Condominiums in NW Portland.
(Photo: Dan Liu)
The City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability is working on a package of eco-friendly building code changes that, if passed, would include an improvement to bike parking at apartments and condominiums.
The package of new code regulations — which also removes barriers to installing water-harvesting rain barrels, wind turbines, solar panels, and more — are part of the City’s Regulatory Improvement Workplan.
Currently, “multi-unit residential buildings” have a zoning code exemption that allows them to opt out of providing secure, long-term bike parking. This means residents and visitors have to find parking inside the units, on balconies, or near the building in potentially unsecure locations.
If the proposed code changes go through — City Council is scheduled to vote on them in early September — residential complexes would be subject to the same rules that currently apply to commercial office buildings. That is, they would be required to provide racks or lockers either on site or within 300 feet, with at least 50% of them covered and secured (a locked, highly visible area, video monitored, etc…).
According to the draft of code changes, if the parking requirement is fulfilled with in-unit spaces, the rack/locker requirement is designed to give “some assurance that the dwelling unit is designed with the placement and dimensions of the bike parking in mind.”
The proposed code changes would apply to new buildings and renovations that are extensive enough to meet a certain financial threshold.
The City of Portland is pushing these bike-friendly code changes as yet another way to meet their stated goal of a 20% “Target Commute Mode Share” for bicycles by 2030.
To learn more, download a draft of the proposed code changes at PortlandOnline.com.