City of Beaverton, OR

Common application types

• Building Permit
• Plumbing Permit
• Mechanical Permit
• Electrical Permit
• Planning (Land Use) Application
• Site Development Permit
• Temporary Use Permit

New homes and additions

New single-detached dwellings and middle housing, and floor area additions to them, in the RMA, RMB, RMC and CM-RM zones go through Single-Detached and Middle Housing Design Review One (Development Code Section 40.21), a Type 1 procedure decided by the Director, instead of general Design Review. Construction of a detached garage, and garage, parking or circulation changes that widen frontage along a street, are also Design Review One thresholds. A building permit is reviewed separately by the Building Division.

ADUs and middle housing

An ADU is allowed where a detached dwelling is the principal use in a zone that allows ADUs, and requires an Accessory Dwelling Unit application processed as a Type 1 procedure decided by the Director under Development Code Section 40.05. The city's middle housing amendments to comply with HB 2001 were adopted June 21, 2022 and took effect June 30, 2022. New duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and townhouses in the MR and CM-MR zones, or in commercial and multiple-use zones where permitted, are reviewed through Design Review Two. A Housing Adjustment (Type 1) allows limited changes to setbacks, lot standards and height for new construction, including middle housing, that meets a minimum density of 17 units per net acre.

Land use review

Each Development Code application is assigned a procedure type that sets the decision maker: Type 1 (Section 50.35) and Type 2 (Section 50.40) applications are decided by the Director, and Type 3 (Section 50.45) applications such as Major Adjustments, new Conditional Uses and Planned Unit Developments are decided by the Planning Commission. Design Review Two and Three submittals must include any information identified through a Pre-Application Conference, and the Facilities Review Committee reviews Single-Detached and Middle Housing Design Review Two and Three applications.

Tips from SASHKOV

• Planning, site development and building are separate permit tracks, so confirm which ones a project needs before applying.
• The city accepts electronic PDF submissions for land use applications, site development permits and building permits.
• Check the zone first: single-detached and middle housing in RMA, RMB, RMC and CM-RM use Section 40.21 design review rather than general Design Review.

Where to apply

Permitting authority: Community Development Department, Building Division. Online submittals: Beaverton Electronic Permitting System (BEPS).