OAR 660-012-0005: Definitions

For the purposes of this division, the definitions contained in ORS 197.015, 197.303, and 197.627 shall apply unless the context requires otherwise. In addition, the following definitions apply: (1) “Access Management” means measures regulating access to streets, roads and highways from public roads and private driveways. Measures may include but are not limited to restrictions on the siting of interchanges, restrictions on the type and amount of access to roadways, and use of physical controls, such as signals and channelization including raised medians, to reduce impacts of approach road traffic on the main facility. (2) “Accessible dwelling unit” means a dwelling unit constructed to standards capable of accommodating persons with disabilities, in compliance with ORS 447.210 through 447.280. (3) “Accessible” means complying with the applicable standards of ORS 447.210 through 447.280, and where applicable, with ORS 447.310. (4) “Accessway” means a walkway that provides pedestrian and or bicycle passage either between streets or from a street to a building or other destination such as a school, park, or transit stop. Accessways generally include a walkway and additional land on either side of the walkway, often in the form of an easement or right-of-way, to provide clearance and separation between the walkway and adjacent uses. Accessways through parking lots are generally physically separated from adjacent vehicle parking or parallel vehicle traffic by curbs or similar devices and include landscaping, trees, and lighting. Where accessways cross driveways, they are generally raised, paved, or marked in a manner that provides convenient access for pedestrians. (5) “Affected Local Government” means a city, county, or metropolitan service district that is directly impacted by a proposed transportation facility or improvement. (6) “Approach Road” means a legally constructed, public or private connection that provides vehicular access either to or from or to and from a highway and an adjoining property. (7) “Area, net” means the total area of a development site exclusive of proposed or existing public rights of way, public parks, public open space, protected natural features, and any other areas permanently precluded from development due to development constraints, easements, or similar legal instruments. (8) “At or near a major transit stop”: “At” means a parcel or ownership that is adjacent to or includes a major transit stop generally including portions of such parcels or ownerships that are within 200 feet of a transit stop. “Near” generally means a parcel or ownership that is within 300 feet of a major transit stop. The term “generally” is intended to allow local governments through their plans and ordinances to adopt more specific definitions of these terms considering local needs and circumstances consistent with the overall objective and requirement to provide convenient pedestrian access to transit. (9) “Bicycle boulevard” means bicycle facilities on streets with low motorized traffic volumes and speeds, designated and designed to give bicycle travel priority. Bicycle boulevards use signs, markings, traffic diverters, or other measures to discourage through trips by motor vehicles. A bicycle boulevard may also include traffic control features to create safe, convenient bicycle crossings of intersecting streets. (10) “Climate-friendly area” means an urban mixed-use area containing, or planned to contain, a mixture of higher-density housing, jobs, businesses, and services. These areas are served by, or planned for service by, high-quality pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure and services to provide frequent and convenient connections to key destinations within the city and region. These areas feature a well-designed and connected pedestrian environment. To maximize community benefits these areas typically do not contain or require large parking lots, and are provided with abundant tree canopy and vegetation to provide shade, cooling, and other amenities to visitors, residents, and employees. Climate-friendly areas will reduce the reliance on light duty motor vehicle trips for residents, workers, and visitors by providing more proximate destinations within climate-friendly areas, improved connectivity to key destinations elsewhere in the community, and enhanced alternative transportation options. (11) “Climate pollution” means emissions of greenhouse gases as defined in ORS 468A.210. (12) “Commercial parking lot” means a site where the primary use is renting or leasing vehicle parking spaces. It does not include shared parking. (13) “Committed transportation facilities” means those proposed transportation facilities and improvements that are consistent with the acknowledged comprehensive plan and have approved funding for construction in a public facilities plan or the Six-Year Highway or Transportation Improvement Program. (14) “Demand management” means actions that are designed to change travel behavior in order to improve performance of transportation facilities and to reduce need for additional road capacity. Methods may include, but are not limited to, the use of non-driving modes, ride-sharing and vanpool programs, trip-reduction ordinances, shifting to off-peak periods, and reduced or paid parking. (15) “Equitable outcomes” means outcomes that burden underserved populations less than, and benefits underserved populations as much or more as, the city or county population as a whole. Examples of equitable outcomes include: (a) Increased stability of underserved populations, lowering the likelihood of displacement due to gentrification from public and private investments; (b) More accessible, safe, affordable and equitable transportation options with better connectivity to destinations people want to reach; (c) Adequate