Portland 2035 Comprehensive Plan Clears Legal Hurdle

The portion of Portland's Comprehensive Plan devoted to missing middle housing spurred a lawsuit that held up the plan until January of this year.

1 minute read

March 9, 2020, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Pearl District

Kyle Sprague / Shutterstock

In a story we missed back at the end of January, the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the Portland 2035 Comprehensive Plan with a ruling in the case Multnomah Neighborhood Association v. Land Conservation and Development Commission, according to a new release posted on the city of Portland website.

The news release explains the genesis of the lawsuit:

The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) approved the plan in December 2017. In March of 2018, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) voted to reject six appeals that were filed to block elements of the plan. The Multnomah Neighborhood Association subsequently filed an appeal of the LCDC decision in September 2018.

The appeal took umbrage with the city's missing middle housing policy, which "encourages the City to consider zoning decisions to allow more duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, accessory dwelling units, and small multi-unit or clustered residential buildings." The city's Residential Infill Project, detailed in news shared by Planetizen in September 2019, is intended to implement the missing middle housing policy communicated in the Comprehensive Plan.

As noted in the press release, Portland's Central City 2035 plan is still facing a legal dispute. "In a separate court decision [the Central City 2035 plan] was recently sent back to City Council for further consideration," according to the news release.

Thursday, January 30, 2020 in City of Portland

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.