Recent State Law requires cities, such as Happy Valley, to allow cottage clusters on all single-family lots. What is a cottage cluster? It is a group of several small homes on a lot that typically would be reserved for one house.
For Happy Valley neighborhoods, this is a big change. Given concerns raised by residents about cottage clusters, the City has been working on restricting the use of cottage clusters to the extent allowed by Oregon Law.
The City is proposing a land use change that would maintain the character of the established neighborhoods in the bowl and direct cottage clusters to newer areas of the city where there is more infrastructure and access to transit.
Because the City is looking to restrict cottage clusters in some of the existing neighborhoods, the City is required to notify those neighborhoods about this proposed change. Rest assured, nothing else would change on your property. This potential action would only limit cottage clusters in your neighborhood. For even more information about this topic, please visit our designated Middle Housing Code Amendments informational page.
For additional questions or concerns, please contact the City’s Planning Division by emailing [email protected] or calling 503-783-3800 and requesting to speak with one of our staff.
The Public Hearing before Happy Valley City Council was held, Tuesday, September 17th at 7 p.m. at City Hall and virtually via Zoom.
Click HERE to view Agenda.