Clackamas County staff present ZDO diagnostic, propose form-based elements and code reorganization

Clackamas County planning staff presented a diagnostic of the county's Zoning and Development Ordinance (ZDO) at a Planning Commission study session, summarizing consultant findings and next steps for code amendments.

Martha, a planning staff member who led the presentation, said the diagnostic was funded with a Metro grant and has focused on the urban unincorporated area inside the Portland metropolitan Urban Growth Boundary, including Clackamas Town Center, Sunnyside, Oak Grove and Jennings Lodge. She told the commission the consultants organized issues into six buckets: fragmented code organization, inconsistent design standards, confusing residential density calculations, unclear review thresholds, fragmented pedestrian and bicycle connectivity standards, and structural complexity that compounds with frequent state-law changes. "It's really clunky," Martha said of the county's online ZDO materials.

Why it matters: staff said the project aims to make the code easier to use for county staff, developers and the public, to reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers, and to identify where state law requires faster action. Jennifer, a planning staffer, warned the commission the county is "already out of compliance" with the state's clear-and-objective standards for housing in urban areas, and described two categories of consequence: the practical application of standards on a case-by-case basis and the potential for state or private enforcement actions.

Key recommendations and next steps: the consultants' recommendations fall into usability and clarity, housing district simplification, use-category consolidation, and neighborhood connectivity. Martha said short-term steps could include adding a roadmap chapter to the code, a dedicated measurements chapter for building heights and setbacks, cleaning up definitions, and considering a use-classification chapter. She described a possible shift toward form-based code elements that emphasize building scale and design over long lists of permitted uses, while noting staff are still evaluating the approach and examples from other jurisdictions.

Staff scope and timelines: Martha said draft technical memos on transportation, housing zoning and employment/commercial zoning have been compiled into a draft diagnostic report that staff expect to finalize within about a month. She said code amendments are not being drafted yet; the diagnostic is intended to "diagnose" and produce an action plan. Staff anticipate packaging potential code amendments in at least two amendment packages and conducting further outreach and working groups before proceeding to formal hearings.

Overlap with other projects: staff clarified that the diagnostic (referred to as ZDO 289 in the meeting) is broader than ZDO 290, a separate project focused on making specific standards clear and objective for environmental overlays and natural hazards. Karen, another planning/transportation staff member, described overlap with an update to the county Transportation System Plan (TSP) and with the clear-and-objective work, and said the team will coordinate changes to ensure consistency across the ZDO, the comprehensive plan and roadway standards.

Outreach and equity concerns: staff acknowledged outreach for the technical project has been limited and largely targeted to technical stakeholders (internal staff, architects and developers). Commissioners and staff discussed ways to broaden engagement, noting low attendance at in-person open houses and the difficulty of translating highly technical code. Jennifer said the county already uses on-demand interpretation services for in-person interactions and that document translation may be better addressed with on-demand tools rather than static multi-language code books.

State compliance risk: Jennifer explained practical consequences of being out of compliance: county staff are limiting application of vague standards in some cases, and affected parties could file enforcement petitions with the state. She said the state Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) is aware of jurisdictions struggling with clear-and-objective requirements and that the agency is providing grant funding and technical assistance rather than immediate punitive enforcement in most cases.

What comes next: staff outlined near-term schedule items, including a May 11 public hearing on minor/time-sensitive amendments and consultants returning in July for the clear-and-objective work. Martha said staff will finalize the diagnostic report in the coming weeks, then work with commissioners and community stakeholders to package recommended code amendments into public hearings and outreach events.

No votes or formal actions were taken at the study session; the commission adjourned after scheduling and other announcements.