Planning Projects

Thanks to a grant from the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, the City of Gresham is working to survey a portion of the buildings in Gresham’s Downtown that are at least 50 years old. The purpose of this effort is to catalog existing historic buildings that help us understand more about local history. We may also discover that certain buildings are eligible for designation as historic landmarks, though no buildings will be designated during this project.

The state passed new rules to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and move Oregon closer to its emission goals. The rules include regional GHG scenario planning, transportation planning rules, and changes to local development codes. This project will apply the required changes to local parking development codes.

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The goal of the DCPU project is to make the City's Development Code:

• Easier to understand and navigate
• More responsive to Gresham's development climate

The project includes:

• Updating design district standards and guidelines
• Clarifying review processes
• Creating standards for signs
• Supporting innovative housing projects

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What’s the vision for Downtown Gresham?

Downtown Gresham is a walkable neighborhood that stitches together the historic main street and the transit centers. It features various scales of activated public open spaces, has a variety of housing options, and supports entertainment, community-focused commercial, and the entrepreneurial spirit.

This project aims to establish a concept to achieve the community’s vision for Gresham’s Downtown. By working with the community to develop goals and objectives, as well as a framework for future growth and development in this area, the City is making a plan to enhance Downtown Gresham as a destination neighborhood in the region.

View project details on Engage Gresham.

The Housing Production Strategy project created a plan to address Gresham’s unmet housing needs. The plan includes tools, policies and actions with a focus on housing equity. The project also included public input that was used to inform the policies and actions. The project is part of the City’s overall housing efforts.

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Gresham now allows “middle housing” in most residential areas, in accordance with Oregon House Bill 2001. Middle housing refers to types of housing between single detached dwellings and apartments. These housing types include duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhouses, and cottage clusters. It is important to understand the effects of allowing these types of housing where they weren’t allowed previously, so we’re keeping track of what kinds of middle housing get built and where. This helps Gresham track its progress in ensuring our residents have a range of housing options for people at all income levels.

The City recently updated the Pleasant Valley Plan District to support people living, working, and spending time in Pleasant Valley, now and in the future. 

The Pleasant Valley District Plan was adopted in 2004 to create a quality living environment with a sense of place unique to Pleasant Valley. The Pleasant Valley Plan Update addressed barriers to achieving the full vision for the area considering development constraints, the current market, and community input.  

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The City is branching out and updating our tree policies.

The Tree Code Project team is working with the community to update Gresham’s tree goals, policies, procedures and regulations.

“We’ve heard from a lot of people who want to protect and expand our tree canopy, and we’re excited to work with the community on this project,” said Senior Planner Mary Phillips.

View project details on Engage Gresham.

Gresham’s most dangerous roads are major streets with high speeds and high volumes of traffic. Among them, 181st Avenue is a high-injury corridor with more fatal crashes than other Gresham streets.

Safety improvements are coming.

We're improving safety along a stretch of 181st between Burnside and Stark streets that is closest to the E. 181st Avenue MAX Station. We want this stretch of 181st, near the heart of Rockwood, to feel safer and be safer for people on foot, transit users, and customers visiting businesses.

View project details on Engage Gresham.

State rules are changing parking requirements for developments. To address the community’s concerns about parking availability, Gresham is creating a Parking Management Manual.

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Do you have an opinion about how you and your neighbors get around the city?

The Transportation System Plan (TSP) is a blueprint for how people get around Gresham, whether by biking, walking, driving or taking public transit. The plan impacts what transportation projects the City can focus on.

You have the chance to help shape the next steps of the plan that will guide City transportation until 2045.

View project details on Engage Gresham.

The Wy’East is a two-mile paved trail that connects Rockwood to Downtown Gresham. And right now, it's a blank slate. We want to imagine what the Wy’East Trail could look like with you—so everyone feels safe and welcome. We kicked off the Wy’ East Trail project last summer with on-the-ground events and engagement opportunities throughout Gresham, and we will continue to work with the community to improve this asset. Come be a part of the trail’s legacy!

View project details on Engage Gresham.