Assisted by planners, Oregon City developers skirt new code
July 23 2021
Staff alerts homebuilders of emergency code amendments so subdivisions won't be subject to new requirements
Oregon City's mayor and city commissioners took city planning staff to task this week for alerting developers about forthcoming emergency code amendments so homebuilders could propose subdivisions without being subject to new requirements intended to promote public safety.
Oregon City Commissioner Denyse McGriff said she was "dismayed" by the situation. Expedited development brought to mind landslides forcing the evacuation of apartment buildings in late 2015, at a 125-unit low-income project that city officials believe should have never been approved for construction in the 1990s.