On July 21, 2022, the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) ‎adopted the Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) rules. DLCD then filed the ‎permanent CFEC rules with the Oregon Secretary of State on August 17, which are now in ‎effect. To note, the rules are still up for appeal; on a petition for judicial review, the Court of ‎Appeals could declare a rule invalid. ‎

As background, in 2007, the Oregon legislature adopted a goal to reduce Oregon’s ‎climate pollution by 75% by 2050. Oregon is not on track to meet that goal. As a result, in 2017 ‎Governor Brown issued Executive Order 17-21 and directed state agencies to promote cleaner ‎vehicles, cleaner fuels, and less driving. DLCD launched its CFEC rulemaking in response to ‎Governor Brown’s order. ‎

The CFEC rules are aimed at reducing climate pollution, increasing transportation and ‎housing choices, and creating more equitable outcomes in Oregon’s eight most populated areas. ‎As such, the rules apply in Oregon’s metropolitan areas, including Portland Metro, Salem-Keizer, ‎Albany, Corvallis, Central Lane, Bend, Middle Rogue, and the Rogue Valley. The rules require ‎changes to local transportation and land use plans in these areas to ensure Oregonians have more ‎ways to get around, and also improve equity in housing and community transportation.‎

The new CFEC rules have varying implementation deadlines. First, as of December 31, ‎‎2022, the effected jurisdictions listed above must reduce parking mandates for specific ‎developments. Specifically, local governments cannot mandate more than one parking space per ‎unit for residential developments with more than one unit; cannot mandate any parking for small ‎units, affordable units, childcare facilities, facilities for people with disabilities, or transitional ‎shelters for people experiencing homelessness or domestic violence; and no parking mandates will ‎be allowed within ¾ mile of light or heavy rail stations or ½ mile of frequent transit corridors. ‎Other changes that can be expected from 2023 and later are:‎

  • Parking regulation improvement, under OAR 660-012-0405; ‎
  • Setting parking maximums in more populous cities, under OAR 660-012-0415;‎
  • Requiring more electric vehicle charging stations in new housing and mixed-use ‎developments;‎
  • Conducting climate-friendly area studies, under OAR 660-012-0315, and ‎allowing walkable mixed-use development within urban growth boundaries;
  • Transportation system plan updates under OAR 660-012 and -018, including ‎planning for high-quality pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure; and ‎
  • Transportation planning rule regulations, including submission of biennial reports, ‎under OAR 660-012-0330.‎

DLCD is providing flexibility around implementation deadlines, which already extend ‎through 2029. As such, expect to see effected jurisdictions working toward implementation with ‎amendments to local transportation and land use plans. Future development should be prepared ‎to conform to CFEC rules, and perhaps more “green” development rules in general. Developers ‎should be aware of HB 2001, which also allows more, denser housing in Oregon, and understand ‎that new CFEC rules may further impact HB 2001 requirements or recent local code updates. ‎

This article summarizes aspects of the law and does not constitute legal advice. For legal ‎advice for your situation, you should contact an attorney. ‎

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