Oregon Middle Housing Model Code

The rules about what can and cannot be built, and where—shape everyone’s lives in powerful ways. Residential zoning determines what types of housing exist in which neighborhoods, and ultimately, who can afford to live there. MIG worked with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) to develop the first statewide Middle Housing Model Code in the nation—legalizing “middle housing” (duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhouses, and cottage clusters) previously missing from areas long zoned strictly for single-family detached homes. The seminal work not only helped crack the code to address Oregon’s middle housing shortage, but also paved the way for other states to follow.

As part of this process, MIG prepared two separate model codes, one for medium cities and another for large and Portland Metro area cities. Developing the Model Code involved working within a compressed schedule to conduct best practices research, review and refine options and recommendations for a variety of code topics, examine minimum compliance rules in depth and successful strategies for regulating and encouraging middle housing, prepare code graphics, and coordinate extensively with DLCD staff and the Model Code Technical Advisory Committee.

The resulting document includes specific standards for land use, parking, design, and lot coverage for compatible, higher-density housing types. Cities and counties may apply the Model Code, or components of it, which proves especially useful for jurisdictions that have not developed their own code provisions consistent with House Bill 2001 and associated administrative rules.

This key regulatory and planning tool has increased Oregon’s housing supply, affordability, and diversity—offering greater housing choice for diverse income levels. Since completing the Model Code, MIG has helped over a dozen different cities in Oregon update their codes to comply with Oregon’s middle housing code requirements.