By Madeleine Voth
City officials have spent the past several years rethinking zoning in areas like 82nd and 122nd avenues, using area-specific plans and zoning changes to guide new development. In much of Inner SE, however, the rules have remained largely untouched for decades.
Now, the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) is taking another look. The Inner Eastside Zoning Project is an effort to reconsider zoning across a large area of Inner SE Portland. The project will look at where housing and other development can be built, how large buildings can be and where businesses should be allowed to operate.
The project had already been part of BPS’s work plan, but came to a head this year when City Council passed Resolution 37746, asking the bureau to move the project forward.
Eric Engstrom, director of BPS, said that while the city made some smaller zoning changes to Inner SE as part of its 2012-2015 Comprehensive Plan, he was not aware of a comprehensive localized review of the area since around the 1980s.
Jennifer Shuch, Board president of Portland: Neighbors Welcome, an organization that advocates for housing and tenant reforms in Oregon, said the group hopes the zoning process will help create a more diverse Inner Eastside and allow the neighborhood to grow in a way that benefits more Portlanders.
The organization has previously worked with City Council and BPS on housing issues, including the city’s Housing Production Strategy, and Shuch said the zoning project is another opportunity to increase housing production in the city.
The city’s current approach to dense housing has generally concentrated apartment development along major corridors. Engstrom said the Inner Eastside project could change that by allowing more development on the streets between those corridors.
“The idea of allowing apartment buildings in the spaces between the major corridors is probably the biggest change that might come from this,” he said.
The city could also look at the size of buildings allowed along major corridors. In some other parts of Portland, buildings along major streets can be five to seven stories, while Inner SE is generally limited to around four to five stories.
Any changes, however, would happen gradually. Zoning changes would determine what can be built when individual properties are redeveloped rather than immediately changing every property in the area. “It’s not like you’re going to wake up one day and suddenly there’s going to be hundreds of apartment buildings,” Engstrom said.
Housing affordability is also part of the conversation. City Council is currently considering an overall housing strategy, which is happening alongside the zoning project.
For the zoning project itself, Engstrom said one of the main ways it could affect affordability is by allowing more housing types in an area where many single-family homes are already out of reach for many Portlanders. “Allowing a greater diversity of housing types will inherently create some additional options for folks who can’t afford the single-family homes,” he said.
BPS will also look at existing apartment buildings that are not formally designated as affordable housing but remain relatively affordable compared with newer apartments. Engstrom said the city wants to avoid creating a zoning pattern that could lead to those buildings disappearing.
Housing is not the only issue BPS plans to examine, however. The project will also look at where commercial businesses are allowed, including whether more small businesses could operate within residential areas. One possibility is allowing more corner stores.
Engstrom pointed to Ladd’s Addition as an example. The neighborhood has a small commercial building at the center of its residential area, something that was more common historically. “There’s a revived interest in allowing more of that,” Engstrom said.
The city also sees a connection between housing and local businesses. As the population increases, Engstrom said, there are more potential customers for grocery stores and other businesses that serve the neighborhood.
At the same time, BPS expects questions about traffic, transportation, existing businesses and how development could affect the neighborhood. Those issues will be part of the city’s community engagement process.
BPS plans to hold focus groups and workshops and have separate conversations with business owners, renters and people interested in transportation. The bureau is also attending existing community events to introduce residents to the project and gather feedback.
The city is still in the early stages of the project, meaning there is not yet a map showing which properties could eventually be rezoned. This fall, BPS will focus on community engagement and identifying goals for the project. In 2027, the bureau plans to develop potential zoning options before moving into the approval process with the Planning Commission and City Council. BPS is aiming to complete the project by early 2028.
That leaves several questions open. Residents do not yet know exactly where new apartment buildings could be allowed, how large those buildings could become or how the changes would affect individual properties.
Whether the goal is creating a more diverse community, increasing housing options or taking a new look at zoning that has remained largely unchanged for decades, the changes will not happen overnight. Over time, however, they could change where new housing is built, where businesses can operate and how Inner SE develops.