Council tentatively approves annual community development code updates after public hearing on cottage clusters and accessory-structure rules

The Lake Oswego City Council held a public hearing on Ordinance 2959 — the annual update to the Community Development Code (CDC), Chapter 50 — and tentatively approved the package on April 15, directing staff to return with final findings May 6. The council voted 6-0 to tentatively adopt the amendments and to implement the planning commission’s recommendation on what the council identified as the most contested change.

Why it matters: The CDC updates include 16 maintenance items intended to fix errors and clarify language, and seven policy items that refine development rules affecting historic nonconforming dwellings, reconstruction of nonconforming commercial and multifamily structures, accessory-structure setbacks and heights, commercial building design standards for accessory structures, middle-housing land divisions, generator setback variances, and the definition of “detached” for accessory structures. Several items affect how middle housing, accessory buildings and cottage-cluster developments are built and maintained in established neighborhoods.

Staff presentation and scope Senior Planner Evan Franzen told council the package largely corrects errors and clarifies code language while implementing minor policy changes to streamline the permit process and align the CDC with the comprehensive plan. He said the package contains sixteen maintenance items and seven policy items; he summarized the seven policy proposals and noted one previously discussed proposal —…