Design Review Report to the Portland City Council

On December 10, the Portland City Council passed a resolution directing City staff to study issues related to discretionary design review and other design regulations that apply within Portland’s adopted Design and Historic Resource Overlay Zones. Additionally, the resolution directed staff to produce options for both temporarily suspending required design review and making permanent changes to a range of design regulations to support increased commercial and residential development. On June 16, staff from Portland’s Bureaus of Planning and Sustainability and Permitting and Development will present an overview of their findings and the regulatory reform options that will be presented to City Council.

Presented by

Brandon Spencer-Hartle

Brandon is a Senior Planner at the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Brandon manages Portland’s Historic Resources Program and has worked on a variety of historic resource and urban design projects, including design guidelines, objective design standards, and several zoning code amendment efforts. 

Ryan Singer

Ryan is a Principal Planner at the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Ryan supervises Portland’s Urban Design Studio, including long-range planning and visioning for areas within the Design Overlay Zone. Previous to joining the City of Portland in 2023, Ryan served as the Senior Director of Pipeline and Public Review in New York City.