Portland Approves New Comprehensive Plan

The Portland City Council voted unanimously to approve a new Comprehensive Plan.

1 minute read

June 20, 2016, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


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Sam Churchill / Flickr

Luke Hammill reports: "The Portland City Council on Wednesday marked years of work trying to answer that question, unanimously passing a new road map for growth — officially dubbed the Comprehensive Plan — that sets the city's course through the year 2035."

Here's how Hammill summarizes the vision laid out by the new comprehensive plan: "Imagine taller towers downtown, more apartments in single-family neighborhoods and perhaps even a new streetcar line."

At the City Council hearing that produced the approval for the new comprehensive plan, city councilmembers also lauded the plan's measures to address the city's ongoing housing affordability challenges and lack of infrastructure in eastern parts of the city.

Though the plan now has city council approval, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission will finalize the plan in time for it to take effect by January 2018.

Monday, June 20, 2016 in The Oregonian

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