Programs and Resources

Property owners can initiate their own annexation process if the territory is contiguous to the existing city limits. Multiple parcels can be processed as a single application as long as the parcels are contiguous. There are two ways for a property owner to initiate an annexation.

Annexation options

View the Comprehensive Plan.

Planning Commission
The Planning Commission is the advises the City Council on long-range, comprehensive planning and land use issues within the city. 

Subcommittees

• Design Commission
  
• Historic Resources Subcommittee
• Transportation Subcommittee
• Urban Forestry Subcommittee

Food and beverage carts require appropriate permits, meet all City standards and be approved through the appropriate review process.

Food and beverage carts are also subject to annual City inspections to ensure compliance with City rules and regular inspections by the Multnomah County Health Department that cover health rules.

More information

Food and beverage carts
Overview of applicable rules, processes and fees

Section 10.1600 of the Development Code
Food and beverage cart standards

Metro's native plant list

Neighborhood association meetings with prospective developers are an important component of the development application process.

Neighborhood association land use resources

Neighborhood associations

• Gresham community plan map
• Pleasant Valley plan map
• Rockwood Urban Renewal district map
• Springwater Plan map
• Design districts map

GIS maps and data

The City's map applications allow to look up property information for parcels in Gresham. Look up parcels, find neighborhoods, and look up your garbage hauler, neighborhood association or zoning.

Effective July 23, 2007, the Pleasant Valley Phase I Master Plan details plans on street and block layout, neighborhood design, interface with natural resources, housing variety as well as other issues.

• Master plan site map
• Revised lotting study
• Index map and state ID number list
• Current land use neighborhood map
• Water public facility map
• Stormwater public facility map
• Wastewater public facility map
• Transportation circulation map
• Park trails open space public facility map

The vision for Rockwood is to create a village center of high-quality, long-lasting, safe and sustainable development in a pedestrian friendly environment where residents can live, work and play. To implement this vision, Gresham has created Design Guidelines and Standards to ensure future development and renovations accomplish the goals and policies established in the Rockwood Plan. The Rockwood Pattern Book represents an element of this larger planning effort to revitalize and improve the urban form of the Rockwood area.

View project details.

The focus of the Springwater Community Plan is to develop industrial/high-tech campuses as well as integrate a village center with mixed retail and housing, and quality, low-density residential development. The Plan was incorporated into the City's comprehensive plan on November 1, 2005.

• Springwater community plan
• Summary
• Natural resources
• Economic Social Environmental Energy ESEE Report
• Annexation and development strategies
• Metro title 11
• Development plan policies
• Public facilities plans
• Springwater plan district plan map
• Transportation system plan
• Springwater interchange access management plan adopted 2011

Gresham Safe Routes to School

The City partners with local schools to provide resources and opportunities to make walking, biking and rolling to school an fun and safe experience. 

Transportation safety information

Join us in celebrating Arbor Month in April as we begin our tenth year as a Tree City USA. There will be a series of events throughout Gresham to help celebrate.

• April 5 at Main City Park - Mayor Bemis will help kick off a series of planting events in April by reading the Arbor Month proclamation followed by a volunteer planting of twelve Akebono cherry trees at the new Ebetsu plaza at Main City Park's Tsuru Island.
• April 7 at Gradin Sports Park Arboretum - Volunteers are needed to help the Urban Forestry Subcommittee plant trees to build the new Fall Tree Collection. 
• April 14 at Nadaka Nature Park - The Green Gresham, Healthy Gresham partnership with Friends of Trees and Multnomah County will host this Rockwood Neighborhood tree-planting event, which includes a volunteer planting at Nadaka Nature Park. 

In 2008, Gresham was named a Tree City USA community by the National Arbor Day Foundation. The City earned the honor by making a special effort to preserve its thousands of street trees and manage the City’s urban forest. 

This ongoing community improvement program shows that the City, residents and elected officials recognize that urban trees are closely linked to the community’s quality of life and take pride in working together as stewards to preserve and enhance the urban forest.

The National Arbor Day Foundation, in cooperation with the U.S Forest Service and Oregon Department of Forestry, recognizes cities across Oregon and the United States that meet the standards of the Tree City USA program.

Gresham must apply for the award each year and strives to meet these four standards:

1. Have an established legal tree governing body (Urban Forestry Subcommittee)
2. Maintain a comprehensive urban forestry program that spends at least $2 per capita on the urban forest
3. Maintain a tree care ordinance (Section 9.1000 of the Development Code - Tree Regulations and Appendix 14 - Significant Trees)
4. Hold an annual Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation (celebrated locally the first full week of April)

Ongoing recognition not only contributes to community pride but also keeps Gresham in touch with other cities and resources.

Get street smart: thriving districts by design

In conjunction with Metro, the City hosted the Get Street Smart: Thriving Districts by Design meeting series, which discussed ways to improve storefronts, store designs and sales. These topics and resources were developed specifically to help Gresham business districts thrive.

Learn more about vibrant commercial districts.