Benton County, OR Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

BCC Chapter 98 governs Planned Unit Developments outside the Corvallis urban growth boundary; PUDs inside that boundary go through Chapter 100 instead, and PUDs in the Rural Residential zone must also comply with BCC 63.305(3). Section 98.105(1) lets a PUD cluster individual parcels or lots smaller than the zone's minimum size, provided the project's overall density, averaged across the site, does not exceed what the minimum lot size would otherwise allow; the tradeoff is typically open space set aside elsewhere on the property.

Section 98.105(2) is the bonus itself: overall PUD density can be increased up to 25% above what the zone's minimum parcel or lot size would allow, but only where the project includes a functional common area, such as a park, or where the proposed design and amenities otherwise warrant the increase. This is a discretionary allowance decided during the Planning Commission's public hearing on the PUD application under BCC 98.305, not an automatic right; the applicant has to show the common-area or design justification as part of that review. A PUD application seeking the bonus still must satisfy the rest of Chapter 98, including submitting a PUD map showing proposed building types and density and proposed open-space areas under BCC 98.215(1)(d)-(e), and remains subject to the underlying zone's other Development Code standards except where a specific PUD provision allows a variation.