The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved a resolution that gives the county’s planning director the authority to reduce or waive land use planning fees. Requests for fee waivers must be in writing and will be reviewed using procedures and criteria established by the planning director.

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on the resolution, which was a follow-up item on the county’s last budget session in June.

According to the county’s staff report, land use planning division fees increased substantially for fiscal year 2026. Land use fees are set by the Board of Commissioners annually. Currently, the land use planning division has no system in place for reducing or waiving the fees.

A fee study conducted by the division last fall surveyed 10 other counties in Oregon and found that six of them had the authority to waive or reduce fees. The city of Portland also has a land use fee reduction program in place.

On July 1, fees were raised 54 percent, land use planning director Megan Gibb said.

“That was paired with the conversation with the ability to waive fees in certain circumstances,” Gibb said.

Multnomah County land use fees vary by project type. Some examples include a $77 fee for accessory building registration, a $1,214 fee for an erosion and sediment control permit, a $2,335 fee for a pre-application conference and a $3,835 fee for type II design review.

The full impact of fee reductions and waivers is not currently known, but fee reductions and waivers are anticipated to apply a relatively small fraction of the total permit volume, the county staff report states.

The department intends is to do an annual review of the program to see who is benefitting from it.

Gibb said the division is currently working on draft criteria for the program and it is still being discussed with their attorney. The criteria being considered is financial hardships for lower incomes of 60 percent of Median Family Income, as well as proposals for Native American tribes, nonprofit organizations that grow food for low-income communities, and more.

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