How, and Where, a Big Transit Oriented Density Bill Would Allow Change in Oregon

Michael Andersen digs into the details of one of the big land use bills under consideration in the Oregon Legislature—SB 10, which would "legalize hundreds of thousands of potential future homes, almost all of them in three urban areas: Portland, Eugene-Springfield, and Salem."

The bill would allow new levels of density around transit lines, and remove parking requirements for new development neat transit stops.

"There’s compelling logic to it," writes Andersen. "Oregonians have spent billions of dollars on their mass transit systems and spend more than a billion more every year. Why not let people live near them if they want to?"

The bill would have especially broad reach in Portland, where TriMet has mapped the areas of the city that would be affected by the zoning changes mandated by Senate Bill 10 (click through to see the map).

The bill offers a kind of sliding scale for the kinds of density that would be legalized, depending on the size of the city and the capacity of nearby transit lines. Andersen collects examples of the varying degrees of density that would be possible if the legislature approves the bill. (Senate Bill is not to be confused with House Bill 2001, which would end single-family zoning in all cities in the state with a population over 10,000.)