Courtesy of Flynn Casey and Christiana Hedlund
Through the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition (OMTC) $41.4 million to develop and expand Oregon’s emerging Mass Timber industry. This grant is specifically focused on utilizing mass timber products in prefabricated, modular home construction. The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) is utilizing a portion of the funding through this grant to help cities update and modernize local development codes to allow and encourage the use of modular housing through the Code-UP project.
Ten Oregon jurisdictions were selected to receive technical assistance. Priority was given to wildfire affected and rural communities.
Learn more about the Mass Timber Code-UP Project
This guidance document includes resources to assist local governments in updating their development codes to facilitate construction of all prefabricated and modular housing. The document is formatted as an Audit Workbook, which is intended to help local government staff identify and address regulatory barriers to prefabricated/modular housing in their codes. It also provides model code language that can be adopted into local development codes to better facilitate development of this housing type.
DLCD has contracted the planning and urban design firm MIG to help cities update their development codes. The project has two parts:
- Provide technical assistance to ten jurisdictions to update their development codes consistent with guidance and recommendations identified in the Prefabricated and Modular Housing Model Code and Audit Workbook.
- Assist each participating jurisdiction with adoption of the regulatory changes necessary to allow mass timber modular housing and provide support through legislative code amendment/adoption processes.
From 2024 to 2025, DLCD will assist ten jurisdictions update their development codes with the goal to entitle a minimum of 6,700 residential lots to explicitly allow modular and prefabricated housing. The participating jurisdictions are Chiloquin, Clatsop County, Creswell, Gates, Lincoln City, Mt. Vernon, Phoenix, Rufus, Sandy, and Talent. Consistent with the federal grant award, staff prioritized assistance to wildfire affected and rural communities.
DLCD has contracted a Portland based land use and engagement firm, Cascadia Partners, to engage community members in the ten jurisdictions receiving assistance with local code updates. This engagement is designed to help cities, industry partners, and state agencies understand obstacles to obtaining housing, housing preferences, and economic development opportunities related to mass timber modular housing.
The project will engage community members using a wide range of methods. This process will engage historically underrepresented and marginalized communities.
From 2024 to 2025, DLCD will engage at least 400 community members through outreach events, interviews, and surveys.
The Oregon Mass Timber Coalition (OMTC) is a partnership between Oregon’s leading research universities and government agencies. The coalition aims to create shared prosperity by sourcing from resilient forests, designing and manufacturing
For more information on the suite of OMTC projects, visit: https://www.masstimbercoalition.org/