housing with access to employment, education, fresh food, goods, services, recreational and cultural opportunities, and social spaces; (d) Increased safety for people in public spaces, transportation, and community development; (e) Equitable access to parks, nature, open spaces, and public spaces; (f) Better and more racially equitable health outcomes across the lifespan, particularly health outcomes connected to transportation choices, air pollution, and food; (g) Recognizing and remedying impacts of past practices such as redlining, displacement, exclusionary zoning, and roadway and other public infrastructure siting decisions that harmed underserved communities; (h) Fairly-distributed benefits to residents and local governments across cities and counties within metropolitan areas; and (i) Increased opportunities for people with disabilities to be actively engaged in community-based decision-making processes, with supports as needed. (16) “Freeway” means a limited-access highway with access points exclusively from interchanges with other streets and highways. Limited access may be provided for rural land uses in rural areas where no other access is available. (17) “Horizon year” means the final year of the twenty-year planning period. (18) “Influence area of an interchange” means the area 1,320 feet from an interchange ramp terminal measured on the crossroad away from the mainline. (19) “Local streets” means streets that are functionally classified as local streets to serve primarily local access to property and circulation within neighborhoods or specific areas. Local streets do not include streets functionally classified as collector or arterials. (20) “Local Street Standards” include but are not limited to standards for right-of-way, pavement width, travel lanes, parking lanes, curb turning radius, and accessways. (21) “Major” means, in general, those facilities or developments that, considering the size of the urban or rural area and the range of size, capacity or service level of similar facilities or developments in the area, are either larger than average, serve more than neighborhood needs or have significant land use or traffic impacts on more than the immediate neighborhood: (a) “Major” as it modifies transit corridors, stops, transfer stations, and new transportation facilities means those facilities that are most important to the functioning of the system or that provide a high level, volume, or frequency of service; (b) “Major” as it modifies industrial, institutional, and retail development means such developments that are larger than average, serve more than neighborhood needs, or that have traffic impacts on more than the immediate neighborhood; (c) Application of the term “major” will vary from area to area depending upon the scale of transportation improvements, transit facilities, and development that occur in the area. A facility considered to be major in a smaller or less densely developed area may, because of the relative significance and impact of the facility or development, not be considered a major facility in a larger or more densely developed area with larger or more intense development or facilities. (22) “Major transit stop” means existing and planned transit stations, including light rail stations and other transit transfer stations, except for temporary facilities; other planned stops designated as major transit stops in a transportation system plan and existing stops that: (a) Have or are planned for an above average frequency of scheduled, fixed-route service when compared to region wide service. In urban areas of 1,000,000 or more population, major transit stops are generally located along routes that have or are planned for 15-minute or better service frequency throughout the day and on weekends; and (b) Are located in a transit-oriented development or within one-quarter mile of an area planned and zoned for: (A) Medium or high-density residential development; or (B) Intensive commercial or institutional uses within one-quarter mile of land uses in paragraph (A); or (C) Uses likely to generate a relatively high level of transit ridership. (23) “Metropolitan area” means the local governments that are responsible for adopting local or regional transportation system plans within a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) boundary. This includes cities, counties, and, in the Portland Metropolitan Area, Metro. (24) “Metro Region 2040 Center” means the area within a boundary adopted by a city or county under Title 6 of the acknowledged Metro Urban Growth Management Functional Plan for the central city, regional centers, and town centers on Metro’s 2040 Growth Concept map. (25) “Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)” means an organization located within the State of Oregon and designated by the Governor to coordinate transportation planning in an urbanized area of the state including such designations made subsequent to the adoption of this rule. The Longview-Kelso-Rainier and Walla Walla Valley MPOs are not considered MPOs for the purposes of this division. (26) “Minor transportation improvements” include, but are not limited to, signalization, addition of turn lanes or merge/deceleration lanes on arterial or collector streets, provision of local streets, transportation system management measures, modification of existing interchange facilities within public right of way and design modifications located within an approved corridor. Minor transportation improvements may or may not be listed as planned projects in a TSP where the improvement is otherwise consistent with the TSP. Minor transportation improvements do not include new interchanges; new approach roads within the influence area of an interchange; new intersections on limited access roadways, highways, or expressways; new collector or arterial streets, road