Skip to main content

Oregon State Flag An official website of the State of Oregon »

Oregon.gov Homepage

Mass Timber Code-UP Project

Rendering of a mass plywood panel unit 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.

Code-Up Tools for Local Governments

This guidance document includes resources to assist local governments in updating their development codes to facilitate construction of all factory-built housing, including prefabricated, modular, and manufactured 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 contracted a Portland-based land use and engagement firm, Cascadia Partners, to engage community members receiving assistance with local code updates. The project engaged community members using a wide range of methods. This engagement will help cities, industry partners, and state agencies understand obstacles to obtaining housing, housing preferences, and economic development opportunities related to mass timber modular housing. 

Findings and feedback from community engagement activities are summarized in a StoryMap report linked below. The report provides policy recommendations based on interviews with interested parties, in-person engagement events, and survey responses. The recommendations focus on how the state can collaborate with regional and local partners to meet rural housing and workforce needs through mass timber and modular housing.

Mass Timber Modular Housing Community Engagement StoryMap

DLCD contracted the planning and urban design firm MIG to help cities update their development codes. The project has two parts:

  1. 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.
  2. 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 to allow and encourage factory-built housing by entitling thousands of residential lots through updated development codes. The participating jurisdictions are Chiloquin, Clatsop County, Creswell, Gates, Lincoln City, Mt. Vernon, Phoenix, Rufus, Sandy, and Talent. Consistent with the federal grant award, the department prioritized assistance to wildfire affected and rural communities.

DLCD is funding four of Oregon's Economic Development Districts (EDDs) to conduct industry engagement to support factory-built housing. This work is focused on providing capacity to under-resourced regions of the state and in communities needing investment in housing. The EDDs are convening local housing developers to learn about opportunities for factory-built housing solutions. Work will also involve educating local governments on potential code updates.

The EDDs participating in this project are the Columbia Pacific Economic Development District, Cascades West Economic Development District, Greater Eastern Oregon Development Corporation, and Northeast Oregon Economic Development District.

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/


Contacts

Leigh Mcilvaine
Economic Development Specialist
leigh.mcilvaine@dlcd.oregon.gov
Phone: 971-701-1041