What is the Comprehensive Plan?

The Comprehensive Plan will manage the location of population and job growth as well as public investments in infrastructure (such as streets, sidewalks, parks and stormwater systems) over the next 20 years. It sets guidelines for community involvement and influences what private development and public facilities will look like — all to ensure that Portland is a more prosperous, healthy, educated, equitable and resilient city.

The Comprehensive Plan includes goals and policies, maps and a list of infrastructure projects. 

How is the plan being developed?

Oregon’s planning laws require periodic updates to comprehensive plans in cities across the state. The City of Portland is in the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan in accordance with these laws and our state-approved Comprehensive Plan Work Plan.

The work plan’s first two tasks (Task 1 and Task 2) have been completed. With the help of the community, we created and adopted a public involvement plan in 2008, which included the appointment of a Community Involvement Committee to guide and monitor community engagement throughout the process. We also published a series of background reports — or research documents — to ground us in the facts. These documents were shared with the public during Phase I of the Portland Plan and adopted by City Council in 2012.

Now, staff is working on Tasks 3 and 4, which include goal and policy development and the completion of alternative growth scenarios. Tasks 3 and 4 will be completed in six steps between now and Fall 2014:

• Working Draft Part 1: Vision, Urban Design Framework and Goals and Policies
• Alternative Growth Scenarios Report: Illustrations and analyses of the different ways Portland could accommodate growth over the next 20 years
• Working Draft Part 2: Urban Design Framework (revised), Land Use Map, List of Significant Projects, Citywide Systems Plan and Transportation System Plan
• Proposed Draft: Refined version of Working Draft Parts 1 and 2, reviewed by Planning and Sustainability Commission
• Recommended Draft: Draft recommended by PSC to City Council for review
• Final Plan: Reflects all changes requested by City Council after public hearing

Task 5: Implementation will include a limited set of city code and zoning map amendments, consistent with the policies and maps developed earlier in the process. Possible changes include updated zoning for hospitals and colleges, changes to zoning rules along mixed use commercial corridors, development of better design standards for multifamily development in East Portland, zoning or program changes to address employment land supply shortfalls, and changes to the way the City evaluates transportation impacts. The scope of this task will be confirmed later in 2013. 

Where are we now?

The Working Draft Part 1 was developed by staff based on initial direction set in the Portland Plan and the adopted background reports. Over the next few months, the public and eight different Policy Expert Groups (PEGS) will review and discuss the Working Draft Part 1, which includes: 

• Introduction
• Section I. Vision for 2035 and Integrated Goals (+/- 60% complete)
• Section II. Urban Design Framework (+/- 30% complete)
• Section III. Goals and Policies (+/- 60% complete)
  • Chapter 1: Community Involvement
  • Chapter 2: Housing
  • Chapter 3: Economic Development
  • Chapter 4: Watershed Health and the Environment
  • Chapter 5: Urban Design and Development
  • Chapter 6: Public Facilities and Services
  • Chapter 7: Transportation
  • Chapter 8: Administration and Implementation
• Alternative Growth Scenarios Report (coming soon)