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City previews code changes to implement Senate Bill 1561; 'involuntary event' left undefined
Summary
City attorneys briefed councilors on code amendments to implement Senate Bill 1561 (2026), noting the changes largely 'copy/paste' state language into local code and that the statute's phrase 'involuntary event' is not defined and may require court clarification.
City-contracted counsel presented draft code amendments to implement Senate Bill 1561, telling the council the ordinance language closely follows state law and leaves little local discretion. "The purpose of the code amendments is to implement Senate Bill 1561, which was adopted by the Oregon legislature in 2026," said Ethan Onard of Burry Elsner, who noted the draft will be the subject of a public hearing in August.
Onard said the 2020 changes following fires were expanded by the 2026 law to apply to all natural disasters. He described the draft as largely verbatim and said the council's discretion is limited by statute. When a councilor asked whether a single-house fire caused by owner negligence would qualify, attorney Josh (who joined the discussion) cautioned that the statute uses the term "involuntary event," which the legislature did not define. "I suspect that at some point, there will be some litigation that might clarify what involuntary event means," Josh said, adding that events outside property-owner control are more clearly covered.
Staff said the planning commission already held a public hearing and that the council will hold its public hearing on the code amendment in August. The presentation included practical clarifications: reconstruction is generally limited to the existing footprint (a roughly 25% deviation is allowed) and property owners cannot use the statute to subdivide or add new units without going through moratorium or other approval processes.
