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Planning and Zoning

Planning and Zoning

Planning and Zoning

ZDO-294

Minor and Time-Sensitive Comprehensive Plan and ZDO Amendments is a Planning project that is intended to be completed annually and focuses on relatively minor changes to the County’s Comprehensive Plan and Zoning and Development Ordinance (ZDO) that are necessary to comply with any new state and federal mandates, clarify existing language, correct errors, or adopt optional provisions that require only minimal analysis.

Ordinance ZDO-294 includes the minor and time sensitive amendments for fiscal year 2027 (FY2027) and proposes changes to one chapter of the Comprehensive Plan and to 21 sections of the ZDO and the addition of one new ZDO section, in order to accomplish the following four actions:

  1. Implement state mandates, which were adopted through legislation or administrative rulemaking, that are currently in effect or will become effective by January 1, 2027;
  2. Adopt optional regulations for farm stores, which is a use mandated by new state law in the Exclusive Farm Use and Ag/Forest zones;
  3. Amend property line setbacks for accessory structures in certain locations within the FU-10 (Future Urban, 10-acre) zoning district; and
  4. Make minor changes to the Comprehensive Plan and ZDO to clarify provisions, reduce administrative barriers, and correct citations and typographical errors. 

The Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners have scheduled hearings to receive testimony from the public and other interested parties on the proposed amendments. Because the amendments may affect your community or area of interest, we are giving you and your organization advance notice of the opportunity to review and comment on them before or at the public hearings.

A summary of the amendments proposed for each section of the ZDO will be available online. To obtain emailed or printed copies of the full text of the proposed amendments, please contact Planning & Zoning at 503-742-4500 or zoninginfo@clackamas.us.

Notice of Land Use Public Hearings

for Community Planning Organizations, Hamlets, and Other Interested Parties

Subject: Ordinance ZDO-294: Minor and Time Sensitive Comprehensive Plan and ZDO Amendments FY2027 

Notice Date: September 21, 2026

Contact: 
Martha Fritzie, Principal Planner
150 Beavercreek Road, Oregon City, OR 97045
Phone: 503-742-4529
Email: mfritzie@clackamas.us

Minor and Time-Sensitive Comprehensive Plan and ZDO Amendments is a Planning project that is intended to be completed annually and focuses on relatively minor changes to the County’s Comprehensive Plan and Zoning and Development Ordinance (ZDO) that are necessary to comply with any new state and federal mandates, clarify existing language, correct errors, or adopt optional provisions that require only minimal analysis.

Ordinance ZDO-294 includes the minor and time sensitive amendments for fiscal year 2027 (FY2027) and proposes changes to one chapter of the Comprehensive Plan and to 21 sections of the ZDO and the addition of one new ZDO section, in order to accomplish the following four actions:

  1. Implement state mandates, which were adopted through legislation or administrative rulemaking, that are currently in effect or will become effective by January 1, 2027;
  2. Adopt optional regulations for farm stores, which is a use mandated by new state law in the Exclusive Farm Use and Ag/Forest zones;
  3. Amend property line setbacks for accessory structures in certain locations within the FU-10 (Future Urban, 10-acre) zoning district; and
  4. Make minor changes to the Comprehensive Plan and ZDO to clarify provisions, reduce administrative barriers, and correct citations and typographical errors. 

The Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners have scheduled hearings to receive testimony from the public and other interested parties on the proposed amendments. Because the amendments may affect your community or area of interest, we are giving you and your organization advance notice of the opportunity to review and comment on them before or at the public hearings.

A summary of the amendments proposed for each section of the ZDO will be available online. To obtain emailed or printed copies of the full text of the proposed amendments, please contact Planning & Zoning at 503-742-4500 or zoninginfo@clackamas.us.

Public Hearings and Testimony

Interested parties are welcome to provide testimony in advance of or at the hearings listed below. The Planning Commission public hearings are held virtually using the Zoom platform. The Board of County Commissioners’ public hearings are held both in-person and virtually using the Zoom platform. One week before the hearing dates, a Zoom link to the public hearing and details on how to observe and testify will be posted at the hearing web address.

Public Hearing Dates and Times:

Written testimony may be submitted before the hearings to Martha Fritzie at mfritzie@clackamas.us or 150 Beavercreek Road, Oregon City, OR 97045.

