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Last month, Gresham City Council gave the green light to staff’s middle housing proposed code changes, pursuant to HB2001 and previously advanced by the city’s design commission. Following months of HBA stakeholder advisory recommendations, the draft code aligns substantially with the state’s middle housing minimum compliance standards, which regulate the siting and design of middle housing in urban growth boundaries. Notably, Gresham’s proposal includes the allowance for both attached and detached duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes on all residential lots that allow for the development of a single-dwelling detached home. Allowing detached duplex-quadplex units -- in addition to the state-required attached units -- offers greater development flexibility and promotes retention of existing housing stock while meeting demand for detached housing. The city is concurrently implementing HB2001 companion SB458, which allows for expedited land division for middle housing development applications. Gresham’s proposed middle housing draft code includes the same minimum lot size standards for both single dwelling detached as well as for new middle housing units in the same zone, and no limit on housing types within a floor area ratio (FAR) regulated building volume. This means that in a zone with a 5,000 square foot minimum lot size, a builder could construct any number of attached or detached middle housing units, assuming all other siting and design standards were met. Additionally, the city’s proposal allows for townhomes on flag lots, again allowing housing type flexibility above and beyond the state’s minimum compliance. With respect to parking, Gresham is proposing to adopt the highest minimum compliance standards, which also allow developers the flexibility of providing more than the minimum depending on the market, site vicinity, and access to transit. HBA applauds Gresham’s progressive approach to its middle housing code, which will help the city accommodate its future households. To learn more about HBA involvement in Gresham, contact Roseann Johnson, roseannj@hbapdx.org.