Clackamas County, OR

Common application types

• Single-Family or Duplex Building Permit
• Building / Structural Permit
• Building Permit Revision
• Manufactured Dwelling Permit
• Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing Permits
• Grading Permit
• Agricultural Exemption
• Pre-Application Conference Request
• Land Use Application
• Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS)

New homes and additions

Single-family and duplex submittals use the One and Two Family Dwelling Checklist and a site plan showing property identifiers, north arrow, structures, setbacks, drainage features and elevations, submitted as PDFs using the county's file naming conventions. Planning checks zoning, setbacks, required land use reviews and prior conditions of approval and assigns addresses; the Soils Division determines septic needs and confirms buildings are not sited on a drainfield; the sewer district approves connections and administers erosion control plans; and Driveways-Engineering verifies county road access.

ADUs and middle housing

Inside an urban growth boundary or unincorporated community, one ADU is allowed per detached single-family or manufactured dwelling (one per townhouse in R-2.5 and VTH), up to 900 sq ft in most districts and 500 sq ft in R-2.5, under ZDO Section 839. Outside those areas, one ADU is allowed per lot of record on lots of at least two acres, up to 900 sq ft and within 100 feet of the primary dwelling, with short-term rentals prohibited. Duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhouses and cottage clusters are allowed on urban residential land in unincorporated Clackamas County under amendments adopted June 2, 2022 and in effect July 1, 2022.

Decks, retaining walls and accessory structures

The county publishes a Ready to Build prescriptive deck plan and a permit process guide for one- and two-family dwellings and accessory structures.

Commercial tenant improvements and change of use

Commercial projects often require several permits and use the county's Commercial Application Checklist, its Supplement and the Commercial Phased Project Matrix. Submittals go through Development Direct.

Land use review

Partitions and minor subdivisions are Type II, major subdivisions are Type III, and middle housing land divisions are Type II or Type II-E at the applicant's choice under ZDO Section 1105. A pre-application conference is required before partitions, subdivisions, middle housing land divisions, design review, conditional use, zone change and Comprehensive Plan amendment applications, among others; conference notes are typically emailed within one week, and a complete application must be filed within two years.

Corrections and review

Plans are prescreened for completeness at submittal. When reviews are complete, the applicant receives an email and a Development Direct task if corrections or more information are needed, and each comment and changemark must be answered before moving forward. Resubmitted files keep their original names because the system assigns version numbers. Published review time targets were not confirmed on the county's pages.

Tips from SASHKOV

• Confirm the project is in county jurisdiction using the county's jurisdiction lookup before applying.
• Development Direct requires the Chrome or Edge browser.
• Print approved drawings, documents and permits in color and keep them on site for inspections.
• Inspection requests must be received before 6 a.m. on the day of the inspection.

Where to apply

Permitting authority: Department of Transportation and Development, Building Codes Division. Online submittals: Development Direct.