Meeting Housing Goals Without Burning Out City Staff

Oregon cities are being asked to deliver more housing, faster, in order to meet state production targets and community demand. With the passage of state policies such as House Bill 2001 and House Bill 2003, the mandate is clear: Oregon must accelerate housing production. But while expectations keep growing, planning departments remain stretched thin. Staff shortages are common, and the staff who remain often spend hours digging through zoning code just to answer a single permitting question.

“I can tell you from experience that a lot of our time here, and likely other municipalities, is spent just gathering information for individuals regarding what they can and can’t do on a piece of property.  UrbanForm will allow the public to have information like zoning and lot requirements at their fingertips.”

–Nicolette Cline, ex-City Planner at City of Bandon

A recent report from the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association noted that more than half of planning departments statewide have unfilled positions. In many smaller cities, one or two staff members are responsible for everything from comprehensive planning to permit intake. These pressures create a dangerous cycle:

• Housing goals are delayed because permits move slowly.

• Developers grow frustrated by difficult document discovery or inconsistent and slow responses.

• Staff burn out from spending their days buried in code instead of doing higher-value planning work.

  
  

The Core Issue: Time and Capacity

Even the most dedicated staff can’t create more hours in the day. Without new tools, the workload simply becomes unsustainable. Cities risk losing valuable employees to burnout at the exact moment when their expertise is needed most. And with state mandates pushing production targets higher each year, the gap between what’s required and what’s possible continues to widen.

The Shift: Zoning Clarity and Accessibility

UrbanForm is helping cities break this cycle. By making zoning both clear and accessible, UrbanForm turns what used to take hours—or even days—into minutes. Instead of combing through hundreds or thousands of pages of code, planners can instantly generate parcel-specific answers.

That shift frees staff capacity to:

• Focus on strategic housing initiatives instead of repetitive lookups.

• Provide developers with faster, more consistent answers and case-specific project management.

• Engage the community and councils in meaningful planning discussions.

  
  

Proof in Action

In Yamhill County, planners across 11 jurisdictions are already using UrbanForm to unlock capacity. McMinnville and Newberg saw staff cut zoning lookups from hours to minutes. Even Willamina, a small city with limited staff, gained bandwidth that would otherwise be impossible.

As one Yamhill County planner put it: “One UrbanForm report replicates what would have taken me half a day to prepare.”

This is the kind of time savings that translates directly into more housing permits approved, more conversations with developers, and more focus on building livable communities.

The Takeaway

If Oregon is to meet housing production goals, cities need more than just mandates. They need smarter tools that prevent staff burnout while unlocking new capacity. Zoning clarity and accessibility are critical infrastructure for getting there.

By shifting zoning from an obstacle into an accessible, shared resource, cities of every size can move closer to meeting Oregon’s housing goals—without exhausting the staff who make it possible.

UrbanForm will be sharing more at the League of Oregon Cities Annual Conference during the AI Workshop on October 3. If you’ll be in Portland, let’s connect.