Multnomah County, OR Ordinances (2026)

Multnomah County requires hospitals to ban smoking within 20 feet of building entrances, exits, air intake vents and operable windows in outdoor public areas: the county code's only…

Only county-licensed haulers may provide dumpster and roll-off dropbox collection service in unincorporated Multnomah County; unlicensed operators risk enforcement action from the…

Licensed haulers must collect standard recyclables weekly on-route from single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in unincorporated Multnomah County, not Portland, which…

In unincorporated Multnomah County, licensed haulers must give every single-family home, duplex, triplex, and fourplex a recycling container and weekly on-route recycling collection…

Dumping trash, garbage or debris on public or private land without permission in unincorporated Multnomah County draws a civil fine of $500 to $999 per violation, plus cleanup costs.

Multnomah County licenses trash haulers to collect recycling from unincorporated-area homes and businesses, requiring multi-family complexes of five or more units to get regular…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires licensed haulers to collect recycling from every household and business, and requires businesses to source-separate recyclables under County…

In unincorporated Multnomah County's Significant Environmental Concern overlay zones, propane and heating oil tanks up to 1,000 gallons are exempt from an SEC development permit if…

New dwellings in Multnomah County's Commercial Forest Use zones must maintain 30-foot primary and 100-foot secondary defensible-space fire breaks around every structure.

Buildings in Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area forest zones need a 50-foot defensible space fuel break clearing hazardous fuels around structures, plus wider clearance on steep slopes…

Multnomah County bans operating fire pits and other wood burning devices during red day air quality advisories under MCC § 21.453, with exemptions for sole heat sources, low-income…

Multnomah County bars operating a wood burning device or doing recreational outdoor burning on any Red Day Air Quality Advisory. The Health Department forecasts and posts air quality…

Unincorporated Multnomah County adopts the state's structural, mechanical, and one- and two-family dwelling specialty codes as its own Building Code, so construction, alteration, or…

Unincorporated Multnomah County enforces Oregon's Electrical Specialty Safety Code for all wiring work, requiring a written permit application with project details before work begins…

Multnomah County adopts the state Plumbing Specialty Code by reference and administers it in unincorporated areas only; a permit is required before any plumbing or sewage system work…

Before a covered building in unincorporated Multnomah County can be occupied or its use changed, the Building Official must confirm Zoning Code compliance and issue a Certificate of…

In unincorporated Multnomah County's farm and forest zones, the standard secondary fire safety zone around a dwelling is 100 feet. A landowner can shrink that buffer under MCC 39.4155…

Unincorporated Multnomah County's zoning code allows a stand-alone child care center only as a conditional use, and only within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area: on…

Multnomah County requires anyone keeping livestock to post a county-issued numbered sign at the property entrance, visible from the nearest public road, under Animal Services Code…

Multnomah County's zoning code excludes veterinary clinics and animal hospitals from the dog-kennel conditional-use permit requirement and from the C-3 zone's by-right "hospital or…

Any rescue or sanctuary in unincorporated Multnomah County, wildlife rescues included, that keeps 10 or more animals and solicits donations must get an enforcing-agency license and…

Animal Services can order an owner to abate a nuisance when animals exceed what they can reasonably care for, and impound the animals if the order is ignored.

Multnomah County requires owners to license dogs and cats by age six months under County Code § 13.101, but § 13.002 excludes domestic cats from the "animal at large" definition, so…

Multnomah County does not require every pet to be spayed or neutered, but Multnomah County Code § 13.999(D)(5) lets the Animal Services director or hearings officer order an owner to…

Multnomah County classifies dogs as potentially dangerous or dangerous based on documented behavior, not breed. There is no pit bull or other breed-specific ban in the county code.

Off the owner's property, Multnomah County requires a dog be confined so it can't reach public areas, or restrained by a leash, tether or other control device no longer than eight feet…

In unincorporated Multnomah County's Rural Residential (RR), MUA-20 and similar rural zones, raising honeybees is a listed farm use permitted outright: no zoning permit, hive cap, or…

Multnomah County makes it unlawful to harbor or own a dangerous or exotic animal, lions, primates, bears, venomous reptiles, large constrictors, anywhere in the county, with narrow…

In unincorporated Multnomah County, a garage-sale sign counts as a temporary lawn sign: capped at 3 square feet and 42 inches tall, and it must come down within six months of going up.

