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Banks Rural Feasibility Determination

Banks, OR

Image:

M.O. Stevens, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Go or no-go answered before design dollars were spent.

A go or no-go determination for new construction on a rural parcel, with the consultant scope, cost and schedule for each path.

Site & Location

A rural parcel outside Banks, in unincorporated Washington County. Rural zoning and county review decide what can be built and in what order.

Challenge

The owner needed to know whether new construction was possible before paying for design.

Approach

Walked the site and recorded existing conditions Reviewed zoning and county code for the parcel Identified the consultants each path would need Set out the scope, cost and schedule for each path

Result

A written go or no-go determination, delivered before any design dollars were spent.

Project facts

Jurisdiction

Washington County, OR

County

Washington County

Scope

Feasibility determination

Status

Completed

Markets

Residential & Middle Housing

Services

Feasibility & Regulatory Strategy

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you tell me whether my project is permittable before I invest in a plan set?

Yes, and we recommend it. A feasibility study is a site visit, a zoning and land use review, a code review against the specific jurisdiction, and a written determination of whether the project as described can be permitted, what it would require, and what would have to change.

Can you tell me whether my project is permittable before I invest in a plan set?

The seller told me it was already approved for this. Should I rely on that?

Not without verification. Prior approvals expire, get conditioned, or apply to a use different from yours. We check what is actually on record with the jurisdiction and tell you what carries forward.

The seller told me it was already approved for this. Should I rely on that?

Not without verification. Prior approvals expire, get conditioned, or apply to a use different from yours. We check what is actually on record with the jurisdiction and tell you what carries forward.

I was told my farm building does not need a permit. Is that true?

It may be, and the exemption is narrower than most people are told. It generally covers storing farm equipment and produce or housing livestock, and it tends to end once there is human occupancy, retail sale, public access or employees working in the structure. An office or a restroom is usually enough to end it. We give you that answer in writing before the building goes up.

I was told my farm building does not need a permit. Is that true?

Do I need a land use approval, or just a building permit?

Sometimes both, and the land use path is the long one. Finding that out after the drawings are done is the most expensive way to learn it. It is the first thing we check.

Do I need a land use approval, or just a building permit?

Sometimes both, and the land use path is the long one. Finding that out after the drawings are done is the most expensive way to learn it. It is the first thing we check.