Climate-Friendly & Equitable Communities

In response to Executive Order 20-04 (PDF), the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) developed, and the state adopted, updates to Oregon's transportation and land use planning rules. These new rules are called Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) (PDF). They reduce minimum parking requirements for certain new developments. The following rules went into effect on January 1, 2023.

How the New Rules Impact Oregon City

New Rules	Oregon City Code Impact
OAR 660-012-0430 Developers are not required to provide more than 1 off-street parking space per unit in new multi-unit residential developments.	No change. Oregon City code (OCMC 17.52.020) already meets this standard.
OAR 660-012-0430 Developers are not required to create off-street parking for the following development types: Housing units under 750 square feet Affordable housing units Childcare facilities Residential facilities for people with disabilities Shelters	Only new development in these specific categories is impacted. Existing parking for these types of developments is not affected unless they are redeveloped.
OAR 660-012-0440 Developers are not required to create off-street parking for new developments within 1/2 mile of frequent transit corridors.	Only new development within ½ mile of TriMet's 33 bus line is impacted. See map. Existing parking in the buffer zone is not affected unless redeveloped.

New Rules

Oregon City Code Impact

OAR 660-012-0430

Developers are not required to provide more than 1 off-street parking space per unit in new multi-unit residential developments.

No change. Oregon City code (OCMC 17.52.020) already meets this standard.

OAR 660-012-0430

Developers are not required to create off-street parking for the following development types:

Housing units under 750 square feet
Affordable housing units
Childcare facilities
Residential facilities for people with disabilities
Shelters

Only new development in these specific categories is impacted.

Existing parking for these types of developments is not affected unless they are redeveloped.

OAR 660-012-0440

Developers are not required to create off-street parking for new developments within 1/2 mile of frequent transit corridors.

Only new development within ½ mile of TriMet's 33 bus line is impacted. See map.

Existing parking in the buffer zone is not affected unless redeveloped.

For now, developers are still free to create off-street parking up to Oregon City's allowed maximums. They are just not required to develop a minimum amount of off-street parking in these cases. In other words, these development types will have no minimum parking requirement.

Oregon City has one frequent transit line, TriMet's Line 33. The new CFEC rules mean that new developments within ½ mile of Line 33's corridor through Oregon City will no longer have minimum parking requirements. The map above shows the areas of Oregon City within that ½ mile buffer zone.

Additional CFEC Rules

On April 1, 2023, the next new CFEC rule will go into effect. This new rule requires 40% of the parking spaces developed in conjunction with new multi-family (5+ housing units) buildings and multi-use buildings with private commercial space must have a conduit to serve electric vehicle charging (OAR 660-012-0410).

A third round of rules goes into effect on July 1, 2024, and will require new development in Oregon City to conform to the following Oregon Administrative Rules:

On January 1, 2026, the following Oregon Administrative Rule will go into effect:

OAR 660-012-0215 - Transportation Performance Standards

FAQs

Why change parking requirements?

According to DLCD, excess parking increases housing and business costs. It makes creating new housing and business properties more expensive and difficult. As a result, minimum parking mandates bring hidden costs to those who use cars and often require those who don't use cars to pay those hidden costs for other people's parking, as well. Read more about Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) (PDF).

Households without cars tend to be the lowest-income households. In fact, about one in six renter households in Oregon is without a car. Past parking requirements have been one-size-fits-all, often creating parking lots that are under-used most of the day, week, month, or even year. These lots take up a great deal of space that might be better used for other things.

Because parking lots are designed for car movement, they are often difficult and dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists to move through to get to homes and businesses within walking, riding, or rolling distance. This can end up pressuring communities to be dependent on cars to get where they need to go when other transportation options (walking, biking, public transportation, etc.) might work for them instead. As a result, households with lower incomes often spend more than they can afford on the transportation costs that come with car ownership and car dependency.

Excess parking also leads to increased air, water, and climate pollution. It can detract from the general character of the community, as well. The new rules are designed to encourage more efficient uses of land and make new developments more accessible to people who can or must get around in more ways than just by car.

More changes are expected to come as additional CFEC rules are phased in. This page will be updated periodically to keep the public informed. Read more about DLCD's Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities Rules, and the timeline that cities are being given to implement them - CFEC Implementation Guide (PDF).

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Climate-Friendly & Equitable Communities

How the New Rules Impact Oregon City

Additional CFEC Rules

FAQs

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