Yes, he's from Oregon. HB 2001 is good news, but we need to allow for more variety, and it'd be wonderful to also allow light commercial by right, so that, say, you can walk to a corner store instead of getting into a gas guzzling SUV just to do something people in many countries can do on foot.
Oregonian here. HB 2001 is great, but Oregon still has insane housing regulatory requirements, which is why most homeowners in Portland at least completely ignore getting permits for most work (no data to back that up, just what we noticed when purchasing a house here -- most work is unpermitted).
Like, you have to plant a tree on your property if you improve it more than 25k (so if you rewire an old house, or decide to split your home into a separate unit to rent and create housing, like we're doing right now). This applies even if you have no yard. Trees are expensive, but yards are more expensive, especially in a city where space is at a premium. This is an insane requirement when there are people sleeping on your streets because there are not enough beds for them. That is only one example. The heavy hand of Uncle Ted is felt everywhere here, so HB 2001 is not enough.
"By right" means that you can just build it without having to apply for any specific exceptions, go through hearings, etc...
"Light commercial" means things like small corner stores, barber shops, local restaurants, stuff like that. There are legit reasons to not want, say, a tannery right next to housing.
Ah, right, indeed. Related to the thread, I don't see how banning "#5 Live/work units of ground level retail and second and third story housing" makes any sense. These can be a game-changer for local town life.
The only bad thing about them is that they tend not to be accessible for people who have difficulty climbing steps... which is fine as long as there's lots more available housing which is accessible.
I lived in an apartment over a specialty supply company one summer; it was a great bicycle commute to work, walking distance to a supermarket, and nobody was actually in the ground floor at the times I was home, so they certainly didn't care if I played music loudly or thumped furniture across the floor.
Even a shoe-repair or nail salon can be noxious in confined spaces, say an indoor or underground mall. That despite these nominally being "commercial" rather than "industrial" use.
Restaurants and bakeries possibly as well, for smoke, oder, and (for restaurants and bars), late-evening / night noise and disruption.
That's a separate term. I think what you're parent is talking about is letting light commercial (as in small shops) build without getting cumbersome regulatory approval first, i.e. let them simply comply with the law instead of needing a specific permit.
>An as-of-right development complies with all applicable zoning regulations and does not require any discretionary action by the City Planning Commission or Board of Standards and Appeals. Most developments and enlargements in the city are as-of-right.