Unincorporated Multnomah County treats campaign and election signs as temporary signs: six-month time limit, no permanent attachment, and a three-square-foot cap for lawn signs under…

In the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area's General Management Area, Multnomah County exempts seasonal holiday light displays from its ban on luminous and internally illuminated signs…

Multnomah County caps freeway billboards at the pre-existing countywide inventory and limits relocated interstate billboards to a 2,000-foot separation: unincorporated area only, since…

Multnomah County Code § 39.6770(E)(9) bans any billboard with moving parts, flashing lights, or intermittent lights anywhere in unincorporated Multnomah County, which closes the door…

In unincorporated Multnomah County's Rural Residential zone, homes are capped at 35 feet, though barns, silos, windmills, and antennas are exempt from the cap when set back 30 feet…

In the county's LR-5 low-density residential zone, homes need a 20-foot front yard, 5-foot side yard, 10-foot street-side yard and 15-foot rear yard, with a limited corner-lot…

In unincorporated Multnomah County's MR-4 residential zone, buildings can cover no more than 40 percent of the lot, on top of a 4,500-square-foot minimum lot size.

Planting, maintaining or removing a street tree in the public right-of-way of unincorporated Multnomah County requires a permit under the county's Street Standards subchapter, which…

Within Multnomah County's mapped SEC riparian overlays, developers cannot clear more than half of mature trees (6-inch DBH or larger) without replacing them one-for-one with a…

Multnomah County bars leaving any vehicle, trailer or sled over 3/4-ton capacity or 6,000 lbs GVW standing for storage on residential streets, or fronting a school, church, hospital or…

Leaving an inoperative, wrecked, discarded, or dismantled vehicle on private or public property, unless the property runs a licensed wrecking business, is a nuisance violation under…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires driveways and off-street parking areas to be paved with two inches of blacktop on crushed rock or six inches of concrete, though gravel is…

Multnomah County treats painted curbs the same as official signs: once curb paint marks a spot as no standing, no stopping or no parking, stopping there is unlawful under the county's…

On unincorporated Multnomah County roads, MCC § 15.807 bars parking in front of driveways, within intersections, crosswalks, and 21 other listed locations; Portland and the county's…

Multnomah County bars parking in a marked bus loading zone except for a bus or taxicab actively loading or unloading passengers, capped at two minutes, and bans taxicabs from the zone…

Family Day Care for 12 or fewer children run out of a residence is an allowed use, by right, in Multnomah County's rural and rural-center base zones: no conditional-use permit required.

Unincorporated Multnomah County limits home-business foot traffic: Type A home occupations allow two customers on-site at once and eight customer visits per day, while Type B…

Unincorporated Multnomah County bars any signage for a registered Type A home occupation, while a Type B home occupation may post one non-illuminated ID sign up to 2 square feet.

Unincorporated Multnomah County allows a Type A Home Occupation by ministerial registration in any base zone, with strict size, traffic and employee caps under the dwelling.

Multnomah County requires new and permit-triggered exterior lighting in unincorporated areas to be fully shielded and directed downward, containing light within the lot line, under the…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires new exterior lighting tied to a development permit to be fully shielded and aimed downward under the Dark Sky Lighting Standards. Portland has…

Multnomah County Code § 39.6770(E)(11) requires every light fixture on a billboard in the unincorporated county to be aimed downward onto the billboard face, never toward a street or…

Before approving a new house in Multnomah County's Exclusive Farm Use zone, the county makes the landowner sign a recorded covenant waiving any nuisance claim against neighboring farms…

New, replacement, or expanded homes in Multnomah County's MUA-20 farm zone must record a covenant honoring Oregon's Right to Farm Law or accepting nearby farm activity before the…

Multnomah County bans mobile syringe service programs, free needle distribution from a temporary site, within 1,000 feet of any school under its Safe School Zones ordinance, unless a…

County code bans letting property or overgrown weeds and brush become infested with or harbor vectors and rodents, backed by inspection, abatement orders and fines for owners who don't…

Multnomah County requires anyone handling food in a licensed food establishment countywide, including Portland, to hold a valid food handler's certificate within 30 days of hire, keep…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires every Marijuana Business, production, processing, wholesaling, dispensing or retailing, to sit at least 1,000 feet from any public or private…

In unincorporated Multnomah County, marijuana dispensing or retailing is allowed only in the specific base zones listed in the zoning code's marijuana-business table, and any such…

In unincorporated Multnomah County's Urban Low Density Residential zones, yard fences top out at six feet, dropping to four feet near the front or street-side property line.

Fences enclosing a marijuana business in unincorporated Multnomah County cannot use plastic sheeting, knitted polyethylene, woven polypropylene, or vinyl coated polyester, and cannot…

In unincorporated Multnomah County, a fence or retaining wall over six feet tall must be set back from every lot line by a distance at least equal to its own height.

