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Design review is coming to more of Portland’s neighborhoods.

The city is reviewing public comments to its discussion draft of the Design Overlay Zone Amendments that would expand design review.

Some neighborhoods, such as Hollywood and St. Johns, have had design overlays for a year or longer. For others, including Slabtown, the Killingsworth-Interstate area and Division Midway in east Portland, the DOZA revamp would add a layer of design review intended to better integrate new buildings into neighborhoods.

鈥淚t’s supporting the growth and change we’re seeing,鈥� said Lora Lillard, a senior planner with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

The code updates aim to improve building quality and resilience, and ensure compatibility with Portland neighborhoods, Lillard said. Several neighborhood associations have lobbied for design overlays that would give city officials greater influence on building design in neighborhood corridors.

Multifamily architects and developers are wrestling with the implications.

鈥淚n many ways it will be good to have the (design) overlay in places where it hasn’t been, just to improve the quality of projects in the neighborhood and fitting into the neighborhood,鈥� said Kurt Schultz, principal at SERA Architects, a prolific multifamily designer.

The design overlays still provide flexibility, Schultz said.

Developers are wary of any changes that would result in greater delays or added costs. Multifamily development has slowed, and many developers expect the slowdown to deepen because of construction costs, regulatory obstacles and market conditions.

The DOZA process would continue to give applicants the option, as required by state law, to meet community design standards. A points-based system 鈥� not unlike those used by environmental certification programs such as LEED 鈥� would give applicants several pathways to meeting design standards.

鈥淭he intent is interesting,鈥� said Sam Rodriguez, managing director of Mill Creek Residential Trust and a member of the Design Commission. 鈥淚t’s trying to create a prescriptive path with options. Right now the neighborhood design standards are pretty prescriptive. You do a cornice like this, a window like this 鈥� and you get pretty much the same building every single time. They’re trying to do something that has some flexibility. So we’re analyzing it and seeing what are the consequences.鈥�

The DOZA updates would require Type III design reviews by the Portland Design Commission for any project in the overlay zones meeting or exceeding 65 feet in height or 80,000 square feet in building area.

The updates also would create a new Type I design review for small alterations to buildings 鈥� a new awning, for example 鈥� that would be decided by Bureau of Development Services staff members without the Design Commission weighing in. In essence, DOZA would widen the Design Commission’s oversight throughout the city while letting smaller projects speed through a more streamlined staff approval process.

It remains to be seen how the DOZA updates would affect the workload of the Design Commission, a volunteer board that already meets nearly every week.

After the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability reviews public comments, a proposed draft will be issued this summer. That will be followed by rare joint hearings of the Planning and Sustainability Commission and the Design Commission in the fall. Another draft, known as the recommended draft, would follow during the winter, with adoption by the City Council projected in spring 2020.

The Design Commission weighed in on the DOZA changes in a May 1 letter that was critical of their complexity and lack of requirements regarding neighborhood character. The standards 鈥渄o nothing to preserve the charming, idiosyncratic character of Portland’s wonderful neighborhoods that have been eager for the expansion of the 鈥榙’ overlay,鈥� Design Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston wrote. 鈥淭he lack of code requiring a response to neighborhood character leaves us vulnerable to losing what makes Portland distinct from other cities.鈥