Climate-friendly areas (CFAs) are existing or planned urban mixed-use areas that contain or are planned to contain, a greater mix and supply of housing, jobs, businesses, and services.

CFAs are served or planned to be served, by pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure that provides frequent, comfortable, and convenient connections to key destinations within the city and region.

To the extent practicable, CFAs must be located along transit corridors close to existing or planned higher density residential uses and employment opportunities. CFAs must be in the city or contiguous to city limits. CFAs may be identified in developed areas, on vacant land, and/or partially vacant or underutilized land. One CFA must be 25 acres, others may be smaller.

Potential locations will be identified and evaluated and shared with the community for feedback over the next year. The study of potential CFAs is due by 12/31/2023.

The city then has until 12/31/2024 to make any development code or map changes needed to designate/create these mixed-use areas.

The adopted rules will primarily impact new development in areas designated as climate-friendly areas.

The rules will reduce required parking for some developments near transit corridors and may reduce parking for residential developments that are in or near your neighborhood.

If you live within the potential climate friendly area, contact city planning staff to find out if the designation would impact your property or neighboring properties. City staff does not anticipate redevelopment of existing neighborhoods, but the city gets “housing credit” for existing neighborhoods within CFAs.

The rules apply to cities, counties, and Metro in Oregon’s eight metropolitan areas, areas that collectively represent most of Oregon’s population. Albany is one of the eight metropolitan areas.

No. Most land zoned for single-family development would not be rezoned. 

Albany will be required to identify new mixed-use climate friendly areas (CFAs) over the next year through public engagement and analysis of locations – in and outside the city limits.

Medium to high density housing does not preclude home ownership opportunities. While condominium ownership has some statutory obstacles (longer warranty), other housing types, like townhouses and smaller dwellings, enable fee simple ownership opportunities.

No. Much of Albany will remain zoned for single-family development.  Housing allowed in the new CFAs will include attached housing types like townhouses and duplexes,-multi-family, and other types that can be constructed at the minimum densities set for each area – either at a minimum density of 25 units a net acre or 15 units a net acre.

While 25 or 15 units/net acre sounds like a lot, net does not include right-of-way, so small or narrow lot homes on smaller lots, or single-family homes with ADUs on smaller lots, or a combination of housing types like some attached and some detached, are possible at 25 units an acre, and even more variety of housing lot sizes are possible at a minimum density of 15 units a net acre. 

Many factors affect housing prices – the cost of land, construction, parking, supply and demand, location, unit size, to name a few.  The following rule changes may reduce housing costs:

Higher Density vs. “High Rise” Construction Costs.  High rise buildings (5 or more stories) will not be required in the new urban centers, but we must allow for buildings up to 85 feet in one new urban area.  Buildings over 4 stories have different construction requirements and can be more costly per square foot than buildings up to 4 stories. But when you factor in the price of land, the costs may be less per square-foot if more square-footage can be constructed.  

Based on a recent market analysis for Albany east of I-5, most of Albany’s residential multi-story development is anticipated to be 4 or fewer stories.  Staff will assume most construction will be 4 stories when we analyze our capacity of future jobs and housing.

Parking and Vehicle Ownership. Parking adds cost to development and people who don’t own cars pay indirectly for other people’s parking.  Vehicle ownership is expensive. Carless households tend to be the poorest households. The new standards will reduce required parking for most residential uses and in mixed use areas where parking can be shared. Parking is not being restricted; lenders and market dynamics will determine parking needs.

We recognize that Albany transit system may currently not provide the stop frequency or locations to support car-free living and that most residents have cars and want parking.

The hope is that the rules may result in less parking or in decoupling parking from the cost of housing, which may  in turn support increased transit ridership (and ultimately better transit service) and walking and biking for services and jobs in closer proximity.

EV Conduit: The new rules will require new buildings with 5 or more units to provide electrical conduit and electric capacity to be installed for 40% of provided parking spaces; however, the wiring and electric vehicle chargers are not required. (State law currently requires this for 20% of parking spaces in new developments.) The intent is to reduce costs to install charging stations later as demand for EVs grows.

Most commercial and service business types will be allowed in the new mixed-use areas; however, standards that require safe pedestrian access may discourage auto-depending retail. 

Many factors influence the cost of doing business and starting a business –cost of labor, goods/materials, development costs, operating costs, marketing and more.  Overall, reduced parking requirements may save money on development that may help the bottom line.

Parking. The new rules will reduce or eliminate parking requirements in designated mixed use areas and along frequent transit corridors.  New standards will encourage conversion of underutilized parking areas and facilitate shared parking.

New parking lots over ¼ acre in size will be required to provide trees and/or solar panels, which will be more than what Albany currently requires for parking lot landscaping.

EV Conduit. State law currently requires commercial buildings in private ownership to accommodate 20% of new parking spaces with EV conduit and electrical service capacity (ORS 455.417). The new rules would require 40% of vehicle parking spaces provided for mixed -use buildings with 5 or more dwellings (to be accommodated with electrical service capacity and conduit.