The city's zoning code spells out what uses are allowed in which land use zones. That means that a planner will need to look at the property's zoning to make sure that your use is allowed. Sometimes a use that is not allowed outright, by the zoning code, can be approved through a land use review. Land use reviews are often a lengthy and expensive process, since the law requires that most of these reviews include public notice and the opportunity for input.
A change of use, for purposes of the zoning code, may require bike parking, additional vehicle parking and/or changes to the parking, or paving and landscaping on the site. Exterior changes to a building, in many areas of the city, must go through a design review process to make sure that the proposed changes meet any special design guidelines for the area in which the project is located. The requirement for design review can be triggered by a very minor, such as installing a replacement window that is not identical to the original.
The building code sorts the ways that buildings are used into separate "occupancy classifications". Every building is given an occupancy classification when it is built, and each occupancy classification has different building code requirements that go along with it. The requirements reflect the type of hazard or uses in the building. For example, the requirements for a building to be used as a day care center will be different (and stricter) than the building code requirements for a new warehouse building. A building will remain "grandfathered" even when the code requirements for any occupancy classification change over time, so long as the occupancy remains the same.
A change of occupancy is when there is a change in the building's use that would change the way the building code classifies the building's occupancy. Some occupancy changes, such as a house to office us, may be obvious. A less obvious example of a change of occupancy is when a restaurant that has seating for less than 50 wants to increase the number of seats. A change of occupancy typically requires that the building meet most of the current building code requirements for a new building.
The city's seismic ordinance classifies the various building code occupancies into five "relative hazard" levels. To go back to the warehouse vs. day care center example, a day care would be classified at a higher hazard level than a warehouse. When you change the use of a building in a way that the seismic ordinance considers an occupancy change to a higher relative hazard, you could be required to upgrade the entire building. Whether or not a seismic upgrade is required usually depends on the floor area of the change in relation to the building as a whole. In some cases, a building may need to be upgraded seismically because the change of use is seen as dramatically increasing the number of occupants.
System Development Charges (SDCs) are one-time fees charged to help pay for the facilities (such as street and sewer systems) required to meet growth-related needs for the city. Systems Development Charges are collected by the Bureau of Environmental Services, the Portland Office of Transportation, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation and the Bureau of Water Works. SDCs are paid at the time that a development permit (also known as a building permit) is issued.
A project that changes the use of a space that is in a building larger than 3,000 square feet will often trigger a Transportation SDC. The charge kicks in where there is a presumed increase in vehicle trips, and it is charged on a per square foot basis.
The Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) charges a Sanitary SDC for new dwelling units and for commercial projects whenever a development permit includes the addition of one or more new plumbing fixtures. (A new "fixture" is a sink, toilet, dishwasher, floor drain, etc.). A Stormwater SDC is charged where a project adds or redevelops impervious area on the site.
Water SDCs are charged when you need to increase the size of the water meter to meet the demands of the new use.
Parks charges an SDC only where the change of use project will add a new dwelling unit.
A change of use can trigger required improvements to sidewalks, bike lanes and similar elements on the public right of way. Where the Portland Office of Transportation determines that the existing public right of way conditions are substandard, the city may require that the building owner "dedicate" (legally turn over the ownership of) part of the property as well as to take responsibility for constructing those needed right of way improvements.
Getting a permit for most changes of use will often require extensive plans for the building, showing the existing conditions as well as any work you propose. The plans submitted for permit will need to include a building code analysis that shows any deficiencies from current code, and how those will be addressed. You will almost always need a really good site plan, even if you don't plan to do any work on the outside of the building or on the site.
It is not uncommon, in the case of a change of occupancy, to have one or more building code appeals. Appeals can be preliminary - before the permit is applied for - or you can wait until you have applied for the permit and can be sure that all the issues that might need an appeal have been identified. The appeals process takes about a week. View more information on the appeal process.
There is a lot of information available about permits and the permit process on the BDS website. You may want to look at the Commercial Alterations or the New Users section.
A change of occupancy permit is a building permit. To apply for the change of occupancy permit, you must provide the city with four sets of plans, pay part of the fees up front including an additional change of occupancy plan review fee and then turn the plans in for review. Plans will generally include a site plan, a plan of each floor, a cross section, and often stair details. Plans should show how the proposed use and layout meet current code requirements. If there are areas that need to be improved to meet current code, the drawings should include construction details showing how these will be modified.
The DSC is on the ground floor of the building at 1900 SW 4th (4th and Hall). We encourage you to get in to the DSC earlier in the day rather than later. The wait times get longer as the day goes by, and it also tends to be more of a challenge to find parking.
In the DSC you will find technical staff from virtually all of the city bureaus that can discuss requirements applying to your project and that will be reviewing your project when it comes in for a permit.
Staff representing the various groups with an interest in development (building, zoning, fire, transportation, sewer, etc.) will be assigned to your project. Any reviewer who looks at your plans and needs additional info/corrections before signing off will mail you a "checksheet" telling you what they need. The city's goal is to get all of those checksheets out (for a change of occupancy) within a couple of weeks.
To respond to a checksheet, you will go to Document Services, which is on the second floor (above the DSC). You will need to update all four sets of the originally submitted drawings, either by replacing the original sheets with new sheets or marking changes on the originally submitted sheets. Keep any replaced sheets with the new sheets, and mark them "Void".
When all the corrections are made, the reviewers will check the changes made. When all the reviews are completed, it takes several days to process the paperwork. Then, you pay the rest of the fees and the permit is issued. Licensed contractors will need to apply for separate permits to do the electrical and plumbing work.
When all the inspections (building, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing ) are approved, and the card you are given at permit issuance is all signed off, you will be issued a Certificate of Occupancy. The house can then be occupied as an educational use.
Additional general information, including Frequently Asked Questions can be found in our Change of Occupancy brochure. More detailed information for common types of Change of Use is available through the links below.