Portland City Council to review potential zoning code changes

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The Portland Planning Commission on Tuesday agreed to recommend to the Portland City Council a package of draft zoning code updates intended to facilitate implementation of the code.

The proposed draft of the Regulatory Improvement Code Amendment Package 10 (RICAP 10) is the latest in a series of updates and improvements to Portland’s land use regulations. This is the first RICAP project after a five-year hiatus, the city stated in a press release.

The proposed draft includes 83 zoning code amendments, with an emphasis on housing production, economic development, and regulatory reduction. Some items are minor policy changes, while others are technical amendments or clarifications.

The Portland Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed draft last month.

A previous work session on the draft was held March 12. The commission discussed item No. 76, which would essentially allow non-river-dependent uses on River Industrial overlay zone lots that do not have river frontage and are owned by a public agency. This amendment is mainly in response to the prefabricated housing manufacturing facility project at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 2.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the Planning Commission approved an amendment that narrows the applicability of the exception to providing non-river-dependent uses to one site. The amendment further limits the exception to the port’s publicly owned lot.

Bureau of Planning and Sustainability staff stated in a report that limiting the exception to just one lot represents a smaller policy shift than an exception that would apply to all publicly owned sites in the River Industrial zone. Both the Port of Portland and Willamette Riverkeeper are supportive of this approach, according to BPS. The bureau also intends to look at uses in the River Industrial zone more broadly in the Economic Opportunities Analysis process now under way.

The next step will be for the Planning Commission to draft a transmittal letter to the Portland City Council regarding its recommendation. The recommended draft will be published in late April.

The proposed draft is scheduled to go before the Portland City Council in late May. If approved, it would become effective on Oct. 1.