Late last year, UrbanForm began working with the Southern Oregon Coast Regional Housing Collaborative (SOCRH) and CCD Business Development Corporation to bring parcel-specific zoning information online for the cities of Coos Bay, North Bend, and Bandon. The goal was to remove the friction that slows projects down before they even begin, supporting their housing goals and economic development across the region. That work is now expanding. Today, in partnership with Coos County, SOCRH, and the...

How planning departments are improving public service without adding a single position. You already know the calls. The basic questions. The hard-to-find documents. The back and forth.  Someone wants to know if they can build an ADU on their property. Someone else is asking whether their lot is in a flood overlay zone. A contractor needs to confirm setback requirements before they can finish a bid. The opportunistic developer is certain that a specific bonus applies to a property. A...

Oregon's housing legislation has been moving at quite the clip. In the past few years, state lawmakers have passed a steady stream of housing bills, each one designed to address supply shortfalls, remove barriers to development, or override local restrictions that were slowing things down. For planners responsible for implementing these laws, and developers trying to build within them, the cumulative effect is a regulatory environment of mounting complexity. Every new bill adds another layer....