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County holds first reading of zoning-code changes to Significant Environmental Concern rules
Summary
Multnomah County held the first reading of an ordinance to amend MCC Chapter 39 (the Significant Environmental Concern rules). Staff said the changes reorganize and simplify the code, expand some exemptions, change mitigation standards and create a faster Type 1 review path; the board approved the first reading and scheduled a second reading.
Multnomah County planning staff presented the first reading of an ordinance to amend Chapter 39 of the Multnomah County Code, which governs Significant Environmental Concern (SEC) regulations.
Kevin Cook, senior planner, said the amendments are largely organizational and intended to simplify and clarify the SEC code. Key changes described included: reorganizing and clarifying standards; expanding the exemption for structures destroyed by fire or disaster by allowing more flexibility in footprint for rebuilding; reducing shrub-planting mitigation requirements by allowing native seeding as an alternative; retaining a tree-mitigation requirement in the planning mitigation standards; creating a single set of riparian-stream regulations across the county; and introducing a Type 1 review path for some SEC overlay permits to reduce time and cost for qualifying projects.
Staff told the board the amendments preserve compliance with state Goal 5 natural-resource protections. A public commenter expressed concern about the 25-shrub-per-500-square-foot metric and urged better cross-jurisdictional communication with native communities when updating SEC standards.
Commissioners asked about outreach and stakeholder engagement; Margie Bridal, director of community services, said the county relies on its Multnomah County Planning Commission and neighborhood associations for input and that the package includes many administrative cleanups to make the code less cumbersome. Commissioners requested additional written rationale on specific staff responses to stakeholder recommendations ahead of the second reading.
The board approved the first reading and scheduled a second-reading meeting for a later date in the meeting materials. Staff said a more comprehensive land-use code update is also underway to address larger reform needs.
