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Springfield staff propose zoning rewrite to open more sites for housing, lower commercial requirements
Summary
City planners presented draft code amendments that would allow more multiunit housing across Main Street, South Bay and climate‑friendly overlay areas, lower some ground‑floor commercial requirements and raise minimum densities; TAC members urged clarifications on frontage, small‑lot feasibility and industrial adjacency.
Springfield planning staff on Tuesday presented draft zoning and code amendments aimed at boosting housing production by making mixed‑use and commercial districts more permissive for multiunit housing. Haley Campbell, senior planner and project manager, said the city needs about 470 new homes a year to meet state targets and that current code barriers — including where housing is allowed, height and setback rules and large ground‑floor commercial requirements — are slowing development.
Campbell said the changes respond to a Cascadia Partners code audit that found housing is often not allowed as a standalone use in many mixed‑use and commercial districts, and that existing development standards make mixed‑use projects economically infeasible. "We need 470 new homes every year to meet state targets," Campbell…
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