Introduction
Oregon's statewide land use goals are achieved through local comprehensive plans. State law requires each city and county to have such a plan along with zoning and land-division ordinances to put the plan into effect (ORS 197.175).
Comprehensive plans must follow the guidelines and rules of the
statewide planning goals. DLCD reviews the plans, and any revisions or updates to the plans, to make sure they align with the goals. A plan is said to be "acknowledged" when LCDC approves it. The plan then becomes the controlling document for land use in the area it covers.
The "comp plan," as it's informally called, has three main elements:
- Inventory of local lands uses and resources;
- Goal and policy statements that indicate local objectives over a specific period and guidance on how to achieve them; and
- Detailed map that shows desired uses for each property throughout the entire locale.
The comp plan map is the controlling document for local land use decisions. Even zoning maps are subordinate. That means that a zoning map cannot allow a more intensive land use than is shown on the comp plan map. (Some jurisdictions may have only one map that serves as both the comp plan map and the zoning map.)
Comp plan details guide elected and appointed officials in land use decisions, such as whether to allow a zone change or grant a conditional use permit. Because comprehensive plans are so vital in major land use decisions, the law requires an open, transparent process to create or amend them, including citizen and stakeholder input.
Comp plans are not, however, engraved in stone. They eventually need change as community needs, goals and resources change. In fact, state rules encourage the periodic review and update of local comp plans.
State law requires local governments to notify the public when a comp plan is under review or when changes are proposed or adopted. Part of the process includes notice to DLCD regarding any change to a comp plan.
As mentioned earlier, a comp plan is acknowledged by LCDC. DLCD then reviews all proposed and adopted comp plan amendments. These amendments are formally known as a "post-acknowledgment plan amendment" or more simply, a "PAPA."
PAPA Submittals to DLCD
Post-acknowledgement plan amendments (PAPAs) can be submitted to DLCD via email, standard mail delivery, or through
PAPA Online (see description below). The use of PAPA Online is the preferred method for delivery of information to DLCD, but the forms may still be used, if desired, and mailed or emailed according to the instructions on the form.
PAPA Online
"PAPA Online" is a web-based program that allows local governments to submit required PAPA notices to DLCD electronically. The program accepts notices for four plan amendment activities:
- New Proposals (35-day notice)
- Revised Proposals
- Adoptions
- Withdrawals/Denials
Those who use PAPA Online can avoid the uncertainty of sending their amendment submissions via hard copies or emails. PAPA Online emails a receipt after a user submits a notice to DLCD using the system.
Access PAPA Online
Please contact your DLCD
Regional Representative, or email the
PAPA Online Helpdesk, if you have questions about accessing or using PAPA Online.
Forms for Standard Mail or Email Submissions
Forms for Proposals:
-
FORM 1: Notice of Proposed Change to a Plan or Implementing Regulation (submit at least 35 days prior to first evidentiary hearing) -
FORM 3: Notice of Withdrawal/Denial (submit when a proposal is withdrawn or denied)
Forms for Adoptions:
-
FORM 2: Notice of Adopted Change to a Plan or Implementing Regulation
-
FORM 4: Notice of an Adopted Change to an Urban Growth Boundary
-
FORM 5: Notice of an Adopted New or Change to an Urban Reserve
Note: Forms 4 and 5 apply only to cities over 2,500 population and when the amendment includes over 50 acres.
Notices of Proposed or Adopted Amendments
After a city or county submits its PAPA notice to DLCD, state law requires DLCD to provide public notice of all proposals and adoptions received on a weekly basis (OAR 660-018-0025). In October 2017, DLCD unveiled a new, on-demand reporting service that allows users to request proposal and adoption summaries at any time. You no longer have to wait for DLCD to post reports to the web site, and you no longer need to sift through old documents to find information that may have been posted in a previous weekly report. Use the links below to see proposal and adoption notices submitted to DLCD by local jurisdictions in Oregon.
Plan Amendment Notification Service
DLCD created a Plan Amendment Notification Service for anyone interested in receiving an automatic notification of comprehensive plan proposals or adoptions received. Interested persons can create an online user account to sign-up for the notification service. Subscribers may select the cities and counties of interest, and when DLCD receives a proposed or adopted amendment from that jurisdiction, it will send an email notification to the subscriber.
Visit the Plan Amendment Notification Service Registration page if you're interested in signing up for this notification service.