Portland council advances temporary code changes to speed building repairs and small projects

Portland city councilors on Wednesday advanced a nonemergency ordinance that would temporarily suspend several permit submittal and upgrade requirements—intended to speed tenant improvements, small business renovations and modest residential work—while staff studies longer‑term code changes.

The ordinance, known in staff documents as the Code Alignment Project (CAP), was introduced at committee and described in detail by Claire Adamsick, council policy analyst and staff to the Homelessness and Housing Committee. Adamsick said the draft would suspend or modify four sets of requirements until Jan. 1, 2029: certain street tree planting obligations (Title 11), many nonconforming upgrade requirements (Title 33 planning and zoning), seismic evaluation reports for renovations above a valuation threshold in buildings constructed before 1974 (Title 24 building regulations), and portions of street frontage improvement requirements (Title 17 public improvements).

"The ordinance directs the adoption of the findings of fact report and the code alignment project recommended draft," Adamsick said in her committee summary, describing the affected chapters and the proposal’s intent to clarify applicability for projects already in review.

Why it matters: Sponsors and staff said the changes are intended to remove procedural obstacles and costs that can prevent small projects from moving forward. Councilor Dunphy, a sponsor, said the package targets “silly” code triggers that can make minor projects unaffordable. Dozens of witnesses from the development and design community told council the temporary pause would help reactivate vacant commercial spaces and allow homeowners and small businesses to move modest projects forward.

Industry supporters included the Building Owners and Managers Association of Oregon (BOMA), NAIOP (a commercial real estate development association) and GBD Architects. Wade Lang of BOMA told the council CAP ‘‘will reduce the cost of a tenant improvement project while also reducing the timelines for completion.’’ Kelly Ross of NAIOP and Michelle Schultz, a principal at GBD Architects, also testified in support, saying the package provides immediate relief without compromising safety.

Staff cautioned council the pause is a targeted, interim step. Morgan Tracy, senior planner with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, told the council staff quickly discovered many interdependencies in the code and want time to study alternatives and unintended consequences. Donnie Oliviera (urban forestry/parks staff) and Brian Lando (Urban Forestry) answered questions about tree canopy impacts and how the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCF) and the Urban Forestry planting programs would interact with any reduction in development‑triggered tree planting. Lando estimated the suspension could mean "maybe a few hundred fewer trees be planted every year," but noted the PSAP/PCF planting programs continue to plant several thousand trees targeted to priority areas.

Financial and equity concerns: Committee materials and staff responses said most impacts are shifts in where infrastructure is funded rather than a new city obligation in every case. The City Budget Office analysis flagged a modest potential cost to the city if private development no longer provides some frontage improvements (notably curb ramps) that the city is otherwise obligated to deliver under existing settlement commitments. At committee staff presented one illustrative estimate of potential foregone private investment on curb/ADA work in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars in some years, but staff emphasized the number depends on development activity.

Next steps: Councilors debated whether this should be made an emergency ordinance to take effect immediately; some members noted implementation dates for certain plan review processes. The council did not vote on final passage Wednesday. Instead, members scheduled the ordinance for second reading at a special meeting set as a time certain for 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 24.

What was not decided: The council did not adopt the ordinance Wednesday and did not change any of the city’s codes at this meeting. Several councilors asked staff to return with further analysis—on tree canopy effects, obligations for ADA ramps and the exact financial implications—during the interim study and before the second reading.

Public comment and council concern: Testimony at the committee and at Wednesday’s meeting was overwhelmingly supportive, and sponsors and staff said they conducted outreach. Councilors repeatedly emphasized this is a temporary, targeted pause while staff completes a fuller, permanent alignment of code, thresholds and consequences.

The ordinance’s committee report and the staff findings are posted with the council packet; councilors directed staff to return with further analysis ahead of the Sept. 24 second reading.