Title
Continuance of Development Code Amendments Including Equitable Housing (Planning File LEG 18-00001) to October 16, 2019
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Continuance of LEG 18-00001 to October 16, 2019.
BACKGROUND:
LEG-18-00001 includes amendments to the text of the Oregon City Municipal Code. Planning Division staff and consultants have been working with the community to provide updates to the development standards within the Oregon City Municipal Code. The standards include a variety of topics such as additional housing opportunities recommended by an Equitable Housing Public Advisory Team as well as other changes which were not reviewed by the equitable housing advisory committees but predominately implement their direction. As a whole, the amendments result in greater opportunities for housing, reduce regulations, streamline processes, provide clarity around existing standards, address existing concerns in the development standards, and are formatted to be easier to follow. This proposal does not include any changes to the adopted zoning map or any city-initiated construction or development.
The project began when the community identified concerns about not being able to afford to rent or purchase a place to live. The availability of places to live at many income levels was constrained and the types of dwellings available were not always matched with the types of dwellings the community wanted. In response, the City Commission adopted goals for the 2017-2019 biennium including:
Goal 1 (Cultivate an Environment for Successful Economic Development): Complete site-readiness efforts which can be accomplished through ... improvements or process and permitting refinement.
Goal 3 (Enhance the Livability of the Community): Review local regulations and processes to remove barriers and provide incentives to additional housing opportunities
The City received a $100,000 grant from Metro to accomplish this project. The majority of the code amendments implement the direction provided by the Equitable Housing project by amending the applicable Chapters of the Oregon City Municipal Code related to land divisions and development of all types of housing such as multi-family, duplexes, and single-family homes. The amendments remove unnecessary standards, remove conflicting standards, reword for clarity, reformat for clarity, and streamline some housing processes, though a handful of additional amendments were added throughout the evolution of the project which are not related to housing. The complete package of amendments include:
• Recommendations from the Equitable Housing Project Advisory Team, consultants, staff, and Planning Commission;
• General clarification of standards and procedures for more efficient development review to support clear standards and efficient process for the development of housing; and
• A handful of other amendments identified by staff or through the course of the public hearing process which are not related to housing.
The City Commission recently approved a variety of amendments to the Oregon City Municipal Code, but wanted additional time to consider the following in greater depth:
• Amending the maximum height limits within the Mixed Use Downtown (MUD) District;
• Allowing permanent food carts within the Mixed Use Downtown (MUD) District and at Clackamas Community College (CCC);
• Amending design standards for food carts;
• Adopting regulations for shelters;
• Amending regulations for short-term rentals; and
• Amending the recently adopted code for clarifications or corrections of erorrs.
As the City Commission continues to provide direction on the outstanding issues, staff reccommends a continuance until October 16, 2019. A tentative schedule to address each of the outstanfing issues is attached.