As nearly a billion dollars of bond money was invested in affordable housing projects in the Portland-metro area, architects found paths to success. Don Sowieja, a principal with Ankrom Moisan Architects, and Trish Nixon, president and managing principal of LRS Architects, shared their thoughts on how different approaches to the design process can help push multifamily projects toward construction.

The city of Portland has taken major steps to encourage development, Sowieja said. One of these steps was consolidating permitting functions into a single bureau: Portland Permitting & Development.

“Prior to that shift in policy organization, you might expect three to four months before you go your first round of (plan review),” Sowieja said, adding that it now takes around six weeks.

Also, the Portland City Council last year passed its Housing Regulatory Relief Project, which temporarily suspended development and process standards that apply to building projects, such as bike parking, bird-safe glazing, and landscape standards. State legislation also has provided relief from requirements and contributed to the success of LRS Architects’ projects, Nixon stated in an email.

When it comes to the overall timeline for a project, Sowieja said the design process is critical.

“One of the things we’ve found is to keep it simple,” he said.

Keeping a layout and overall composition basic allows a project to move through the process more quickly, Sowieja said. Oftentimes a proposal’s details may be unclear to city staffers, so it’s important to keep an open line of dialogue with them, he added, to navigate the approval process. Communicating early with city staff ensures there are no surprises during the design review and permitting processes, Nixon stated.

The simpler the design, the simpler the compliance, Sowieja said. For multifamily housing, unit size and type matter.

“If you have three unit types – studios, one bedroom and two bedroom – and you have one each of those types of unit plans, that’s as easy as it gets for the city to understand, as well as for the developer to demonstrate in compliance,” Sowieja said.

Designing projects that require a minimal number of requests for modifications or variances helps improve timelines and overall efficiency, Nixon stated. Before starting to design a project, LRS Architects works diligently with clients to understand all requirements and minimize adverse impacts, she added.

For projects subject to design review, Sowieja said teams should know the rules and follow them.

“It’s right there on the page,” he said. “Reading what it says and doing what it says is the best way to move quickly through a subjective process.”

Although inclusionary housing is relatively new to Portland, many cities on the West Coast have similar criteria. In Portland, inclusionary housing requires all residential buildings proposing 20 or more new units to provide a percentage of them at rents or sale prices affordable to households at 80 percent of the median family income or below, the city’s website states.

Development teams should embrace the fact that it is a requirement for multifamily projects, Sowieja said. While there was consternation at the outset, most of the development community has figured out that it is a financial and organizational impact, he added.

Meanwhile, all LRS Architects apartment projects within the city of Portland in the past five years have been 100 percent affordable, Nixon said.

Demand for multifamily projects has declined in the past 2.5 years, Sowieja said, following a roller coaster of economic cycles, including the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and interest rate increases. However, that has begun to change in 2025, he added.

“The design side is really picking up,” he said. “That takes a while to translate into construction starts, and construction is the big money and the larger economic driver.”

On the other hand, LRS Architects reports something different.

“We are seeing more exploratory activity, but not necessarily project starts,” Nixon stated, adding that such activity is taking place in the suburbs and not in the city of Portland.

LRS has seen a decrease in market-rate projects, according to Nixon. But the firm is involved in several active affordable housing projects in Portland. These include Garden Park Estates, which includes renovation and new construction (LMC Construction is the contractor), Jamii Court (O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders is the contractor), and Barbur Apartments (Todd Construction is the contractor).

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The Portland Planning Commission on Tuesday agreed to recommend the Portland City Council approve proposed code changes that would pause some requirements for building additions and alterations until Jan. 1, 2029. The would include changes to Title 11, Title 33, Title 17 and Title 24.

The suspensions would align with the ‘s temporary regulatory suspensions for residential development.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the city’s permit improvement project manager, Mieke Keenan, said the city needs to address its code barriers to improve permitting, as regulations for the built environment often overlap or conflict. These obstacles can lead to unexpected costs or permitting delays.

The Code Alignment Project was launched in November 2024 with the goal of creating city code consistency. The project team consists of both policy and implementation staff from transportation, water, environmental services, permitting & development, urban forestry, and housing bureaus. The team focused on outcomes affecting small businesses and small projects.

Title 33 is related to site upgrades. City code section 33.258.070 requires that building addition and alteration projects with a value greater than $356,300 must upgrade certain elements of their sites as needed to comply with minimum landscaping, tree planting, on-site pedestrian pathway connections, short and long-term bicycle parking, screening, and paving of parking and storage areas, the project’s website states.

These requirements were previously suspended for projects that included residential use until Jan. 1, 2029. The Code Alignment Project proposal would extend that same suspension to all addition and alteration projects. New construction would continue to be required to meet current zoning code rules.

Title 11 is related to street tree planting. Currently, street trees must be planted for all development projects (new construction, additions, and alterations) when the value of a project is at least $25,000 and there is available space within the right of way to plant additional street trees.

The Code Alignment Project proposal would suspend the street tree planting requirements tied to building additions and other alterations to the building or site. Planting street trees would still be required for new construction and when street improvements are built. The proposal would also remove the tree plan application submittal requirement when trees would not be planted or otherwise be impacted by a proposed building alteration.

Title 17 is related to street improvements. Currently, they’re required for all developments with a value greater than 35 percent of the assessed improvement value for the site. The Code Alignment Project proposal would suspend requirements for some street improvements.

Title 24 is related to seismic evaluation reports. Currently, the requirement applies to additions and alterations with a project value greater than $362,000. The Code Alignment Project proposal would suspend the requirement for some older buildings.

During the hearing, three people offered testimony. One expressed concern about a proposed reduction in bike parking, while others asked for amendments related to public roads and changes to floor area ratio (FAR) standards.

A senior planner with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, Morgan Tracy, said that although the current Code Alignment Project proposal applies only to new projects, a change is anticipated so that it would also apply to projects currently in the permitting process.

The Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the City Council adopt the Code Alignment Project proposed draft, amend Title 33, and recommend the Urban Forestry Commission support an amendment of Title 11. A city council hearing date has not been scheduled yet.

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