realignments or addition of travel lanes. (27) “Multi-unit housing” means five or more attached housing units on a single lot or parcel. A dwelling unit may be attached to another dwelling unit vertically or horizontally. Multi-unit housing does not include middle housing types, as defined in ORS 197.758, but does include five or more attached condominium dwelling units located on a collectively managed lot or parcel. (28) “ODOT” means the Oregon Department of Transportation. (29) “Parking benefit district” means a designated area where some of the revenues from parking fees or permits for public parking within the designated area are dedicated to public improvements in the area. (30) “Parking mandates” means requirements to include or retain a carport, garage, or minimum number of off-street parking spaces with development, redevelopment, alterations, changes of use, or, for residential development, a fee-in-lieu of providing parking. It does not include requirements for parking spaces under the Americans with Disabilities Act or ORS 447.233. (31) “Parking maximums” means limits on the number of off-street parking spaces that can be included in a development. (32) “Parking spaces” means on and off-street spaces designated for automobile parking, other than parking spaces reserved for: (a) automobiles for sale or rent; (b) fleet vehicles; (c) carpools or vanpools; or (d) parking under the Americans with Disabilities Act. (33) “Pedestrian district” means a comprehensive plan designation or implementing land use regulations, such as an overlay zone, that establish requirements to provide a safe and convenient pedestrian environment in an area planned for a mix of uses likely to support a relatively high level of pedestrian activity. Such areas include but are not limited to: (a) Lands planned for a mix of commercial or institutional uses near lands planned for medium to high-density housing; or (b) Areas with a concentration of employment and retail activity; and (c) That have, or could develop, or have planned a network of streets and accessways that provide convenient pedestrian circulation. (34) “Pedestrian facility” means a continuous, unobstructed, reasonably direct route between two points that is intended and suitable for pedestrian use. Pedestrian facilities include but are not limited to sidewalk s, walkways, accessways, stairways and pedestrian bridges. On developed parcels, pedestrian facilities are generally hard surfaced. In parks and natural areas, pedestrian facilities may be soft-surfaced pathways. On undeveloped parcels and parcels intended for redevelopment, pedestrian facilities may also include rights of way or easements for future pedestrian improvements. (35) “Pedestrian plaza” means a small semi-enclosed area usually adjoining a sidewalk or a transit stop that provides a place for pedestrians to sit, stand or rest. They are usually paved with concrete, pavers, bricks, or similar material and include seating, pedestrian scale lighting, and similar pedestrian improvements. Low walls or planters and landscaping are usually provided to create a semi-enclosed space and to buffer and separate the plaza from adjoining parking lots and vehicle maneuvering areas. Plazas are generally located at a transit stop, building entrance, or an intersection and connect directly to adjacent sidewalks, walkways, transit stops, and buildings. A plaza including 150-250 square feet would be considered “small.” (36) “Pedestrian scale” means site and building design elements that are dimensionally less than those intended to accommodate automobile traffic, flow, and buffering. Examples include ornamental lighting of limited height; bricks, pavers, or other modules of paving with small dimensions; a variety of planting and landscaping materials; arcades or awnings that reduce the height of walls; and signage and signpost details that can only be perceived from a short distance. (37) “People with disabilities” means people who have a record or history of physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments that in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. (38) “Performance measure” means an indicator used to evaluate progress towards meeting performance targets in accordance with OAR 660-012-0910. (39) “Performance standard” means an indicator used to review comprehensive plan and land use regulation amendments in accordance with OAR 660-012-0060. (40) “Planning period” means the twenty-year period beginning with the date of adoption of a TSP to meet the requirements of this division. (41) “Preliminary Design” means an engineering design that specifies in detail the location and alignment of a planned transportation facility or improvement. (42) “Priority transit corridor” means a corridor that has a high existing or planned level of transit service relative to other transit service in the community, including service frequency and span of service. The corridor may be described as a series of stations when served by high-capacity transit services with widely spaced stations. (43) “Reasonably direct” means either a route that does not deviate unnecessarily from a straight line or a route that does not involve a significant amount of out-of-direction travel for likely users. (44) “Refinement Plan” means an amendment to the transportation system plan, that resolves, at a systems level, determinations on function, mode or general location which were deferred during transportation system planning because detailed information needed to make those determinations could not reasonably be obtained during that process. (45) “Regional Transportation Plan” or “RTP” means the long-range transportation plan prepared and adopted by a metropolitan planning organization for a metropolitan area as provided for in federal law. (46) “Roads” means streets, roads, and