Multnomah County exempts sounds from industrial, agricultural, and construction operations during normal work from its Sound Control Law, so factories, farms, and job sites in…

Unincorporated Multnomah County caps sound from musical instruments and other devices at 60 dBA daytime and 50 dBA overnight at a neighboring noise-sensitive property, or bars plainly…

In unincorporated Multnomah County, vehicle stereos, revving engines and squealing tires count as a "sound producing device" and cannot exceed 50 dBA at night or 60 dBA by day at a…

Unincorporated Multnomah County exempts construction crews from the county's dBA and plainly-audible sound limits during normal operations, so daytime jobsite noise generally isn't a…

Homes built within the 65 Ldn noise contour near Portland International Airport must include sound insulation to hold interior noise to 45 decibels, plus a recorded noise easement and…

Unincorporated Multnomah County bans sound over 50 dBA, or plainly audible sound reaching a neighbor's unit or the street, between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. under the county Sound Control Law.

Multnomah County bans dogs and other animals from barking, howling or making other noise disturbances audible beyond the owner's property for 10 minutes straight or 30 minutes on and…

Multnomah County requires every short-term rental host or booking platform to register as a transient lodging operator with the tax administrator within 15 days of starting business…

In the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, an owner may rent out a dwelling as an overnight accommodation for no more than 90 room nights per year. The owner must live there as…

In the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area portion of unincorporated Multnomah County, MCC 38.7337 lets a landowner rent a dwelling as a short-term "overnight accommodation" for…

Multnomah County taxes short-term rental stays at 11.5% of rent, a 5% base rate plus three surcharges, collected by the operator from every guest staying 30 days or less.

Inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area's forest zones, new buildings must be surrounded by a maintained 50-foot defensible space fuel break clearing hazardous fuels to…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires new and substantially improved homes in flood hazard areas to elevate the lowest floor at least one foot above base flood elevation, with…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires a permit before any ground disturbing activity, and a stormwater drainage system once new or replaced impervious surface tops 500 square feet.

Inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, new private docks are capped at 120 or 200 square feet depending on how many families use them, under County Code section 38.7325.

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires an engineered stormwater drainage system for any new or replacement impervious surface over 500 square feet, sized to hold post-development…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires a Floodplain Development Permit before any construction, grading, or fill in FEMA-mapped special flood hazard areas, and variances from the…

Multnomah County's Health Department inspects rental units in unincorporated areas only after a tenant or resident files a complaint, not on a routine schedule.

Multnomah County requires a permit before two or more mobile food carts operate together at one location, whether inside Portland or the unincorporated county, under the Health…

In unincorporated Multnomah County, not Portland, a permit from the Health Department is required whenever more than one mobile food cart operates at the same sidewalk or lot location…

Unincorporated Multnomah County bars minors under 18 from public streets and parks during set nighttime hours unless accompanied by an adult or on a lawful errand.

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires an annual Sheriff-issued license to run an adult bookstore or adult theater, with removal ordered if unlicensed or over-concentrated.

Unincorporated Multnomah County bars any repair or assembly of motor vehicles as a home occupation, no matter which home-occupation tier the business is registered or permitted under.

Multnomah County requires anyone buying or reselling used precious metals, electronics, tools or other regulated secondhand goods within the county to hold a Sheriff-issued secondhand…

Multnomah County requires every retailer that sells vape products, e-cigarettes, or nicotine e-liquid to hold an annual Tobacco Retail License from the Health Department, and…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires a massage treatment business to hold a state massage business license under ORS Chapter 687 before opening; operating without one is an…

Multnomah County licenses every tow truck operator through the Sheriff's Office, and Multnomah County Code § 15.118 bans fourteen specific practices, from monitoring police radios for…

Multnomah County's nuisance law makes it unlawful to let trees, bushes, roots, soil or solid waste block a public sidewalk or roadway. The Health Officer or Sheriff can order the…

Multnomah County requires a permit before any construction, substantial modification, or director-designated use within a public right-of-way in the unincorporated county, issued and…

In the county's Dunthorpe Riverdale sewerage district, licensed contractors can fix a leaking or broken pipe, sewer, drain or conduit immediately without a permit, but must file for…

Multnomah County's Exclusive Farm Use zone allows landowners to land-apply reclaimed water, industrial process water or biosolids for irrigation and crop production under MCC…

