Middle Housing Code Development Update – February 2022

The City has continued to make progress on the development and refinement of draft code amendments to comply with the middle housing requirements of House Bill 2001 (or “HB 2001”).

Late last year, the City presented initial concept recommendations developed by the Middle Housing Code Advisory Committee (MHCAC) both through an online StoryMap and Survey and at a virtual Community Forum conducted via Zoom on December 9th. This outreach was intended to help citizens understand and provide input on the types of code changes the City is considering in order to comply with the middle housing requirements of HB 2001, and included opportunities for the public to provide input on the City’s recommendations prior to drafting code amendments.

More recently, the Planning Commission held a series of four work sessions to discuss remaining policy decisions related to middle housing code development, and City Council conducted an additional study session where staff presented a summary of the Commission’s recommendations. A Public Review Draft will be available in early March, and Public Hearings at the Planning Commission will begin in April 2022. The code amendments are scheduled to come before City Council for approval in May 2022 in order to be adopted prior to the state-mandated deadline of June 30, 2022.

The City will also be hosting a second Community Forum on Tuesday, March 22nd at 6:00 PM in order to provide information and answer questions about the proposed code amendments prior to the public hearing. Stay tuned for more details!

Additionally, Planning staff is available for middle housing presentations to Neighborhood Associations, upon request. The purpose of these presentations is to explain the City’s current work to comply with middle housing requirements under House Bill 2001, receive input specific to the NA, and address questions from NA members.

If you would like to coordinate a time for your NA to receive a presentation on middle housing, or if you have any other questions, please contact Erik Olson, Senior Planner, at  eolson@lakeoswego.city.