use “runs with the land,” meaning it persists if the property changes ownership.

- Housing types and design: The draft adds triplex and quadplex housing types to support so-called “missing-middle” housing and includes supplemental design standards for quality and neighborhood compatibility. ADU standards in the draft would limit ADUs to one per lot and to no more than half the size of the primary dwelling; some accessory-dwelling technical standards (for example, owner-occupancy and meter issues) were discussed by commissioners and staff.

- Short-term rentals (STRs): The draft proposes standards for STRs (commonly known as Airbnb-style rentals), including a registry, annual inspections, and requirements such as on-site ownership for single-night rentals, Craycraft said.

- Subdivision and plats: The draft removes detailed plat submittal requirements from the code and places them on an administratively maintained checklist. Following a recent state authorization, the draft would allow city staff to approve plats that meet code requirements without a waiver; staff may defer any plat to the commission and applicants could appeal administrative denials, Craycraft said.

- Bonds and public improvements: The city’s maintenance-bond requirement would be standardized at 25% of construction costs in the proposed amendments, aligning the code with current local practice and other cities’ standards, the consultants said. The package also clarifies public improvement installation, inspection and acceptance processes.

- Streets, connectivity and traffic analysis: The draft adds a connectivity-index requirement to encourage more intersections and pedestrian-friendly street networks and requires traffic-impact analyses (TIAs) for developments that generate substantial traffic; the TIA requirement is intended to ensure mitigation such as increased queuing or turn lanes when needed.

- Stormwater and parks: The update adds requirements for stormwater pollution prevention plans in line with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) rules and proposes that dedicated parks in major subdivisions be improved to city standards. The draft also encourages shared driveways and cross-access between adjacent sites.

- Residential clustering and open-space bonuses: The code would allow clustering of smaller lots if open space is preserved: at least 30% preservation is required to cluster, and a 10% unit bonus is proposed if 40% of the site is conserved.

Public comment and commission discussion

Property owner Jeff Howard of the Old Town area said he owns “one of the largest pieces of property over there” and asked whether mixed uses such as retail combined with warehousing or repair would remain allowed in Old Town. “I currently would say that I own an office warehouse, I think. So, that’s not allowed over there,” he said, seeking clarification on how broadly “repair shop” and “office warehouse” would be treated under the overlay.

City staff and commissioners responded that existing permitted uses would be able to continue as nonconforming uses if operations are not discontinued for more than a year and that uses with retail as the primary function would generally satisfy the overlay’s intent. “As long as the primary use remains retail,” one city official said, “everything that you have proposed would be allowed under these regulations.”

Commissioners asked about open-container rules and whether the LED overlay would allow public consumption of alcohol; staff said the proposed amendments do not change the existing LED standards that were adopted in 2022.

Process and timing

Consultants and staff stated the next steps are a City Council public hearing and first reading scheduled for April 15, followed by a second reading on May 6. Staff also said the proposed effective date for the UDO amendments is June 1, and that projects submitted before the effective date would remain vested under the current code. “We are proposing an effective date for these proposed amendments of June 1. And just as a reminder, any projects that are submitted before then are or in the process are vested under our current codes,” Director of Public Services Bonnie Munoz said.

Action taken

The commission voted to recommend that City Council adopt the proposed UDO amendments as presented. The motion passed; the transcript records the motion, a second, and that the motion passed, but does not record a roll-call tally in the minutes provided.

Ending note

The full markup draft of the proposed UDO amendments, the consultant presentation, and related maps were made available on the city’s website and in the meeting packet. Staff and the consultants said they can return to specific slides or provide additional detail to commissioners or members of the public on request.