UrbanForm at the 2025 AOC Annual Conference: Accelerating Zoning Clarity Across Oregon’s Counties

This week, county leaders from across Oregon will gather in Lane County/Eugene for the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) Annual Conference, a three-day event dedicated to strengthening the systems that support Oregon’s communities. From land use and housing to public health, emergency services, and critical infrastructure, counties carry a tremendous responsibility for shaping the future of the state. UrbanForm is proud to participate this year as a conference sponsor.

For counties, accurate zoning information sits at the very beginning of almost every project. Whether it’s housing development, economic investment, transportation planning, or long-term capital improvements, land-use clarity determines how effectively, and how quickly, counties can deliver for their communities. Today, that clarity is still surprisingly hard to access. Codes are long, fragmented, and often stored in different places; maps are formatted differently, sometimes in GIS, which is complicated and difficult to use. In short, every project requires manual interpretation, cross-checking, and time-intensive work.

UrbanForm was built to change this.

Why This Work Matters for Counties

Counties are being asked to respond to more demand with fewer resources. Staff workloads continue to grow, legislation evolves quickly, and complexity is increasing. And residents expect timely, responsive answers about what can be built and where.

UrbanForm’s mission - better buildings, cities, and environments - is closely connected to that challenge. When zoning information becomes instantly accessible and consistently interpretable, counties gain something invaluable: capacity.

With immediate, verified, parcel-level insights, built with UrbanForm’s platform, county teams can:

• Support more complete and accurate development applications

• Strengthen coordination across agencies and jurisdictions

• Maintain consistency even as staff and workloads change

• Build transparency and trust with the public

• Improve permitting turnaround times

Clarity becomes not just a convenience, but a force multiplier for county effectiveness.

What We’ve Learned From Oregon Counties

UrbanForm’s work across Oregon, including a multi-jurisdiction collaboration in Yamhill County, has shown that modernizing zoning access has impacts far beyond speed. It supports cultural alignment, helps jurisdictions speak a common language, and reduces friction between public and private partners.

In Yamhill County, for example, usage steadily increased across cities of every size, demonstrating that zoning clarity isn’t just a metropolitan need. Smaller jurisdictions in particular benefit from tools that amplify staff capacity and provide consistent, up-to-date information in a single place.

These lessons underscore an important truth: when counties can quickly understand the regulatory landscape, they are better positioned to respond to regional goals, plan for the future, and unlock more predictable development pathways.

How we do what we do

Here’s the not-so-secret fact about zoning and development regulations: they’re not always completely there. From maps that may or may not be available, to ordinances that may or may not find their way into the development code, to overlays or other geographic considerations that may or may not be immediately evident; figuring out what you can build where has traditionally been a full time job for folks “on both sides of the counter.” 

UrbanForm works with government departments to build and maintain an easy-to-use online platform to communicate zoning and development regulations, gathering all of the geospatial and code related requirements unique to each jurisdiction. This work essentially automates much of the up-front work of discovery and communication, getting everyone on the same page about what you can build, faster, with more clarity, and confidence.

Our process, honed by working with over 30 different jurisdictions throughout Oregon, delivers results that are attested to by city managers, community development directors, city planners, building officials, GIS technicians, and administrative staff across all levels and departments of government. It’s an information infrastructure that pays dividends at all points in the process. 

AOC 2025: A Space for Shared Solutions

The AOC Annual Conference is a rare moment where county commissioners, planners, administrators, assessors, surveyors, and public-sector partners step back and explore the bigger picture.

This year’s sessions highlight key questions counties across Oregon are asking:

• How do we manage and communicate new land-use legislation effectively?

• How do we expand housing opportunities and grow the economy while maintaining community character?

• How do we ensure clarity, accessibility, and fairness within our regulations?

• How do we build resilience in emergency management, public health, and infrastructure?

  
  

UrbanForm is honored to help support these conversations. Zoning clarity is one essential piece of the broader statewide work to build more resilient systems, housing systems, economic systems, and the civic systems that make local government work.

Looking Ahead

We’re looking forward to connecting with county leaders throughout the conference, learning from the challenges you’re navigating, and sharing what we’ve discovered through our partnerships across Oregon. If your county is exploring zoning modernization, improving permitting workflows, or preparing for legislative changes, we’d love to talk.

Here’s to better buildings, cities, and environments, and to the county teams working every day to make that possible.

With gratitude,

The UrbanForm Team