What’s New in Phase II?

Throughout ReCode Phase II, this space will be updated regularly to keep interested parties apprised of progress on the project. Stay tuned here to find out more, or sign up on our home page to receive news and updates.


RELEASE OF FINAL DRAFT CHANGES (FALL 2024)

In early September, we released the final draft amendments to the land use code and zoning map. These drafts are based on hundreds of public comments and Planning Board input.

RECODE STUDIO (June 2024)

On June 4 and 5, we hosted the ReCode Studio, an opportunity for the public to learn and provide input on the second wave of proposed changes to the land use code and zoning map. This drop-in event was held at 1 Canal Plaza. Review the materials from the ReCode Studio here and find a summary of feedback here.

LET’S CONNECT GREATER PORTLAND PODCAST (SPRING 2024)

Missed the podcast? Listen here.

Release of second wave changes (winter 2024)

In early April, we released the second wave of draft amendments to the land use code, including changes to the four core articles that comprised the first wave, plus all remaining articles of the land use code.

LD 2003 AMENDMENTS

In October, we drafted a series of amendments to the land use code to comply with the requirements of LD 2003, a new state law intended to create housing opportunities across Maine. The amendments, which must be adopted by January 1, 2024, were reviewed by the Planning Board and recommended to the City Council for a hearing on December 18. Learn more about the LD 2003 amendments here.

FIRST WAVE OPEN HOUSES & VIRTUAL PUBLIC FORUM (SUMMER-Fall 2023)

On August 16 and 17, we held three drop-in open houses on the first wave changes under ReCode. Read a summary of what we heard here. And on September 27, we held a virtual public forum to give the public another opportunity to learn about and provide feedback on the first wave of draft changes. Watch a video of the forum here, or view the presentation here.

RELEASE OF FIRST WAVE CHANGES (SPRING 2023)

In June 2023, we released drafts of the first four articles of the land use code - Definitions, Zones, Uses, and Dimensional Standards. Feedback was gathered throughout the summer. To learn more, click here.

HOUSING SUPPLY BOOTCAMP (WINTER 2023)

In January of 2023, the City of Portland hosted a housing supply boot camp with 14 external stakeholders. The boot camp focused on identifying barriers and solutions to expand Portland’s supply of housing stock. For a summary of ideas from the boot camp, visit here.

recode: resilience underway (fall 2022)

As of fall 2022, we’ve begun a concentrated effort to integrate climate resilience into the land use code. This effort will determine what kinds of additional requirements, standards, and guidelines need to be incorporated into our land use code to ensure that Portland is resilient in the face of increasing coastal flooding, stormwater flooding, and high heat in the future. You can learn more about this work here.

VIRTUAL PUBLIC FORUMS ON THE LAND USE CODE EVALUATION (WINTER 2022)

On 3/1/22 and 3/2/22, we held a virtual public forum to review findings of our land use code evaluation. Watch a video of the first forum, which focused on the topics of housing, climate change and transportation. Or watch video from the second forum, which focused on complete neighborhoods, urban design, and economic development. You can also view a summary of public comment from the forums here.

LAND USE CODE EVALUATION SURVEY (WINTER 2022)

In February 2022, we put together a quick survey on the recommendations of the land use code evaluation. This survey provided a way for people to learn about the code evaluation and provide quick feedback. Findings from the survey are summarized here.

LAND USE CODE EVALUATION RELEASE (WINTER 2021)

In December 2021, we released the first major work product of ReCode Phase II, the land use code evaluation.  This document is a summary of the findings of an analysis of the existing land use code through the lens of Portland’s Plan, asking questions like: How could the land use code better help the city meet its goals around key issues, like housing affordability, climate change, complete neighborhoods, transit-oriented development, and equity? Code evaluation input from our document comment portal is summarized here.

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Updates to the ReCode Website (Spring-Summer 2021)

If you are reading this page, you’ve likely noticed that we have refreshed our project website. The landing page now reflects the current status of ReCode, and we’ve removed a number of pages specific to past Phase I work. Over the summer, we regularly published new content around the vision statement from Portland’s Plan, presenting perspectives on the relationships between the six elements of the vision statement (Equitable, Sustainable, Authentic, Dynamic, Secure, Connected) and the city’s land use code. This work was meant to help viewers connect with the vision, become familiar with Portland’s Plan, and learn about how the plan intersects with the city’s land use code. To find out more, visit Exploring Portland’s Plan.

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Stakeholder Interviews (SPRING 2021)

In late March, the city’s consultant, Camiros, met with 15 individuals representing a diverse array of perspectives on issues relevant to ReCode, ranging from those in the development community, affordable housing advocates, neighborhood residents, and representatives of civic and cultural organizations. Interviewees included Rose Barboza, Zack Barowitz, Jonathan Culley, Mark Johnson, Bill Hall, Julie Larry, Daniel & Marcia Minter, Sarah Michniewicz, Lisa Morris, Greg Payne, Alec Porteous, Heather Sanborn, Jack Soley, Jesse Thompson, and Barbara Vestal. These stakeholder interviews provided the consultant team with an initial snapshot on some of the challenges and opportunities in Portland today, and served as a launching point for the technical land use code evaluation.

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VISUAL ASSESSMENT (SPRING 2021)

At the outset of Phase II, staff and the consultant, Camiros, conducted a visual assessment of the city. We highlighted development patterns citywide, from our islands to our densest and most highly developed areas downtown, identifying existing zoning and land use controls along the way. We focused on examples of more and less walkable neighborhoods, places witnessing unprecedented transformation, emerging trends in development patterns and uses, and a whole host of housing, commercial, and industrial typographies.