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Multifamily developers in coming years may be required to more carefully consider how people travel to and from their buildings, and whether future tenants will drive.

Portland Bureau of Transportation officials are discussing proposed new requirements for developers for transportation demand management 鈥� planning jargon for how to encourage people to forsake single-occupancy vehicles for bicycles, mass transit vehicles or their own two feet.

More than ever before, multifamily developers would be responsible for influencing how residents get to and from their buildings.

The proposed requirements are part of Central City zoning code changes under discussion. They would apply to new developments or renovations that create more than 10 dwelling units or more than 25,000 square feet of net building area.

In order to comply with the regulations, a developer would have to either: 1, agree to a preapproved standardized plan set forth by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, or 2, undergo a transportation impact review process.

The provisions stem from the City Council’s goals of reducing average driving to 11 miles per day, and boosting the proportion of Portlanders who walk, bike, take transit, carpool or work from home to 70 percent by 2035.

鈥淲hat we’re trying to do with the Central City plan and parts of the Comprehensive Plan as well is take a collaborative, incentive-based approach to increasing use of public transit and biking and walking,鈥� said Dylan Rivera, spokesman for the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

Rivera said something must be done to steer Portlanders away from driving as the population booms. The city projects 120,000 new jobs and 260,000 new residents by 2035.

鈥淚f everyone’s driving, you can’t accommodate all that growth,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou’ll just choke on traffic.鈥�

PBOT is working on a preapproved plan or template for multifamily developments. If developers agree to a preapproved plan, it could accelerate the review process, Rivera said.

The preapproved plans would require developers to agree to such things as secure bicycle parking, mass transit subsidies or rebates, and monitor screens displaying transit maps and schedules.

Also under discussion are performance standards for reducing vehicle trips and corrective action if standards are not met. Developers would have to demonstrate how their building will achieve the 2035 goals on a straight-line incremental basis.

Developers are monitoring PBOT’s rulemaking. Sam Rodriguez, senior managing director of Mill Creek Residential Trust‘s Portland office, said a process to understand the transportation infrastructure around a proposed development could be beneficial, depending on how it’s implemented.

鈥淚f you’re going to do large projects, it’s probably a good idea to understand how transportation is going to play into that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it could be a positive thing. I just don’t know enough about it.鈥�

The proposed changes are buried on page 193 of a 鈥渄iscussion draft鈥� of the Central City 2035 Plan. The draft also significantly loosens parking requirements for new developments in another bid by city officials to discourage driving.

For central Portland, the maximum ratio for residential uses has been reduced to 1.2 parking spaces per dwelling unit, down from 1.35. The maximum ratio for office uses has been increased to 1 parking space per 1,000 square feet, up from 0.7 and 0.8.

The provisions could change significantly before adoption. But taken together, they appear to be an effort to get developers to weigh the impact of their projects on roads and transit systems.

鈥淚t’s very unclear right now as to what the requirements will be and what the transportation demand management review process will look like,鈥� said Stephen Janik, a founding partner of Ball Janik LLP. Janik briefed industry officials on the proposed changes at a recent forum held at Multnomah Athletic Club.

Jack Orchard, a Ball Janik attorney who has been studying the proposed language, said it appears to be part of a larger move away from developments surrounded by car transportation and parking.

鈥淲e had a number of generations of development that proceeded on that basis, and now we’re reconsidering that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don’t if that’s right, wrong or indifferent, but that’s where the discussion is headed.鈥�

Orchard said it’s also not clear how the new provisions would affect affordability of Portland housing.

The draft lacks enforcement mechanisms for the provisions. Instead, the city is approaching the changes on the front end, requiring transportation demand management plans before a building permit is issued.

The Central City plan isn’t the only effort in the Comprehensive Plan to discourage driving. The Comprehensive Plan, of which the Central City 2035 plan is part, is likely to also include transportation-related requirements for developments in neighborhood commercial districts such as Alberta, Belmont, Division, Hawthorne and Williams, Rivera said.

鈥淭hose would have potentially some different thresholds,鈥� he said.

Portland appears to be on the vanguard of transportation planning for multifamily developments.

Seattle often requires transportation management plans for large commercial or institutional projects such as hospitals or universities, much like Portland’s current practice. But transportation plans are unusual for multifamily projects, said John Shaw, senior transportation planner for the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections.

鈥淭here are very few instances where the city (of Seattle) has required trip reduction measures for projects that are solely or primarily residential,鈥� Shaw said. 鈥淚 think that’s an interesting effort, and we’ll all be very curious to see how it goes.鈥�

The Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission is scheduled to discuss the Central City 2035 draft at a May 24 meeting. Hearings will follow on June 14 and 28.

Public comments will be accepted at each meeting. The commission is then scheduled to make a recommendation to the City Council on July 26, to be followed by council hearings in the fall.

鈥淲e’re looking for input on this and help from the development community on this so it can be effective and useful,鈥� Rivera said.