Planning and Zoning

Second dwelling options: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in rural areas and Recreational Vehicles (RVs) in rural and urban areas

To help support access to more affordable housing in unincorporated Clackamas County, the Planning & Zoning Division is considering allowing for county residents to:

1. Construct an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on certain properties in rural residential areas, and/or
2. Use a recreational vehicle (RV) as a second dwelling on certain urban and rural residential properties.
3. Allow for either, both or neither of these options.

Read the hearing notice and proposed amendments.

The County Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners will hold public hearings on these options in spring 2024, and would like to hear how county residents and property owners feel about them. 

Where would the ADUs and RVs be allowed and under what circumstances?
Please watch our 8-minute video or review the information below.

Meetings and public hearings

*Mail or email: Testimony may also be sent by email or US mail in advance to Martha Fritzie, Planning & Zoning, 150 Beavercreek Road, Oregon City, OR 97045 or mfritzie@clackamas.us.

Requirements for rural ADUs

An accessory dwelling unit is a second (usually smaller) dwelling unit located on the same lot as a detached single-family home or manufactured home. It may be attached or detached from the single-family home or manufactured home.

Historically, state law has not allowed ADUs in rural areas. State legislation in 2021 and 2023 changed these rules, however, and now counties can allow ADUs in certain areas zoned for rural residential use, as long as the site is both outside of an urban growth boundary (UGB) and outside of an urban reserve.

If the county allows the construction of ADUs in these areas, it would have to apply the standards described below and could, but would not have to, add its own standards

Property requirements:

• Be at least two acres in size;
• Have only one single-family dwelling (could be a manufactured dwelling); 
• Not be subject to an order or pending action declaring it as a nuisance property;
• Be served by a fire protection service provider, and
• Cannot be subdivided to separate the primary dwelling and the ADU.

ADU requirements:

• No larger than 900 square feet;
• Located within 100 feet of the single-family dwelling;
• Comply with all applicable state laws relating to water supply, sanitation and wastewater disposal;
• Comply with all applicable state laws relating to wildfire mitigation standards, including:
  • Fire hardening of structures
  • Defensible space surrounding structures
  • Adequate access for emergency services, firefighting equipment, safe evacuation
• Not be in a groundwater-restricted areas where domestic wells and ½-acre of lawn or garden have been restricted;
• Would not have access to public sewer, and would need to connect to an existing or new septic system; 
• In some cases, would not have access to public water and would need to rely on a well, and
• Could not be used as a short-term rental.

The blue areas on the map below show where construction of ADUs would be permissible in rural areas.

MAP 1: Rural Residential Areas Where the County Could Allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

Requirements for RVs

A recreational vehicle is a vehicle licensed by the state that:

• Is designed for human occupancy
• Is designed to be used temporarily for recreational, seasonal, or emergency purposes, and
• Has a gross floor area not exceeding 400 square feet when set up. 

RVs include park trailers, travel trailers, pick up campers, motor homes, fifth-wheel trailers and camping and tent trailers.

Historically, state law has not allowed using an RV as a residence on private property except in limited circumstances, such as temporary dwellings for care or while building a permanent dwelling. However, based on state legislation in 2023, SB 1013, counties now may allow property owners to place one RV on certain property to use as a second dwelling.

Under this legislation, the county can allow an RV to be used as a second dwelling on unincorporated (outside cities) properties zoned for residential use under the following circumstances:

1. If the site is inside the Portland Metro UGB or
2. If the site is both outside of an urban growth boundary (UGB) and outside of an urban reserve (see map).

The RV would not be subject to building codes and could not be used as a short-term rental,  In addition, the law would require:

• A residential rental agreement
• The primary single-family dwelling (may be a manufactured dwelling) on the property must be occupied as the property owner’s primary residence
• No portion of the primary dwelling can be rented for residential use
• No other dwellings besides the primary dwelling on the property 
• The property owner to provide utility hookups to the RV space

In addition to the requirements above, if a county allows for siting RVs on residential property, it may also require property owners to:

• Register the RV with the county
• Limit the amount of payments the property owner can accept from the tenant to those reasonably necessary to cover the owner’s costs or losses
• Require that the RV comply with any reasonable appearance, repair, inspection or siting standards.

If the proposed changes are approved, RVs would be allowed as second dwellings on land inside the Portland Metro UGB (shown in orange) and land that is both outside of an urban growth boundary (UGB) and outside of an urban reserve (shown in blue) on the following map.

MAP 2: Urban and Rural Residential Areas Where the County Could Allow RVs as Second Dwellings

It has recently been determined that the county’s ZDO likely requires a conditional use permit for most utility facilities, even underground utility lines and even in road rights-of-way where utility lines commonly are developed. Historically, utility facilities inside road rights-of-way have proceeded through a utility permit process without review and analysis by Planning and Zoning. Given the new awareness of the scope of the needed land use review and the significant number of annual utility permits in road rights-of-way, a practical difficulty exists in administering the ZDO in its current form. From a policy perspective, many of these permits likely do not warrant review through a land use application. In addition, it may be appropriate for some utility facilities outside road rights-of-way to be permitted outright.

Although the scope of the amendments may be narrowed during public hearing review, key elements of the initial proposal, discussed in more detail below, would:

• Adopt a comprehensive definition of utility facility
• Allow utility facilities inside road rights-of-way as an outright permitted use
• Allow utility lines both inside and outside road rights-of-way, both underground and overhead, as an outright permitted use
• Clarify the types of utility lines that, in most cases, must be underground

• ZDO-288 Section 202 - Revised
• ZDO-288 Section 315 - Revised
• ZDO-288 Section 316 - Revised
• ZDO-288 Section 317 - Revised
• ZDO-288 Section 510 - Revised
• ZDO-288 Section 511
• ZDO-288 Section 512
• ZDO-288 Section 513 - Revised
• ZDO-288 Section 602
• ZDO-288 Section 604 - Revised
• ZDO-288 Section 702 - Revised
• ZDO-288 Section 711
• ZDO-288 Section 830
• ZDO-288 Section 1001
• ZDO-288 Section 1006
• ZDO-288 Section 1102