Your thoughts, please: BPS taking public comments on deconstruction language

Now’s your chance. Give your two cents on the framing verbiage for the new deconstruction ordinance. It’s all about the do’s and don’t’s that will impact just about every neighborhood in Portland.

Over 300 single-family homes are lost to mechanical demolition each year, according to the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. In an effort to slow that number, make better use of salvageable materials and decrease the likelihood of toxic chemicals being released into the environment, the city began to study alternatives, including deconstruction.

Deconstruction is the careful disassembling of a structure in a manner that allows for reuse of building materials, such as lumber, windows, doors and fixtures, that might otherwise end up in a landfill. Right now fewer than 10 percent of house removals are deconstructed.

The new deconstruction regulations will pertain only to homes built prior to 1917, those that have historic designations, and those that pose specific safety hazards.

READ. THINK. SPEAK.

Take some time to read over the proposed Deconstruction Requirements Code Language, which outlines deconstruction and salvage requirements and enforcement thereof. Public comment will be accepted through May 18. Direct your feedback to:

Shawn Wood, Construction Waste Specialist
Mail: Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
1900 SW 4th Avenue, Suite 7100
Portland, Oregon 97201-5380
Phone: 503-823-5468
Email: shawn.wood@portlandoregon.gov

The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability will present the revised proposal to Portland City Council June 29, 2016. The ordinance will go into effect October 31, 2016.

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