As part of the land use review process, the applicant must demonstrate that their zoning adjustment will meet or exceed the purpose of the zone (here’s the criteria: Adjustment Approval Criteria (PDF))
As part of this process, I am citing other properties in the neighborhood that either have a similar amount of building-to-land ratio or where [...]
There are several steps to getting the city to accept designs that fall outside the zoning code. These steps are:
Review your basic idea with a city planner (free)
Determine what adjustments will be needed (free)
Work with a designer or architect to create a site plane, elevation drawings, utility plans, and landscape plans (cost TBD)
Submit an application [...]
Portland’s BDS (Bureau of Development Services) has a fantastic website full of helpful information. Here are a few online resources:
Overview of ADUs.
Overview of the development process.
Information on adjustments.
One of the challenges to building an ADU is that there may be zoning limitations that prohibit the size, shape or placement of your building. It’s important to [...]
Met with a city planner today, after some suggestions from local cohousing developer Eli Spevak.
Visiting the city planning building can be a daunting experience. It’s a very modern building and lobby, and everyone who comes in seems to know what they’re doing (except for me, of course). Fortunately, Eli gave me some good suggestions about [...]