ZDO 848: Emergency Shelter Siting

848.01 Definition

As used in Section 848, “emergency shelter” means a building or cluster of buildings that provides shelter on a temporary basis for individuals and families who lack permanent housing.

848.02 Standards

Emergency shelter siting requires review as a Type II-S application pursuant to Section 1307, Procedures, and must comply with the following standards:

1. The emergency shelter must be operated by:
   1. A local government as defined in ORS 174.116;
   2. An organization with at least two years’ experience operating an emergency shelter using best practices that is:
      1. A local housing authority as defined in ORS 456.375;
      2. A religious corporation as defined in ORS 65.001; or
      3. A public benefit corporation, as defined in ORS 65.001, whose charitable purpose includes the support of homeless individuals, that has been recognized as exempt from income tax under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code for at least three years before the date of the application for a shelter; or
   3. A nonprofit corporation partnering with any other entity described in Subsection 848.02(A).
2. Except as described in Subsection 848.02(B)(4), an emergency shelter may be sited on any land, notwithstanding any statewide land use planning goal, rule of the Land Conservation and Development Commission, or local land use regulation, zoning ordinance, regional framework plan, functional plan, or comprehensive plan, if the emergency shelter:
   1. Includes sleeping and restroom facilities for clients;
   2. Will comply with applicable building codes;
   3. Is located inside an urban growth boundary or is located outside an urban growth boundary and within the FF-10, RA-1, RA-2, RR, or RRFF-5 District ;
   4. Will not result in the development of a new building that is sited within a mass movement hazard area regulated by Section 1003, Hazards to Safety, or within the Floodplain Management District, unless the development complies with regulations directly related to the hazard;
   5. Has adequate transportation access to commercial and medical services; and
   6. Will not pose any unreasonable risk to public health or safety.
3. The emergency shelter:
   1. May provide on-site for its clients and at no cost to the clients:
      1. Showering or bathing;
      2. Storage for personal property;
      3. Laundry facilities;
      4. Service of food prepared on-site or off-site;
      5. Recreation areas for children and pets;
      6. Case management services for housing, financial, vocational, educational, or physical or behavioral health care services; or
      7. Any other services incidental to shelter.
   2. May include youth shelters, winter or warming shelters, day shelters, and family violence shelter homes as defined in ORS 409.290.
4. The emergency shelter may also provide additional services not described in Subsection 848.02(C) to individuals who are transitioning from unsheltered homeless status. An organization providing services under Subsection 848.02(D) may charge a fee of no more than $300 per month per client and only to clients who are financially able to pay the fee and who request the services.
5. An emergency shelter:
   1. May resume its use as an emergency shelter after an interruption or abandonment of that use for two years or less, notwithstanding ORS 215.130 (7).
   2. May not be used for any purpose other than as an emergency shelter except upon application for a permit demonstrating that the construction of the building and its use could be approved under current land use laws and local land use regulations.

848.03 Procedures

1. Approval of an emergency shelter is void unless the shelter is operating within two years following the approval.
2. An application for an emergency shelter is not subject to approval under Section 848 if, at the time of filing, the most recently completed point-in-time count, as reported to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under 24 C.F.R. part 578, indicated that the total sheltered and unsheltered homeless population was less than 0.18 percent of the state population, based on the latest estimate from the Portland State University Population Research Center.

[Added by Ord. ZDO-293, 09/08/2026]