Housing and zoning
Council decisions about housing and zoning: 14 decisions. Map ›
October 2026
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City updates zoning rules to match new Oregon housing laws
Portland changed its zoning code, the rules for what can be built where, to follow new state laws passed in 2025 and 2026. The changes cover middle housing like duplexes and townhomes, limits on hearings and notices for some building reviews, where residential treatment facilities can go, and rebuilding homes damaged by natural causes. The state laws aim to remove local barriers and help more housing get built.
City of Portland · October 21, 2026 · Passed, 11 to 1.
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Portland updates zoning rules to match new Oregon housing laws
This changes Portland's zoning code, the rules for what can be built where, to follow five state laws passed in 2025 and 2026. The changes cover middle housing (like duplexes and townhouses), limits on hearings and notices for some land use reviews, where residential treatment facilities can go, and rebuilding homes damaged by natural causes. The city says it has no choice but to make these changes.
City of Portland · October 14, 2026 · Moved forward to a second reading. Public testimony is closed. No vote count was given.
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Council weighs zoning changes to add housing and businesses downtown
This plan changes zoning rules in the Central City, which covers downtown and nearby areas, to make it easier to build housing and help businesses recover after the pandemic. It would let some industrial land hold homes and shops, allow taller buildings, and allow more kinds of businesses, including food carts. Food cart rule changes would apply across the city where food carts are allowed.
City of Portland · October 14, 2026 · Continued. Spoken testimony is closed. Written testimony is accepted until October 15, 2026 at 4:00 pm, and the item returns to council then. · District 2, District 3, District 4
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City starts process to consider pausing commercial drone facility construction
State law says the city must warn a state land-use agency 45 days before it can adopt a moratorium, which is a temporary ban on building. This vote tells the City Attorney to send that notice about facilities that support commercial drones. It does not create a ban or change any building rules; it also lets the Council President handle related paperwork and legal steps, but not decide on the ban.
City of Portland · October 14, 2026 · Passed, 11 to 0. One councilor was absent.
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Council leans toward rejecting neighbors' added conditions for Ida B Wells rebuild
Portland Public Schools plans to rebuild Ida B Wells High School and improve its campus, and a city hearings officer approved the plan with conditions. The Hillsdale Neighborhood Association appealed, asking for more conditions: bike and walking lanes on the path through campus, pedestrian improvements on SW Burlingame Ave., and public use of fields, track and tennis courts without reservations when the school is not using them. Council tentatively said no to those added conditions but kept the hearings officer's approval and added one condition offered by the school district.
City of Portland · October 14, 2026 · Tentatively denied the appeal, 12 to 0. The hearings officer's approval and conditions stay, plus one condition proposed by the school district. Staff will write updated findings (the written reasons for the decision). · District 4
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Council delays vote on Central City zoning changes for housing and business
This would change zoning rules in Portland's Central City to make it easier to build housing and help businesses recover after the pandemic. It would rezone some industrial land to allow homes, shops and offices, raise building height limits and allow unlimited height in some areas. It would also ease rules for food carts citywide, allow more uses in Waterfront Park, and allow temporary surface parking lots during redevelopment.
City of Portland · October 14, 2026 · Rescheduled to October 29, 2026, at 2:30 pm. Public testimony, spoken and written, is closed. · District 2, District 3, District 4
September 2026
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Council changes fuel terminal safety rules, delays final vote to November
This plan sets new rules for the 11 large fuel storage sites in the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub, a six-mile stretch along the Willamette River in northwest Portland. More than 90 percent of Oregon's liquid fuel passes through these sites, and many tanks could fail in a major earthquake. The rules would limit how much more fuel the sites can store, require new tanks to meet the highest earthquake standards, and require city review before sites can expand fuel transfer equipment or add up to 5 percent more storage for aviation fuel.
City of Portland · September 30, 2026 · Council approved one set of changes, 12 to 0. A second set of changes failed, 5 to 7. The final vote was delayed to November 5, 2026. · District 3, District 4
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Council weighs new limits on fuel storage in northwest Portland
This would further limit how much fuel the 11 existing fuel terminals in the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub can store. The Hub is a six-mile strip along the Willamette River where most of Oregon's fuel is stored, on soil that can turn soft in a big earthquake. New tanks would have to meet the highest earthquake safety standards, and expanding fuel transfer equipment or adding a small amount of jet fuel storage (up to 5 percent per terminal) would need a special city review.
City of Portland · September 23, 2026 · Continued to October 1, 2026 at 2:00 pm. Spoken testimony is closed. Written testimony is accepted until October 1, 2026 at 12:00 pm. · District 3, District 4
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City moves to foreclose on troubled NE Sandy Blvd property over unpaid liens
The City will start foreclosure to sell 7545 NE Sandy Blvd because the owner has not paid City liens. A lien is a legal claim on a property for money owed. These liens came from code violations, nuisance cleanup and related enforcement at a vacant, distressed property that the City says has caused problems for neighbors, including frequent police calls.
City of Portland · September 16, 2026 · Passed, 11 to 0. One member (Smith) was absent. · District 3
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City moves to foreclose on troubled Sandy Boulevard property over unpaid liens
The city will start foreclosure on 7545 NE Sandy Blvd to collect unpaid city liens, which are debts tied to the property for code violations and nuisance cleanup. The city says the vacant, run-down property has caused problems for neighbors and drawn many police calls. The city plans to sell the property to recover what it is owed.
City of Portland · September 16, 2026 · Passed, 11 to 0. One council member (Smith) was absent. · District 3
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City moves to foreclose on N Columbia Blvd property over unpaid fines
The City will start foreclosure on a property on N Columbia Blvd because the owner has not paid City liens. A lien is a legal claim on a property for money owed. These liens came from code violations, nuisance cleanup and other enforcement, and the City says the vacant, distressed property has caused problems for neighbors, including frequent police calls.
City of Portland · September 16, 2026 · Passed, 11 to 0. One member, Smith, was absent. · District 2
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City moves to foreclose on troubled property on SE Division Street
The city will start foreclosure to sell 7101–7103 SE Division St because the owner has not paid city liens. A lien is a legal claim on a property for money owed; these came from code violations, nuisance cleanup and other enforcement. The city says the vacant property has caused problems for neighbors, including frequent police calls.
City of Portland · September 16, 2026 · Passed, 11 to 0. One member, Smith, was absent. · District 3
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City moves to foreclose on problem property at 5706 SE Lambert St
The city will start foreclosure to sell a vacant, distressed property at 5706 SE Lambert St because the owner has not paid city liens. A lien is a legal claim on a property for money owed; these came from code violations, nuisance cleanups and similar enforcement. The city says the property has caused major problems for neighbors, including frequent police calls.
City of Portland · September 16, 2026 · Passed, 11 to 0. Councilor Smith was absent. · District 3
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City moves to foreclose on troubled NE Alberta Street property over unpaid liens
The City will start foreclosure to sell 2734-2738 NE Alberta St because the owner has not paid City liens. A lien is a legal claim on a property for money owed. These liens came from code violations, nuisance cleanup and other enforcement, and the City says the property has caused problems for neighbors, including frequent police calls.
City of Portland · September 16, 2026 · Passed, 11 to 0. Councilor Smith was absent. · District 2