highways. (47) “Rural community” means areas defined as resort communities and rural communities in accordance with OAR 660-022-0010(6) and (7). For the purposes of this division, the area need only meet the definitions contained in the Unincorporated Communities Rule although the area may not have been designated as an unincorporated community in accordance with OAR 660-022-0020. (48) “Separated or protected bicycle facilities” means bicycle facilities that are physically separated, or that are protected from motor vehicle traffic by elements designed to inhibit intrusion into the bicycle facility. Protection may include parked motor vehicles, curbs, or a raised elevation of the bicycle facility. Separated or protected bicycle facilities may be unidirectional or two-way. Separated or protected bicycle facilities are designed to address conflicting traffic at intersections and other vehicular accesses to the street or highway. (49) “Shared parking” means parking spaces used to meet the parking mandates for two or more uses, structures, or parcels of land. (50) “Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)” means a mix of residential, retail, and office uses and a supporting network of roads, bicycle, and pedestrian ways focused on a major transit stop designed to support a high level of transit use. The key features of transit-oriented development include: (a) A mixed-use center at the transit stop, oriented principally to transit riders and pedestrian and bicycle travel from the surrounding area; (b) High density of residential development proximate to the transit stop sufficient to support transit operation and neighborhood commercial uses within the TOD; (c) A network of roads, and bicycle and pedestrian paths to support high levels of pedestrian access within the TOD and high levels of transit use. (51) “Transportation Facilities” means any physical facility that moves or assist in the movement of people or goods including facilities identified in OAR 660-012-0020 but excluding electricity, sewage, and water systems. (52) “Transportation System Management Measures” means techniques for increasing the efficiency, safety, capacity, or level of service of a transportation facility without increasing its size. Examples include, but are not limited to, traffic signal improvements, traffic control devices including installing medians and parking removal, channelization, access management, ramp metering, and restriping of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. (53) “Transportation Needs” means estimates of the movement of people and goods consistent with an acknowledged comprehensive plan and the requirements of this division. Needs are typically based on projections of future travel demand resulting from a continuation of current trends as modified by policy objectives, including those expressed in Goal 12 and this division, and attaining the state’s goals for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, especially those for avoiding principal reliance on any one mode of transportation. (54) “Transportation Needs, Local” means needs for movement of people and goods within communities and portions of counties and the need to provide access to local destinations. (55) “Transportation Needs, Regional” means needs for movement of people and goods between and through communities and accessibility to regional destinations within a metropolitan area, county, or associated group of counties. (56) “Transportation Needs, State” means needs for movement of people and goods between and through regions of the state and between the state and other states. (57) “Transportation Options Provider” means an entity providing services that work to change travel behavior in order to increase transportation system efficiency. (58) “Transportation Project Development” means implementing the transportation system plan (TSP) by determining the precise location, alignment, and preliminary design of improvements included in the TSP based on site-specific engineering and environmental studies. (59) “Transportation Service” means a service for moving people and goods, such as intercity bus service and passenger rail service. (60) “Transportation System Plan (TSP)” means a plan for one or more transportation facilities that are planned, developed, operated, and maintained in a coordinated manner to supply continuity of movement between modes, and within and between geographic and jurisdictional areas. (61) “Urban Area” means lands within an urban growth boundary, two or more contiguous urban growth boundaries, and urban unincorporated communities as defined by OAR 660-022-0010(9). For the purposes of this division, the area need only meet the definition contained in the Unincorporated Communities Rule although the area may not have been designated as an unincorporated community in accordance with OAR 660-022-0020. (62) “Unbundled parking” means a requirement that parking spaces for each unit in a development be rented, leased, or sold separately from the unit itself. The parking space(s) must be rented, leased, or sold at market rates for comparable local off-street parking. The renter, lessor, or buyer of the unit must be allowed to opt out of renting, leasing, or buying the parking space. (63) “Urban Fringe” means: (a) Areas outside the urban growth boundary that are within five miles of the urban growth boundary of an MPO area; and (b) Areas outside the urban growth boundary within two miles of the urban growth boundary of an urban area containing a population greater than 25,000. (64) “Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)” means all jurisdiction household-based light vehicle travel regardless of where the travel occurs. (65) “Walkway” means a hard surfaced area intended and suitable for use by pedestrians, including sidewalks and surfaced portions of accessways.