A restaurant, coffee shop, bar or similar drinking/dining establishment is classified as a "retail sales and service". Industrial zones (lots of locations in the central east side) will have limitations on non-industrial uses, so you may or may not be able to fit into any particular industrial location. Call one of the planners at (503) 823-7526 to make sure that there are no zoning issues with a location.

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 change, 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. A "change of occupancy" is when there is a change in the building's use that would place it in a different occupancy classification.

The building code classifies a coffee shop/café/restaurant as one of two "occupancies". "A2 occupancies" are where there is a room with 50 or more occupants, as calculated by the code. In general, a table and chair seating area larger than 750 square feet will result in an A2 occupancy classification whereas a drinking and dining establishment with a seating area of less than 750 square feet can be classified as a "B occupancy", which has much less restrictive requirements. A 750 square foot table and chair seating area is assumed, by the code, to have 50 occupants.

Establishments that have a seating area less than 750 square feet but that have dance floors and similar "standing" areas, can end up being classified as assembly uses. That is because floor areas like dance floors, that are designed to be used by patrons but are kept open without furniture, are looked at as occupied even more densely than standard seating areas. For more information on how the occupant load of your particular use might be calculated, visit the Development Services Center with a rough layout, and meet with a Life Safety Reviewer.

The building code/life safety requirements for a drinking and dining establishment having a room with more than 50 occupants are much more restrictive.

The building code requires a drinking cafe with a seating area of 450 square feet or more to provide separate restrooms for men and women. An appeal may be possible if the seating area is not much over 450 square feet and there is just not the space to add a restroom. View more information on the building code appeal process.

The building code requires that new work (such as new restrooms) meets current accessibility standards AND requires spending up to 25% of the value of a project on improving the access to and within an establishment. This "25% rule" applies to changes of occupancy as well as remodeling projects. The code lists the order of priority for improvements:

1. parking,
2. an accessible entrance,
3. an accessible route to the altered area,
4. at least one accessible restroom for each sex or an additional single unisex restroom, etc.

For more information on accessibility requirements, speak to a Life Safety Reviewer.

A Type I grease hood is required wherever there is non residential stove-top cooking. Type II hoods are required over most equipment that will create heat, steam or odors but not grease. Examples include steamers, kettles, pasta cookers and dishwashing machines that are not the under counter type. In most cases, a hood will not be required for built-in electric convection ovens or microwaves. Hoods are not required for portable appliances of any kind, but if the Fire Inspector finds grease buildup when inspecting the business, the Fire Marshal's Office may require that a hood be installed.

The city's seismic ordinance classifies the various building code occupancies into five "relative hazard" levels. Warehouse or manufacturing buildings are classified as lower hazard occupancies than a B occupancy, for seismic purposes. Locating a B occupancy drinking/dining establishment in a building that shows in our permit records as a legal warehouse or manufacturing building could require that the entire building be seismically upgraded. Converting legal office space (also a B occupancy) or retail space (an M occupancy) to a B occupancy drinking/dining establishment would not generally require a seismic upgrade, since B and M occupancies are classified at the same seismic hazard level.

When the change in use is to a higher relative hazard occupancy (from warehouse or manufacturing) you are generally required to upgrade the entire building if more than 1/3rd of the area of the building is changed to that higher use. The area trigger for seismic is cumulative over time, so if a portion of the building has already been changed without requiring an upgrade, your proposed project may cross over the allowed thresholds. It is very important to research the permit history of any building that you are considering as a location.

For more information on seismic triggers and your project, visit the Development Services Center or call a Life Safety Reviewer at (503) 823-1456.

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. System Development Charges can add up when the use of a space is changed to drinking/dining. Systems Development Charges are paid at the time that a development permit (also known as a building permit) is issued. Building owners, but not tenants, can finance the SDCs through the city.

BDS has pulled together information on all the SDCs online. From there, you can also jump to more specific information on each bureau's individual website.

The Transportation SDC is charged on a per square foot of use basis, when the proposed use is seen as creating more transportation trips than the previous use of the space. Some drinking and dining establishments that are less than 3,000 s.f. in floor area will be charged the retail rate for SDCs, rather than the higher drinking and dining establishment rate. Where the retail rate can be used, and depending on the last use of the space, the SDC is generally no more than a few dollars per gross square foot. A drinking/dining/coffeeshop that is calculated by Transportation as being LARGER than 3,000 s.f. can have SDC charges in the neighborhood of $15 per square foot.

Sometimes a small drinking/dining/coffee shop is part of a larger mixed business. For example, a brewpub is a hybrid of a manufacturing use (the brewery) and a drinking/dining establishment (the pub). Or a retail store may include an area with sit-down drinking/dining/coffee shop service. In cases like these, the Bureau of Transportation will charge the entire business at the higher per square foot SDC rate when there is not a clear structural (e.g. full height glass wall) separating the two uses. The entire combined floor area of the brewery and pub could be charged at the higher restaurant rate if the combined area is over 3,000 square feet and there is no separation.

Call Transportation at (503) 823-7002 for more information on how SDCs could be charged for your particular project. View online rate tables.

The Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) charges a Sanitary SDC 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.). Changing any kind of space to a drinking and dining establishment is likely to mean adding fixtures. Different plumbing fixtures are charged at different rates, and whether your business is a full service restaurant versus a deli, coffee shop or bar will affect the rates. Call BES at (503) 823-7761 for more information.

For the Water Bureau, any SDC is based on the size of meter installed. If your new project will include the addition of plumbing fixtures, a larger meter size may be required and an SDC charged. Water lines required for sprinkler systems are exempt from SDC fees. Portland Water Bureau staff is available to answer your SDC questions at (503) 823-7368 or view more information online.

Most drinking and dining establishments must be licensed by the Multnomah County Health Department or call them at (503) 988-3400. Food establishments that make more than half of their sales from the manufacture or sale of food products for off-site consumption will generally require approval from the Oregon Department of Agriculture Food Safety Division or call them at (503) 986-4720.

BDS won't issue a permit for your food establishment until you turn in a copy of the stamped Multnomah County approved plan, or documentation from the Department of Agriculture showing that they have approved the project.

The city will require that plans for any project with complex issues or structural work be prepared by a licensed professional. Plans need to be clear and complete, regardless of who prepares them.

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.

Depending on the age of the building, we may have plans of the existing building in our microfilm records that can help during the planning stage. See information on Resources/Records.

We encourage you to visit the Development Services Center (DSC) as soon as you have preliminary plans showing what you have in mind.

The DSC is on the ground floor of the building at 1900 SW 4th (4th and Hall). See DSC Hours and Service Availability.

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.

DSC staff can also give you an idea of the permit fees for your project.

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.