ZA-2022-005

Amendments related to new parking requirements in Oregon's Transportation Planning administrative rules.

On March 10, 2020, Governor Kate Brown issued Executive Order 20-04, directing state agencies to reduce climate pollution. In response, the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) initiated the Climate Friendly Equitable Communities rulemaking process which updated Oregon's Transportation Planning administrative rules. The new rules, adopted in May 2022 and amended in November 2023, apply in Oregon's eight urban areas with populations over 50,000 people, including the Portland Metro region. These proposed amendments relate to compliance with the provisions in Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) Chapter 660, Division 12, Rules 400-450 which govern how local governments regulate automobile parking. The rules stipulate that jurisdictions must amend their land use regulations to comply with the new parking requirements before June 30, 2023.

On June 12, 2023, the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) granted the city a one-year extension to comply with the new rules. The city requested an extension because the state had entered into a secondary rulemaking process to correct and clarify segments of the rules.

On May 21, 2024, the Milwaukie City Council adopted ZA-2022-005.

Summary of Rule Requirements

OAR 660-012-0400 requires jurisdictions to either remove minimum vehicle parking mandates entirely or adopt more complex regulations that allow for some minimum quantity requirements but disallow jurisdictions from applying those mandates to various land uses (affordable housing) and in certain places (near frequent transit). Staff concluded that because of the prohibition on mandating vehicle parking near frequent transit, Milwaukie would only be able to apply mandates in roughly 20% of the city if choosing the latter. On August 16, 2022, City Council directed staff to draft code amendments to remove minimum parking mandates citywide
OAR 660-012-0405 requires jurisdictions to adopt regulations that mitigate the impacts of new large surface parking lots (1/2-acre or larger).
OAR 660-012-0410 includes standards for electric vehicle charging and was addressed through a separate code amendment process, land use file ZA-2022-006.
OAR 660-012-415 only applies to cities in the Portland Metro region that have a population of at least 25,000 and therefore does not apply to Milwaukie.
OAR 660-012-0420 says that jurisdictions that eliminate parking mandates citywide are exempt from OAR 660-012-0425 – 660-012-0450.
OAR 660-012-0630 establishes rules that jurisdictions must adopt for bicycle parking.

Proposed Amendments

The adopted amendments do the following:

Eliminate parking minimums in MMC 19.605.1 and for cottage cluster developments in MMC 19.505.4.
Eliminate references to required parking throughout the code.
Adopt standards for newly established large surface parking lots (1/4-acre or larger) under MMC 19.606.4 to comply with OAR 660-012-0405.
Amend the bicycle parking section to ensure that new industrial, commercial, and community service developments provide bicycle parking, as historically those requirements have been tied to the number of required automobile parking spaces. The city also took the opportunity to overhaul the bicycle parking code, updating quantity standards, adding new development standards, and adding a modification process to adjust the minimum number of bicycle parking spaces required by the code. These new standards are also intended to comply with OAR 660-012-0630 Bicycle Parking.
Updating language to reflect consistency with other sections of the MMC, such as changing single-family dwellings to single-unit dwellings. These changes are not related to the new administrative rules.
Amend MMC 19.607 to clarify the city's understanding of certain off-street parking standards for single-detached units and plex development. These changes are not related to the new administrative rules.