Oregon City debates state-mandated parking changes under Climate Friendly Equitable Communities rules

Oregon City staff and consultant Brian Davis presented a conceptual compliance approach Tuesday for the states Climate Friendly Equitable Communities (CFEC) rules, and commissioners debated how to tailor required changes to local topography and transit realities.

Under the state rules and the citys proposed Option 3, the city would eliminate off-street parking minimums within a transit buffer (Line 33 service area) and within a quarter-mile climate-friendly downtown area. The rules also require some maximum parking levels, bicycle and micromobility parking, and electrical "conduit" that allows up to 40% of residential parking spaces to accommodate Level 2 EV chargers.

Brian Davis, the city's consultant, cautioned that eliminating minimums "is not the same thing as saying no parking is going to be built." He said the state expects the market to provide needed parking in many cases, while the rules aim to free underused paved lots for other uses such as street seating or bike parking.

"By eliminating minimum require parking requirements . . . That is not the same thing as saying no…