Portland's city code mandates certain upgrades when buildings undergo significant changes, but some of these requirements may be put on hold, as outlined in the latest updates from the City's Code Alignment Project (CAP). In an effort to "right-size requirements for small business and small-scale development," the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is proposing to pause frontage improvement requirements for significant alterations that don't involve an increase in occupancy. For those not privy to city lingo, frontage improvements typically include enhancements to the streetscape surrounding a new or significantly altered building, such as adding sidewalks or bike lanes, and in the past, have been a hefty extra cost for developers to shoulder, as per the City of Portland website.
According to Portland's municipal government, significant alterations are defined as “changes to property that are 35 percent or greater than the assessed value of all improvements on the site.” This definition can saddle small-scale projects, often undertaken by small businesses working on older or smaller buildings, with hefty frontage improvement costs. PBOT's proposed suspension aims to relieve these smaller developers of such financial burdens, while still enforcing the rule for large, transformative projects, especially those pertaining to important community institutions like schools or hospitals.
The pause on these requirements comes after the CAP found that around 10% of private development frontage improvements completed in 2023 and 2024 were due to significant alteration thresholds. It's an interesting move, considering these alterations included improvements such as the addition of approximately 30 ADA curb ramps, valuable for city accessibility. Nonetheless, the CAP, which included provisions from different City Codes, looked to align the various requirement thresholds.
Therefore, PBOT is hitting the brakes on this aspect of urban development until January 1, 2029, as part of the multi-bureau CAP initiative. The Code Alignment Project seeks to streamline and align the requirements across various titles, such as street tree planting, seismic evaluations, and non-conforming upgrades. With this suspension, PBOT staff will continue to work on a long-term policy change. The City Administrator has the authority to enforce these rule changes, established under Portland City Code Section 3.12.040.
The proposed updates to the TRN-1.30 administrative rule are set to take effect on October 10, in synchronization with the overarching Code Alignment Project. Public comments on this proposal are solicited by PBOT until 5 p.m. on September 19. For those who wish to voice their opinions or concerns, they can submit comments to [email protected]. Furthermore, a virtual public hearing will potentially take place on September 24, dependent on public interest, and requests for the hearing must be submitted by 5 p.m. on September 17, as detailed by the city's website.
