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The Portland City Council gave preliminary support to new proposed accessory structure design guidelines, which are expected to simplify the permitting process and lower construction costs for accessory dwelling units.

Recommended draft revisions to Portland’s Accessory Structures Zoning Code breezed through Thursday’s regular council meeting. A second reading and a vote will take place later this month. A focus group of citizens helped guide formation of the proposed changes, which were compiled over the past 12 months. They were approved by the Planning and Sustainability Commission in September.

The revision process was a joint effort between the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and the Bureau of Development Services. Planners and technicians sought to have all detached structures treated with greater uniformity and consistency, and the permitting process be more streamlined, according to BDS Director Paul Scarlett. He told the council that average customers could save up to $2,600 on adjustments, and waits of up to 10 weeks could be eliminated.

Accessory structures are defined as those of a secondary importance to a site’s primary use. This category has grown over the past 25 years to include a grab bag of outbuildings 鈥� sheds, pool houses, artist studios, mechanical outbuildings, garages, ADUs and others. A major goal of the code revision project was to plan based on an accessory structure’s 鈥渇orm鈥� over its 鈥渇unction.鈥� And in looking at areas to address, the focus group zeroed in on the rules that builders most commonly ask to be tweaked.

鈥淲hat we’re doing is trying to create a uniform approach,鈥� planner Matt Wickstrom said.

Today, the city on average issues four to five permits for accessory structures each operating day. Most are for garages, though the BDS has seen a large increase in ADU permits since 2010. In this five-year period, the city has issued 400 adjustment reviews (29 percent of permit applications) 鈥� including 83 for height.

Wickstrom said that under the changes, approximately half of those 83 height adjustment reviews would not have been necessary.

Under the revisions, the height limit would be set at 20 feet for all accessory structures. And instead of being required to strictly match the style and materials of a property’s main structure, ADU designers would be allowed greater design flexibility. Setback requirements would be eased to allow more small buildings at a property’s sides and rear. Rules restricting the placement of attached and detached mechanical equipment would be softened.

Commissioners asked questions about historic tree protections, mechanical buildings’ noise impacts and the city’s waiver on system development charges for ADUs, which is set to expire in July 2016. Six members of the public addressed the council; none opposed the revisions.

鈥淚 just want to convey that these changes are extremely popular with homeowners,鈥� said ADU advocate Kol Peterson, who noted that he has spoken with more than 200 homeowners about the Accessory Structures Zoning Code Update project. 鈥淎nd I think they’re fantastic as well.鈥�

Peterson told the council that if SDCs between $15,000 and $18,000 are reinstituted, ADU construction could suffer significantly.

Also, ADU builder Joe Robertson said that rather than use ADUs as rentals, many people he knows use them to house elderly relatives or grown children between careers.