Over the past year, the City of Oregon has updated its Comprehensive Plan aimed at promoting the
vitality and economic health of the community. One of the key elements of City’s economic plan is the
redevelopment of the Riverfront area as an attractive, pedestrian–friendly mixed–use district providing
for new commercial, residential, recreational, hospitality and arts oriented businesses and activities.
The City’s recently adopted Comprehensive Plan includes a number of implementation tasks. A priority
project identified in the Plan is creating new zoning standards to provide the City with sufficient control
of over the future redevelopment of the Riverfront district planning area addressed in the Plan.
Teska Associates, Inc. (Teska) examined the Zoning Ordinance to determine if it has the authority and
capacity to ensure the desired transformation of the Riverfront. We found that zoning district
regulations would, in many cases, either prohibit or be in conflict with the recommendations of the
Comprehensive Plan (see Riverfront District Zoning Options memo – 7.14.16). We examined various
alternative amendments to the Zoning Ordinance to determine if they would ensure the desired
development. The various options included: amending the zoning district regulations; amending the
planned development procedures; creating new zoning districts; creating an overlay district. It was
determined that the creation of a new zoning district that would not require special zoning approvals.
The key to this type of ‘by–right’ zoning is that developers do not have to seek special zoning approvals
from the City if they meet the standards of the zoning district. This approach provides developers
greater certainty over the outcome if standards are met, and reduces approval time, therefore, making
development in Oregon easier to pursue and less costly.
This document provides the specific zoning amendment recommendations for the Riverfront areas as
identified in the City’s Comprehensive Plan, and as described on the map below. We also provide
commentary on the background and potential consequences of those recommendations.