Middle Housing

"Middle housing" includes duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhouses and cottage clusters. These housing options are a similar footprint as a conventional, single-family house, but include multiple dwellings. The dwellings may be rented or owner-occupied and may be attached or detached.

There are five types of middle housing:

• Duplex: 2 attached dwelling units on one lot.
• 
• Triplex: 3 attached dwelling units on one lot.
• 
• Quadplex: 4 attached dwelling units on one lot.
• 
• Townhouse: Between 2 and 4 attached dwelling units, each on their own lot.
• 
• Cottage Clusters: A grouping of five to eight small houses oriented around a common greenspace or courtyard.
• 

The State Legislature had three housing goals for HB 2001: options, supply, and diversity.

• Options: Provide more housing options to meet needs of different households.
• 
• Supply: Increase overall housing supply.
• 
• Diversity: Encourage more inclusive neighborhoods by allowing more affordable housing types in more areas.
• 

House Bill 2001 required the City of Lake Oswego to amend our Community Development Code by June 30, 2022.

Staff released a public review draft of the proposed code amendments on March 7, 2022, which were considered at the Planning Commission's public hearing on April 11, 2022. A subsequent Public Hearing at City Council was held on May 17, 2022, resulting in adoption of the final code amendments to comply with the middle housing requirements of HB 2001.

If the city had not been able to adopt code that complied with middle housing requirements by June 30, 2022, the State's standardized Middle Housing Model Code would have automatically been applied to the City.

Yes. All cities and counties with a population of 10,000 or more within Oregon, unincorporated areas within the Portland Metro boundary that are served by sufficient urban services, and all cities within the Portland Metro boundary with a population of more than 1,000 are required to comply with House Bill 2001.

Middle housing units are generally smaller and more affordable to buy or rent than a detached, single-family house. More middle housing units could result in more affordable housing options.

Allowing middle housing in Lake Oswego will also provide property owners with more flexibility to build on their land. Homeowners will be able to add rental units to their property to offset the costs of homeownership and to accommodate different household needs, such as seniors aging in place or singles seeking rentals.

Additionally, allowing middle housing will eliminate existing zoning restrictions that have historically contributed to the exclusion of underrepresented populations in certain neighborhoods.

HB 2001 required the City of Lake Oswego and other "Large Cities" (Portland metro area cities, and cities with more than 25,000 residents) to allow all middle housing types in areas zoned for detached single-family dwellings.

The bill also outlined that cities may regulate siting and design of middle housing. However, cities were not permitted to adopt standards or requirements that result in unreasonable cost or delay in the development of middle housing.

The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) adopted minimum standards for compliance with HB 2001 (Division 46), as well as a Middle Housing Model Code in December 2020. Though these standards were relatively prescriptive in defining what cities can and cannot do, they did provide some flexibility for the City to make decisions within certain parameters.

The City was required to make a number of changes to the Community Development Code in order to comply with HB 2001 and not be compelled to adopt the State's Model Code. Major changes included adding definitions for new middle housing types and allowing middle housing in the same areas where detached single-family dwellings are permitted today. This was a significant policy shift in areas where middle housing types are not currently permitted (such as the R-15, R-10, R-7.5, R-6, and R-W zone districts) and a more moderate shift in areas that currently allow some middle housing development (such as the R-5, R-DD, R-3, R-2 and R-0 zone districts).

For more information about zoning in your area, please visit the City's LO Maps website.

Because Lake Oswego's development code previously did not allow for these options in most zoning districts, the City amended its Community Development Code on June 7, 2022, in order to comply with the bill.

As directed by the City Council, the City proposed draft code amendments that comply with HB 2001, while maintaining consistency with the community's sense of place, neighborhood character, and livability. The City Council adopted final middle housing code amendments on June 7, 2022.

This multiyear project began in late 2019, when City Council requested that staff monitor the State of Oregon's rulemaking process regarding the implementation of HB 2001. Staff tracked numerous meetings of the Rulemaking Advisory Committee (RAC) and other technical advisory committees established by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). Staff provided a total of 14 monthly written and oral reports to the Planning Commission to ensure the community was kept informed about the State's rulemaking progress and key issues related to the bill.

On December 9, 2020, the Land Conservation and Development Commission adopted the implementing rules for HB 2001 (Division 46), which provides the roadmap for local governments' compliance with HB 2001. Following the adoption of these rules, the Planning Commission hosted several presentations in order to learn directly from professionals who were involved in the development of HB 2001 or have specific expertise related to middle housing.

City staff, working with a consultant team led by Cascadia Partners, researched and gathered other information to help educate the community about the new State rules. The process was publicly initiated through a "kickoff meeting" in January 2020 to inform neighborhood association chairs of engagement opportunities available during the first phase of work. All City-recognized neighborhood associations were invited to participate. These engagement opportunities included Neighborhood Character Interviews that were coordinated with representatives from 17 different neighborhood associations, as well as a Neighborhood Character Survey that received 880 responses reflecting input from residents of all 28 Lake Oswego neighborhoods.

The results of this work provided a rich source information that allowed City staff to better understand the physical characteristics that residents value the most in their respective neighborhoods. These results are summarized and reflected in the Neighborhood Character Report, which includes a qualitative analysis of the development patterns, character and architectural history of Lake Oswego neighborhoods based on extensive research and analysis. Other phase-one work included a Plan and Code Audit Memo that identified Comprehensive Plan and Community Development Code sections that must be updated for compliance with HB 2001 and a Middle Housing Opportunities Report, including concepts and alternatives for amending the Comprehensive Plan and CDC for middle housing, consistent with HB 2001.

City Council directed staff (with Planning Commission and public input) to prepare code amendments that are required to be adopted by the state-mandated deadline of June 30, 2022 and which are consistent with the MHCAC's recommendations. More recently, the Planning Commission held four work sessions to discuss remaining policy questions related to proposed code amendments. Code amendment recommendations developed by staff (under the guidance of the Planning Commission) were then presented to City Council at their meeting on February 15, 2022.

In early December 2021, the City hosted the first virtual Middle Housing Community Forum to provide information on the City's approach to middle housing and to allow for public input before drafting recommended code changes. This effort included launching an accompanying StoryMap and Survey that was made available to the public for several weeks. The City hosted a second virtual Community Forum on March 22, 2022, to provide information and answer questions about the proposed code amendments, and staff is providing presentations to neighborhood associations upon request.

The state’s minimum requirements for middle housing in Oregon Administrative Rule 660 (Division 46) provided cities with more control over the design of middle housing and less control over the location or density of middle housing. Cities were allowed to adopt specific siting and design standards for middle housing, within certain limits. This means that the City could:

• Apply the same minimum lot size standard that applies to single-family housing (except not to townhouses);
• Apply the same design standards that apply to single-family housing; and
• Apply the same dimensional standards (maximum height, setbacks, lot coverage, maximum floor area, etc.) that apply to
• single-family housing.

According to Division 46, the City generally could not:

• Limit middle housing to a small area within residential zones;
• Require significantly larger lots for middle housing than single-family housing;
• Apply more restrictive design or dimensional standards to middle housing than single-family housing; or
• Require more than one parking space per middle housing unit.