Washington County launches 15-month Community Development Code assessment with DLCD grant

Washington County planning staff announced the start of a 15‑month Community Development Code (CDC) assessment, funded in part by a grant from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD).

The county received a $146,000 DLCD grant to pay primarily for consultant support. Suzanne Savin, senior planner, said the consultant on the contract is Cascadia Partners and that the assessment will identify inconsistent, outdated or repetitive standards and those that are not clear and objective, with a focus on how the code affects housing.

Savin said the CDC has never had a comprehensive review since its original adoption in 1983 and noted the document has grown to about 1,200 pages. "It has become a very large and unwieldy document," she said. The assessment will produce two deliverables: a CDC assessment report identifying problems and high‑level recommendations, and a CDC amendments priorities report recommending the order in which code changes should be tackled. A later phase will draft code language for those changes.

The consultant team will conduct stakeholder interviews and virtual focus groups with developers, homebuilders, housing advocates, service districts, building services and engineering staff, city planning staff and community members. A project web page will provide an overview, timeline and a public comment form. Staff also plan an open house to present findings and gather public feedback.

County staff proposed a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to provide technical review and perspective. The TAC’s members are expected to include one planning commissioner (the commission selected Commissioner Rosenberry as its TAC representative during the meeting), a market‑rate developer, an affordable housing developer, representatives from Clean Water Services and Metro, traffic and road engineering staff, a housing advocacy representative, a community member, a DLCD representative, a current planning staff member and a city staff member. The TAC will meet virtually about four times during the project and will review draft products and provide input on barriers to housing and equity considerations.

Savin and staff said the CDC assessment is the first phase in a longer program to comprehensively update the code, with later phases expected to develop draft code concepts and amendments for formal review.

Planning commissioners asked about the TAC role and the commissioner representative’s responsibilities. Savin said the representative will provide perspective from the commission, bring back observations to the broader commission and act as a conduit for feedback between the TAC and the Planning Commission. Commissioner Rosenberry volunteered to serve as the commission’s TAC representative.

Staff said the timeline includes review opportunities for the Planning Commission in late 2025 and spring 2026 and that the project will incorporate state statute changes that may occur while the work is underway.

The commission did not take a formal action on CDC code changes at the meeting; the item was presented for information and to secure a commission representative for the TAC.