Notice of Proposal

A Notice of Proposal is the main way the City notifies residents who live near a site where proposed development is subject to a land use review. State law or City code requires the City to issue these notifications to inform the public and invite comments on certain types of proposed developments. See this Compilation of Neighborhood Notifications for all common notices and when they are required.

Permit Applications

Most building permit applications aren’t subject to public notice requirements. Sometimes, applicants must mail or deliver notice to neighbors before they can apply for a permit. In most of these instances, except when Neighborhood Contact is required (see below), the notices are informational only – there is no opportunity to comment on the proposal.

Examples of permits where notice must be delivered to adjacent neighbors include:

• Residential demolitions
• Major alterations/additions
• Certain home occupation permits (where customers come to site)
• Certain accessory short-term rental (ASTR) permits (1 or 2 bedrooms)
• Proposed removal of trees measuring 36-inches in diameter and greater

Land Use Reviews 

Most land use reviews have a public notice requirement, including the following:

• Land Divisions
• Environmental Reviews
• Design Reviews
• Historic Resource Reviews
• Conditional Use Reviews
• Adjustment Reviews

Depending on the level of the review, the City may mail a Notice of Proposal to neighbors located within 100, 150 or 400 feet of a site that goes through land use review. The mailing address is based on records with the Multnomah County Assessment and Taxation Office. We also mail these notices to residents at the physical address, so that renters can review and comment on proposals affecting their neighborhood. 

The BDS website organizes all public notices by neighborhood coalition. Proposals are primarily organized by neighborhood coalition, and then listed by individual neighborhood. Even if you don’t live close enough to the site to receive a notice in the mail, you are still welcome to comment on the proposal. 

A Notice of Proposal is an invitation to review application information, explore the specific approval criteria and submit comments about the proposal. Each notice explains the period in which BDS can accept comments and what criteria staff used to make decisions about the project. The notice also includes more information about the proposal and the staff planner’s contact information.  

Please note that it is possible for a discretionary review to be in process and not show up on the public notice list. If the notice period hasn’t yet started or has already ended, the review will no longer be on the public notice list. View land use decisions, sorted by neighborhood and district coalition. 

Other Situations

Notices are mailed by BDS and other City bureaus for a variety of reasons – from a notification of a noise variance to a public notice for a new marijuana retailer. These notices include a description of the proposal, contact information, a zoning map, a proposed development plan and information regarding public hearings and appeals. If you need more information about the proposal, you may contact the applicant and/or the City staff person listed in the notice for assistance. If you would like to make an appointment to review the application materials, call the Land Use Resources Request line at 503-823-7617. 

PortlandMaps

The City’s permit tracking system includes many different types of permits, land use reviews, code compliance cases and other site-specific information. They are all listed as “permits” on PortlandMaps. The different components of the number tell you what type of permit (or other review process) it is and when it was initiated. This will include the year the application was submitted and a two-letter code that identifies the permit type. For example, 17-123456 RS is a residential building permit submitted in 2017. Learn about the anatomy of a:

• Permit number
• Land use review number