Gresham, OR Accessory Structures: Carport Rules (2026)

Gresham Community Development Code Section 7.0420 sets the carport and garage standards for single detached, duplex, triplex, and quadplex housing. Three rules apply directly to carports: (1) attached and detached garages and carports that face the street may not exceed 50 percent of the street frontage they face, calculated per parent lot; (2) where a garage or carport faces the street, it must be set back at least 4 feet behind the street-facing wall of the dwelling closest to the street, with an alternate option allowing a wall plane containing a street-facing primary entry to be set back up to 8 feet behind the garage wall when a covered entry porch of at least 30 square feet and 5 feet wide is provided; and (3) for carports located in the front yard, the driveway width is limited to the width of the carport itself. The same section permits two parking spaces per unit in a driveway, in the front or street-side yard setback, or in the rear yard setback when there is an alley. Townhouse projects under Section 7.0431(B)(4) impose the same 4-foot setback behind the street-facing wall, and Section 7.0432 corridor-district townhouses require that garage facades not be closer to the street than living-space portions of the unit. Carports in manufactured dwelling parks are treated as accessory structures under Section 7.0410 and must be separated from any other structure by at least 6 feet (or less if the accessory structure abuts a manufactured dwelling on the same space). Rear-roof-height limits in VLDR-SW, LDR-SW, LDR-PV, LDR-7, LDR-5, and TR districts cap roof height at the rear setback line at 21 feet, increasing one foot for each foot of distance from the rear lot line. Building permits for carports are administered by Gresham Urban Design and Planning under the Oregon Residential Specialty Code (the state-adopted version of the IRC) and Title 19 building rules. Lots within the Hillside and Geologic Risk, Floodplain, or Natural Resource overlays carry additional review. Planner on Duty: 503-618-2780, POD@GreshamOregon.gov.