Oregon Statutes - Chapter 197 - Comprehensive Land Use Planning Coordination - Section 197.307 - Effect of need for certain housing in urban growth areas; approval standards for certain residential development; placement standards for approval of manufactured dwellings.

(1) The availability of affordable, decent, safe and sanitary housing opportunities for persons of lower, middle and fixed income, including housing for farmworkers, is a matter of statewide concern.

(2) Many persons of lower, middle and fixed income depend on government assisted housing as a source of affordable, decent, safe and sanitary housing.

(3)(a) When a need has been shown for housing within an urban growth boundary at particular price ranges and rent levels, needed housing, including housing for farmworkers, shall be permitted in one or more zoning districts or in zones described by some comprehensive plans as overlay zones with sufficient buildable land to satisfy that need.

(b) A local government shall attach only clear and objective approval standards or special conditions regulating, in whole or in part, appearance or aesthetics to an application for development of needed housing or to a permit, as defined in ORS 215.402 or 227.160, for residential development. The standards or conditions may not be attached in a manner that will deny the application or reduce the proposed housing density provided the proposed density is otherwise allowed in the zone.

(c) The provisions of paragraph (b) of this subsection do not apply to an application or permit for residential development in an area identified in a formally adopted central city plan, or a regional center as defined by Metro, in a city with a population of 500,000 or more.

(d) In addition to an approval process based on clear and objective standards as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, a local government may adopt an alternative approval process for residential applications and permits based on approval criteria that are not clear and objective provided the applicant retains the option of proceeding under the clear and objective standards or the alternative process and the approval criteria for the alternative process comply with all applicable land use planning goals and rules.

(e) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to applications or permits for residential development in historic areas designated for protection under a land use planning goal protecting historic areas.

(4) Subsection (3) of this section shall not be construed as an infringement on a local government’s prerogative to:

(a) Set approval standards under which a particular housing type is permitted outright;

(b) Impose special conditions upon approval of a specific development proposal; or

(c) Establish approval procedures.

(5) A jurisdiction may adopt any or all of the following placement standards, or any less restrictive standard, for the approval of manufactured homes located outside mobile home parks:

(a) The manufactured home shall be multisectional and enclose a space of not less than 1,000 square feet.

(b) The manufactured home shall be placed on an excavated and back-filled foundation and enclosed at the perimeter such that the manufactured home is located not more than 12 inches above grade.

(c) The manufactured home shall have a pitched roof, except that no standard shall require a slope of greater than a nominal three feet in height for each 12 feet in width.

(d) The manufactured home shall have exterior siding and roofing which in color, material and appearance is similar to the exterior siding and roofing material commonly used on residential dwellings within the community or which is comparable to the predominant materials used on surrounding dwellings as determined by the local permit approval authority.

(e) The manufactured home shall be certified by the manufacturer to have an exterior thermal envelope meeting performance standards which reduce levels equivalent to the performance standards required of single-family dwellings constructed under the state building code as defined in ORS 455.010.

(f) The manufactured home shall have a garage or carport constructed of like materials. A jurisdiction may require an attached or detached garage in lieu of a carport where such is consistent with the predominant construction of immediately surrounding dwellings.

(g) In addition to the provisions in paragraphs (a) to (f) of this subsection, a city or county may subject a manufactured home and the lot upon which it is sited to any development standard, architectural requirement and minimum size requirement to which a conventional single-family residential dwelling on the same lot would be subject.

(6) Any approval standards, special conditions and the procedures for approval adopted by a local government shall be clear and objective and may not have the effect, either in themselves or cumulatively, of discouraging needed housing through unreasonable cost or delay. [1981 c.884 §5; 1983 c.795 §3; 1989 c.380 §2; 1989 c.964 §6; 1993 c.184 §3; 1997 c.733 §2; 1999 c.357 §1; 2001 c.613 §2]

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Last modified: August 7, 2008