Portland, Oregon rentals and proposed zoning changes

[John Chapman]

I have two daughters in Portland Oregon and am searching for a 2-4 unit rental for one or both of them to owner-occupy one unit and rent out the other(s). I heard that there are some proposed zoning changes that will loosen restrictions for ADU (accessory dwelling units). Does anyone know the details of this proposed change? The zones it applies to, definition of ADU, etc.

[Mathew Wray]

Morning John!

I believe that the infill changes Jeff wrote about are the ADU changes you were asking about. The city is looking at using an overlay zone to accomplish the zoning changes. There is nothing official yet, so we don't know what the final proposal/action will be but we have some decent info from the city on the scope of the changes they're looking into. Here's some info:

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/678802

This is pretty radical for Portland’s council and is likely (in my opinion) to face opposition from the same groups that bemoan our housing challenges. I’m hopeful that some version of this will go through as it could be a great value-add for owners as well as contribute to more housing for the massive population influx Portland is expected to receive in the next 20 years.

The next scheduled portion is a Feb. 12th meeting on the proposals (I don’t think open to the public) with it being sent back to the council for review and public comment sometime in March. It’s looking, as far as I can tell, like there won’t be an official vote on the proposals until summer. 

Hope that helps!

Mathew