  • Written testimony received by 4 p.m., Wednesday, October 14, 2026, will be included in the information packet provided to the Planning Commission one week before its scheduled hearing; written testimony received after that time and before 10 a.m., Monday, October 26, 2026, will be emailed to the Planning Commission before the hearing. If the Planning Commission continues the October 26th hearing, additional testimony submittal deadlines will be identified at that hearing.
  • Written testimony received by 4 p.m., Monday, November 2, 2026, will be included in the information packet provided to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) one week before its scheduled hearing; written testimony received after that time and before 4 p.m., Monday, November 9, 2026, will be emailed to the BCC before the hearing. If the BCC continues the November 10th hearing, additional testimony submittal deadlines will be identified at that hearing.

Interested parties who want to present verbal testimony at either hearing will be asked to sign up and/or indicate their interest in testifying at the beginning of the hearing.

Overview of Proposed Amendments

Ordinance ZDO-294 proposes changes to accomplish the following four actions.

  1. Implement state mandates, which were adopted through legislation or administrative rulemaking, that are currently in effect or will become effective by July 1, 2027. 

    Generally, these amendments fall into one of three categories: (1) expanding allowances for middle housing, single room occupancies, and replacement dwellings, (2) implementing new rules related to coordination with tribes and establishing significant cultural landscape areas, and (3) implementing new rules for farm stores and associated agri-tourism activities in agriculture zones. ZDO-294 includes amendments to include these mandatory items in the county’s ZDO, including:

    • Expanding middle housing allowances in the Urban Low Density Districts and VR 5/7 and VR4/5 Districts to include up to four middle housing dwelling units that are in any configuration of attached or detached units;
    • Allowing single room occupancies (SROs) to be developed at three times the density of dwelling units in zones that allow multifamily dwellings;
    • Amending the Middle Housing Land Division (MHLD) process to allow an existing detached single family dwelling or duplex to remain on one of the lots created through the middle housing land division.
    • Adopting procedures for notifying tribes with ancestral connections to lands in Clackamas County of Type II and III land use applications that propose ground disturbance;
    • Implementing a new process for designating and potentially protecting significant cultural landscape features under Statewide Planning Goal 5, Natural Resources, Scenic and Historic Areas, and Open Spaces;
    • Expanding allowances for farm stores and associated agri-tourism activities in agriculture zones; and
    • Adding a new Section 850, Restoration or Replacement of a Dwelling, to implement Senate Bill 1561 [2026], which is mandatory for local governments, applies in all zoning districts, and establishes standards for the restoration of replacement of a dwelling damaged or destroyed by a natural or involuntary event.

  2. Adopt regulations for farm stores in Exclusive Farm Use and Ag/Forest zones 

    Per the legislation relating to farm stores in agriculture zones (HB 4153 [2026]), allowing farm stores, and associated agri-tourism activities, in agricultural zones is mandatory. However, the county is permitted to adopt operational standards for farm stores specifically related to

    1. Access, egress and parking;
    2. Traffic management;
    3. Noise management;
    4. Hours of event operation; or
    5. Sanitation and solid waste.

    Ordinance ZDO-294 includes proposed amendments for regulations related to (A) through (D) above with the exception of sanitation, which will continue to be regulated by other county-administered standards.

  3. Amend property line setbacks for accessory structures in certain locations within the FU-10 (Future Urban, 10-acre) zoning district.

    In response to a request by a member of the public to remedy a setback issue, ZDO-294 includes a proposed amendment that would allow an exception to the setback standards applicable to residential accessory structures when properties are both located in the FU-10 (Future Urban, 10-acre) zoning district and have had a low-density residential comprehensive plan designation applied by the City of Oregon City. The proposal would allow for property owners in that circumstance to develop under the city’s setback rules applicable to accessory structures in low density residential zones, rather than the larger setback requirements in the FU-10 zone.

  4. Make minor changes to the Comprehensive Plan and ZDO to clarify provisions, reduce administrative barriers, and correct citations and typographical errors. 
    • Revise an outdated provision related to schools and required by the Metro Code.
    • Increase the maximum size allowed for a flag from 40 sq. ft. to 47.5 sq. ft. to allow for a military casket flag to be flown.
    • Clarify existing allowances for wireless telecommunication facilities in the EFU, TBR, and AG/F zones
    • Edit Section 406, Timber District, as needed to conform to state statutes and administrative rules. These rules may also apply in the AG/F District.
    • Clarify provisions that routinely cause confusion for staff and customers.
    • Correct citations and typographical errors.

