Multnomah County unveils plan to simplify zoning code, move faster on routine permits

Multnomah County staff and consulting firm MIG told the Board of Commissioners on Thursday that the county will pursue a multi‑phase update of its zoning code aimed at making the rules easier to use, compliant with state housing standards and less burdensome for routine projects.

The briefing, delivered by Megan Gibb, the countys Land Use Planning Director, and Matt Hastie, senior project manager at MIG, said the code is "very out of date" and can be "overly restrictive," often forcing property owners to hire professionals for simple work such as building a garage or a shed. Gibb said the project pairs a near‑term set of changes, staff hires to reopen a front counter and a longer comprehensive rewrite.

The project team described four phases: an audit, options and direction, rewrite and adoption. Hastie said phases one and two are nearly complete and the near‑term work — a six‑month package — will target what staff described as the three highest‑priority items: simplifying the countys lot‑of‑record verification process, revising rules around nonconforming situations and narrowing "full compliance" requirements that staff said often require applicants to demonstrate past actions fully complied with current standards.

"Our code is very out of…