Multnomah County bars short-term rental of accessory dwelling units in rural residential zones like MUA-20 outside Portland; owners must record a covenant limiting the ADU to long-term…

In the Rural Residential zone, unincorporated Multnomah County allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot, capped at 800 square feet or 75% of the main house's size, but…

In Multnomah County's Multiple Use Agriculture (MUA-20) zone, an accessory dwelling unit must be a permanent structure: recreational vehicles, park model RVs, yurts, and similar…

In unincorporated Multnomah County's LR-5 residential zone, a detached carport must sit behind the house's rear line or at least 50 feet from the front lot line, and can't exceed the…

In unincorporated Multnomah County's mapped Significant Water Resources (SEC-wr) overlay, no more than half of mature trees over 6 inches DBH may be cut without one-for-one replacement…

In land mapped SEC-h for significant wildlife habitat, Multnomah County requires every mitigation planting to be a native species from the Metro Native Plant List. It is not a…

Multnomah County declares uncontrolled or uncultivated weeds, brush or grass a nuisance when they harbor vectors or rodents, spread noxious pollen, create a fire hazard or produce…

Multnomah County requires a special event permit before filming on any of its six Willamette River bridges, Broadway, Burnside, Hawthorne, Morrison, Sellwood or Sauvie Island, whenever…

Multnomah County has no film-specific noise permit: its general Sound Control Law caps sound at 60 dBA daytime, 50 dBA at night, or any plainly audible sound after 10 p.m., enforced by…

Closing or using a Willamette River bridge for filming requires a Multnomah County special event permit: filming triggers the requirement even below the 200-person threshold that…

Heat pumps, air conditioners, and refrigeration units are regulated sound-producing devices in unincorporated Multnomah County; their noise can't exceed 50 dBA overnight or 60 dBA…

Bars and nightclubs in unincorporated Multnomah County must keep loudspeaker, PA, and live music sound at or below 60 dBA daytime and 50 dBA overnight at the nearest noise-sensitive…

Unincorporated Multnomah County caps stereo, radio, and musical-instrument noise (including vehicle systems) at 50 dBA overnight and 60 dBA daytime at a neighboring property, or bans…

Unincorporated Multnomah County caps sound from sirens and alarms at 60 dBA daytime and 50 dBA nighttime under the county Sound Control Law, but exempts genuine alarm-system…

The county's Sound Control Law treats a delivery truck's engine or exhaust as a regulated sound source once it's parked off the public street: capping noise at 50 dBA overnight and 60…

Multnomah County limits backup generator noise at wireless facilities to 5 dBA above ambient or 55 dBA, whichever is greater; testing is barred from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., though…

Multnomah County code makes uncontrolled or uncultivated weeds, brush, or grasses a nuisance on any property, including vacant lots, when they harbor rodents or vectors, spread pollen…

In unincorporated Multnomah County, the building official can declare a dangerous or dilapidated structure a public nuisance, order the owner to fix or demolish it within 48 hours of…

Multnomah County charges an 11.5% transient lodging tax on stays of 30 days or less in hotels, motels, and short-term rentals: a 5% base rate plus 1%, 3%, and 2.5% surcharges collected…

Unincorporated Multnomah County's SEC-h wildlife-habitat overlay bans planting nuisance and invasive nonnative plants and requires their removal from cleared areas as a…

Rental homes in unincorporated Multnomah County must meet the 2006 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted by county ordinance and enforced by the Health Department through…

Multnomah County holds demolition permits for any building the county has designated under its Heritage Preservation (HP) overlay for 120 days while the Planning Commission and Board…

Multnomah County residents can report suspected nuisances, stagnant water, dead animal carcasses, abandoned vehicles, unsecured vacant buildings, to the Health Officer or Sheriff, who…

Unincorporated Multnomah County enforces zoning, land division and road-rule violations through Code Compliance Specialists under MCC 39.1500-39.1565. Fines run $45 to $3,500 per day…

Parades, processions and other special events crossing Multnomah County's six Willamette River bridges, Broadway, Burnside, Hawthorne, Morrison, Sellwood and Sauvie Island, need a…

Multnomah County taxes partnerships, S corporations, LLCs, LLPs, family limited partnerships, estates and trusts as the liable taxfiler under its 2.00% business income tax, not the…

In unincorporated Multnomah County's Exclusive Farm Use zone, a landowner may set aside a site for model aircraft, including radio-controlled drones, takeoff and landing under MCC…

Every public swimming pool, spa pool, and bathhouse in Multnomah County, including inside Portland, needs an annual county health license and construction plan review under Multnomah…