City of Gladstone Zoning Code Rewrite Project

Project Update (June 2022)

At the April 19, 2022 and May 17, 2022 Planning Commission hearings, Clackamas County planning staff and members of the MIG consultant team provided an overview of the proposed housing code amendments and additional code refinements. Following the public hearing on May 17th, the Planning Commission recommended unanimous approval of the proposed amendments with a few additional changes presented during the meeting.

At their June 14th meeting, the City Council voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 1515, amending the Gladstone Municipal Code, Zoning Map, and Comprehensive Plan related to Middle Housing in compliance with HB 2001. These amendments for Middle Housing are an important step in furthering the City of Gladstone’s goals of promoting housing opportunities and housing choice throughout the city.

What will the proposed changes involve? How can I provide my ideas?

There are several ways to learn more about this project and to get involved.

1. Watch a narrated presentation. The presentation provides a narrated overview of the project and includes a summary of existing zoning policies for housing and potential changes to the zoning code to support community needs and state requirements.

2. Take a short survey. After viewing the presentation, take a short survey to provide your opinions on proposed changes. CLICK HERE for survey.
3. Review materials completed to date located at the bottom of this page.
4. Join one of several upcoming public meetings. Over the next several months, the City of Gladstone will be holding several online public meetings to discuss, review and eventually adopt amendments to the zoning code.

• March 15- Planning Commission/City Council will review draft code changes (work session)
• April 19- Planning Commission public hearing and recommendations to the City Council 
• May 17- Planning Commission Continued Public Hearing and recommendations to City Council
• June 14- The City Council will consider adoption to the code changes

Supporting Housing Choices

In the spring of 2021, the City of Gladstone initiated the Zoning Code Rewrite project (the project) to update Title 17 of the Municipal Code related to needed housing. This project is a critical opportunity to implement policies around improved housing choices in Gladstone, engage all community members including those who have traditionally been under-represented in the decision-making process, and align local policies and standards to the recently adopted Housing Bill 2001 (HB 2001). The City Council is committed to equitable engagement that is carried forward in the Community Engagement Strategy.

Planning Process

This project includes several steps that will take place from summer of 2021 through the winter of 2021/2022. Community and stakeholder engagement is central to this project and there are several opportunities for involvement and to learn more about this

There are two committees that will be involved in each step of the process.

• The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) includes representatives from the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and Clackamas County who will provide feedback on housing requirements from  the state and local level.
• The Needed Housing Advisory Committee (NHAC) includes a diversity of community members who will provide input on draft materials based on community needs and interests.  

Document Library

You can learn more about this project or review draft and final materials by downloading project documents that will be added here.

Stay Connected and Subscribe for Updates

Interesting in receiving project news and updates? Please provide your contact information to kratz@ci.gladstone.or.us to receive automatic updates for this project. 

 
Project Purpose and Background

Housing Needs in Gladstone

The City’s recent Housing Needs Analysis anticipates an increase of 321 households over the next 20 years. This results in a need for  new housing types to accommodate this growth, including multifamily, attached homes such as townhouses, and single-family detached housing.

Like most cities in the region Gladstone is faced with limited land supply for residential needs: just 9% of only 16 of the city’s unconstrained buildable residential acres are classified as vacant. The lack of buildable land supply and extent of lower density residential development will make it difficult for the city  to meet the required average density of eight units per net acre (the Metropolitan Housing Rule established through Goal 10 Housing and implemented in Chapter 660 Division 7).

At the same time, Gladstone has a large share of households spending more than 30% of their incomes on housing, which results in an impact to a person’s ability to own or rent a home. This in addition to the lack of buildable lands and a historic emphasis on detached single family dwelling units may further contribute to the housing shortage within the city and the region.

State Rules for Middle Housing

The statewide response to removing barriers to needed housing includes the 2017 Senate Bill 1051 that created new requirements to remove barriers to residential housing including the need for clear and objective standards. SB 1051 also requires cities with a population greater than 2,500 (which includes the City of Gladstone) to allow for the development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in zoning districts that also allow single-family development.

In 2019, the Oregon Legislature adopted House Bill 2001, also known as the Middle Housing Bill. The purpose of the legislation was to expand housing options in Oregon communities in response to the severe housing shortage that exists across much of the state. HB 2001 requires Oregon cities with populations of 10,000 and over (Medium Cities) to allow a duplex on every lot that is zoned for single-family detached housing. Cities with populations of 25,000 and larger (Large Cities) and cities within the Portland Metro Area are required to allow additional or “upper-level” middle housing types (triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, and cottage clusters), as well as duplexes. The bill also requires that local land use regulations do not cause unreasonable cost or delay in permitting middle housing.

The bill defines “Middle housing” as duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhomes, and cottage clusters, although historically part of the housing stock of many communities, have been omitted from local zoning regulations, particularly in areas zoned for single-family dwellings.