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A Portland ordinance intended to minimize the spread of hazardous materials during residential building demolitions has been largely effective, according to a new city report analyzing the first 18 months of implementation.

Portland City Council in 2018 adopted updates to the building demolition code as a means to protect neighbors of structures undergoing demolition. Prior to passage of the residential demolition ordinance, the city had no regulations in place for containment of materials such as asbestos and lead-based paint. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality was responsible for enforcing asbestos abatement rules, but lacked the resources to do so.

Stakeholders including contractors, the city’s Development Review Advisory Committee, neighborhood representatives, state agencies and city staff convened over the course of six months to craft the ordinance, which gained approval in February 2018 and took effect in July 2018.

The ordinance applies to residential buildings with up to four units, and includes garages and other accessory structures. Among its provisions are requirements that plastic sheeting be placed around demolition sites and in waste bins to prevent soil contamination and runoff, removal of exterior surfaces by hand rather than with mechanical equipment, use of water spray to contain dust and debris, and prohibition of mechanical demolition when wind speeds exceed 25 miles per hour.

In addition, the ordinance requires the Bureau of Development Services to expand the geographic reach of mailed and door-hung demolition notices, makes demolition permits susceptible to BDS staff review, requires contractors to submit demolition plans and materials surveys prior to starting work, and mandates three inspections over the course of a demolition – one each before, during and after the project. An interim administrative rule adopted earlier this month updated the policy to require two inspections during the demolition process.

From implementation in 2018 through the end of last year, the city accepted about 550 demolition permit applications that were subject to the new rules and took 47 enforcement actions for violations of the ordinance. After an initial correction notice, penalties for noncompliance start at $5,000 for the first offense, $10,000 for the second, and $15,000 each for subsequent violations. Through Dec. 31, 2019, the city issued 42 correction notices, two stop work orders and three first offense citations.

According to a BDS report presented to Portland City Council this week, the ordinance – the strongest of its kind nationwide, as stated in the report – has resulted in a reduction in both off-site demolition impacts and complaints to the bureau about dust from mechanical demolition activities.

City staff and stakeholders have identified several areas for improvement in the code, and are drafting updates to the rules, including requiring those performing demolition work to have lead-based paint certifications (regardless of whether that person is a contractor), and removing a requirement that somebody with certified asbestos accreditation be on-site during mechanical demolition. Revisions to the ordinance are being finalized by BDS staff and are slated for presentation to City Council next month.