Springfield is partnering with a consultant to update its housing code to encourage development and ensure its codes comply with state statutes. 

The consulting firm, Cascadia Partners of Portland, presented its initial findings to city councilors at a work session Tuesday, May 27. 

The presentation had three core parts: a review of a code audit to weed out codes that may not comply with state statutes, suggestions on updates to code that is vague in order to make it more clear, and recommendations for greater housing production in Springfield. 

The consultants presented on code that contains potential barriers to housing production, such as minimum parcel size requirements discouraging small-scale housing. The consultants also said that requirements for mixed-use development may raise costs and complexity of projects, making development less feasible. This is due to higher construction costs for ground-floor commercial space and weak market demand for retail space, they said. 

The consultants found three state laws with which the city code is in partial compliance and one state requirement the code was not meeting. The laws relate to group homes, manufactured home parks and recreational vehicles. They made suggestions on updates. 

Cascadia also pointed out sections of development code that included subjective language and should be updated with objective wording. This will include adding measurable thresholds and clear criteria to the code. 

The code project is ongoing and city staff will be seeking feedback from community members. For more information on this project, visit https://springfield-or.gov/city/development-public-works/springfield-development-code-update-project/.Â