Additional Information and Staff Report

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Hearings Officer: Z0110-26 - Oct. 22, 2026

The Planner Director decision has been appealed.
Development of a single family dwelling with an accessory dwelling unit, with approximately 90 square feet of non-exempt encroachment into the Habitat Conservation Area. The proposal does not qualify for the prescriptive review path under ZDO 706.10(A) because the prescribed maximum disturbance area for the entire lot is 5,000 square feet and the proposed development will disturb over 6,500 square feet. The applicant is therefore requesting approval under ZDO 706.10(B) which allows flexibility to the disturbance area limits of 706.10(A) contingent on the applicant demonstrating that: 1) They have analyzed all practicable options for avoiding impacts to the HCA; and that 2) The project will provide equal or better mitigation (native plantings) than the mitigation required by the prescriptive review path under 706.10(A), as certified by a qualified professional if not providing the mitigation prescribed under 706.10(A).

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]

Return to the Zoning and Development Ordinance main page. Contact zoninginfo@clackamas.us for additional information.

 

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ZDO 849: Residential Treatment Facilities, Residential Treatment Homes, Mental or Psychiatric Hospitals, and Crisis Stabilization Centers

849.01 Residential Treatment Facilities and Residential Treatment Homes

  1. Applicability: Section 849 applies to all residential treatment facilities and residential treatment homes, except those with 15 or fewer residents, all of whom reside in a single dwelling unit in an urban Residential District or in an urban Commercial District where dwellings are an allowed use.
  2. Adequate Public Services: Residential treatment facilities and residential treatment homes may only be permitted if it is determined that it can be adequately served by water, sewer, storm water drainage or streets and will be adequately served at the time that development on the property is complete. Adequately served means the development is consistent with Section 1006, Utilities, Street Lights, Water Supply, Sewage Disposal, Surface Water Management, and Erosion Control, and Section 1007, Roads and Connectivity.
  3. Prohibitions: Residential treatment facilities and residential treatment homes are not permitted if development of the subject property requires a land use permit under Section 703, Floodplain Management District, Section 705, Willamette River Greenway, Section 706, Habitat Conservation Area District, Section 709, Water Quality Resource Area District, or Subsection 1003.02, Standards and Criteria for Mass Movement Hazard Area Development.
  4. Industrial Lands: A residential treatment facility or residential treatment home may only be permitted in the LI and BP Districts if the subject property is:  
    1. Publicly owned or owned by a public benefit corporation as defined in ORS 65.001; and
    2. Within 250 feet of lands zoned for residential use. 
  5. Public Lands: A residential treatment facility or residential treatment home shall not be located on public lands that are park land.

849.02 Mental or Psychiatric Hospitals and Crisis Stabilization Centers

  1. Adequate Public Services: Mental or psychiatric hospitals and crisis stabilization centers may only be permitted if it is determined that it can be adequately served by water, sewer, storm water drainage, or streets, and will be adequately served at the time that development on the subject property is complete. Adequately served means the development is consistent with Section 1006, Utilities, Street Lights, Water Supply, Sewage Disposal, Surface Water Management, and Erosion Control, and Section 1007, Roads and Connectivity.
  2. Public Lands: Mental or psychiatric hospitals shall not be located on public lands that are park land.

849.03 Procedures

A residential treatment facility, residential treatment home, mental or psychiatric hospital, or crisis stabilization center requires review as a Type II-S application pursuant to Section 1307, Procedures, and is subject to the development standards in this Ordinance that are applicable to an institutional use.

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

Return to the Zoning and Development Ordinance main page. Contact zoninginfo@clackamas.us for additional information.

 

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Hearings Officer: Z0085-26 - Sept. 24, 2026

Conditional Use Review for a utility facility otherwise not listed for a two single story, unmanned 864 SF premanufactured fiber optic utility building(s) that will act as an infrastructure component to their underground fiber-optic network. The building(s) are a precast concrete building with a smooth gray painted finish, that is set on and anchored to a concrete foundation. There will be no antennas, towers, or dishes at the site for these buildings. The facility will be an unoccupied facility that is not open to the public and locked at all times. Access is only permitted by trained and authorized service personnel on a very infrequent basis. The building(s) will be within a 110x86 fence lease area that will also include ground equipment and two generators.