ORS 92.031: Middle housing land division; conditions of approval.

(1) As used in this section, “middle housing land division” means a partition or subdivision of a lot or parcel on which the development of middle housing is allowed under ORS 197A.420 (2) or (3) or 197A.421. (2) A city or county shall approve a tentative plan for a middle housing land division if the application includes: (a) Separate utilities, other than water or wastewater, for each dwelling unit; (b) A proposal for development of middle housing that is in compliance or must comply with the Oregon residential specialty code and land use regulations under ORS 197A.420 (5) that are applicable to the original lot or parcel and which may consist of: (A) A single duplex, triplex, quadplex, cottage cluster or structure containing townhouses; (B) Additional units as allowed by ORS 197A.421 (3); and (C) Retained or rehabilitated existing units allowed under ORS 197A.420 (4), if any; (c) Proposed easements necessary for each dwelling unit on the plan for: (A) Locating, accessing, replacing and servicing all utilities; (B) Pedestrian access from each dwelling unit to a private or public road; (C) Any common use areas or shared building elements; (D) Any dedicated driveways or parking; and (E) Any dedicated common area; (d) Exactly one dwelling unit on each resulting lot or parcel, except for: (A) Lots, parcels or tracts used as common areas; or (B) Lots or parcels with a detached single-unit dwelling and accessory dwelling unit or a duplex as allowed under ORS 197A.420 (4); and (e) Evidence demonstrating how buildings or structures on a resulting lot or parcel will comply with applicable building codes provisions relating to new property lines and, notwithstanding the creation of new lots or parcels, how structures or buildings located on the newly created lots or parcels will comply with the Oregon residential specialty code. (3) A city or county may add conditions to the approval of a tentative plan for a middle housing land division to: (a) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, prohibit the further division of the resulting lots or parcels. (b) Require that a notation appear on the final plat indicating that the approval was given under this section. (4) In reviewing an application for a middle housing land division, a city or county: (a) Shall apply the procedures applicable to an expedited land division under ORS 197A.140, if requested by the applicant and without regard to the criteria in ORS 197A.142 (1). (b) May require street frontage improvements where a resulting lot or parcel abuts the street consistent with land use regulations implementing ORS 197A.420. (c) May not subject an application to approval criteria except as provided in this section, including that a lot or parcel require driveways, vehicle access, parking or minimum or maximum street frontage. (d) May not subject the application to procedures, ordinances or regulations adopted under ORS 92.044 or 92.046 that are inconsistent with this section or, only if requested by the applicant, ORS 197A.140. (e) Shall allow the submission of an application for a tentative plan for a middle housing land division before, after or at the same time as the submission of an application for building permits for the middle housing. (f) May require the dedication of right of way if the original parcel did not previously provide a dedication. (g) May require separate water and wastewater utilities for each dwelling unit. (h) Shall allow any existing units allowed under ORS 197A.420 (4) to be considered a single middle housing unit and allow for the unit to be allocated its own lot or parcel by the division. (5) The type of middle housing developed on the original parcel is not altered by a middle housing land division. (6) Notwithstanding ORS 197A.425 (1) and subsection (4)(d) and (e) of this section, a city or county may prohibit or add approval criteria to the allowance of a new accessory dwelling unit on, or a subsequent middle housing land division of, a lot or parcel resulting from a middle housing land division: (a) To the extent allowed under this section and ORS 197A.420; and (b) Provided that the middle housing land division lots or parcels may be used to create housing that is at or above the minimum density for the zoning of the land. (7) Notwithstanding any other provision of ORS 92.010 to 92.192, within the same calendar year as an original partition that was not a middle housing land division, a city or county may allow one or more of the resulting vacant parcels to be further partitioned into not more than three parcels through a middle housing land division. (8) The tentative approval of a middle housing land division is void if and only if a final subdivision or partition plat is not approved within three years of the tentative approval. Nothing in this section prohibits a city or county from requiring a final plat before issuing building permits. [2021 c.103 §2; 2024 c.102 §10; 2025 c.476 §14]