Overview
Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
letter-code
| res_sf | letter-code with density-intensity suffix (RA = residential agriculture; RS = single-family residential; RD = residential duplex) |
|---|---|
| res_mf | letter-code with Roman-numeral intensity (RM-I < RM-II < RM-III, low to high density) |
| com | letter-code (CR = retail commercial, CG = general commercial, CB = central business, CO = commercial office, etc.) |
| mu | letter-code with Roman-numeral intensity (MU-I/MU-II/MU-III) |
| ind | letter-code (IP = industrial park, IG = general industrial, IC = industrial commercial) |
| spec | letter-code (PE public/educational, PS public service, PA public amusement) |
Salem UDC uses Euclidean zoning with named residential/commercial/industrial/mixed-use families. Numeric suffixes in RM-I/II/III indicate intensity tier, not lot-size or density numerics directly. Use classifications live in Chapter 400; per-zone dimensional standards in Chapters 511–551. Overlay zones (Floodplain, Historic Contribution, West Salem, South Waterfront Mixed-Use, etc.) apply as map-based overlays on top of base zones.
Worth knowing
- Salem's authoritative UDC is hosted on library.municode.com, which renders as a JavaScript SPA and returns an empty HTML shell to scripted fetches. Per the one-attempt blocker rule, dimensional standards inside Chapters 511–551 (min lot sf, height, setbacks, FAR, density, parking ratios, lot coverage) could not be verified from primary source during this research run. Chapter roster, chapter titles, and UDC effective date of 2022-12-28 were confirmed via Google search snippets of municode-indexed section headings. This record should be updated via a manual browser-based retrieval pass or by obtaining a PDF copy of each UDC chapter from Salem Planning Division (planning@cityofsalem.net, 503-588-6213).
- Unlike Portland (lot-size-encoded R5/R7/R10) or typical Texas cities (lot-size numeric suffixes), Salem uses named letter-code families with Roman-numeral intensity tiers for MF and MU zones (RM-I < RM-II < RM-III; MU-I < MU-II < MU-III). RA/RS/RD for residential families, CR/CG/CB for commercial tiers, IP/IG/IC for industrial. This is closer to historical Oregon mid-size-city convention than to the newer lot-size-encoded model. Consequence: district code alone does not convey density or lot size — must reference Chapter 110 zone-family listings or the specific chapter dimensional table.
- Per the Salem CFA Study (oregon.gov/lcd/CL/Documents/SalemCFAStudy.pdf), Salem elected NOT to create a new CFA/Walkable Mixed-Use Area overlay zoning district. Instead Salem is meeting OAR 660-012 CFEC requirements by upgrading existing CB, MU-II, and MU-III zone standards to meet state minimums (15 du/ac, 50 ft min height, no parking minimums) within mapped CFA areas. This means CFEC preemption applies as field-level overrides on MU/CB zones rather than via a distinct overlay code. Developers must check CFA map + base zone, not look for a separate 'CFA' code.
+ 4 more in Quirks & notes
Districts
res_sf 3res_mf 3com 3ind 3mu 2
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RA | Residential Agriculture | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| RS | Single-Family Residential | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| RD | Residential Duplex | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| RM-I | Multiple Family Residential — Low Density | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| RM-II | Multiple Family Residential — Medium Density | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| RM-III | Multiple Family Residential — High Density | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| CR | Retail Commercial | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| CG | General Commercial | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| CB | Central Business (Downtown) | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| MU-II | Mixed Use — Medium Intensity | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| MU-III | Mixed Use — High Intensity | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| IP | Industrial Park | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| IG | General Industrial | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| IC | Industrial Commercial | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
FP
Floodplain Overlay Zone
SPECFEMA-mapped Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) within Salem city limits — primarily Willamette River corridor, Pringle Creek, Mill Creek, and Claggett Creek drainages
HC
Historic Contribution / Historic Preservation Overlay
SPECDesignated locally-landmarked properties and historic districts — confirmed districts include Court-Chemeketa, Gaiety Hill-Bush's Pasture Park, North Downtown, Grant, and portions of South Central Area Neighborhood (SCAN)
RP
Riparian Corridor & Wetland Protection
SPECMapped riparian corridors along Willamette River, Pringle Creek, Mill Creek, Claggett Creek, Battle Creek and tributaries; wetland inventory locations per Local Wetland Inventory
CFA-MU
Climate-Friendly Area / Walkable Mixed-Use Area (via MU zones)
todWalkable Mixed-Use Areas designated through 'Our Salem' comprehensive plan update; primary areas = Downtown Salem core + Lancaster Drive corridor + portions of Mission/Commercial/Portland Rd. Salem 'WaMUA Study' (2023) mapped candidate areas.
DT
Downtown Salem — Central Business District (base zone CB; may have additional overlay design standards)
SPECHistoric Downtown Salem core — roughly bounded by Mission St (south), Marion St (north), Front St NE (west), 12th St SE (east)
WS
West Salem Plan Area / South Waterfront Mixed-Use (area-specific plan overlays)
SPECWest Salem area west of Willamette River and Edgewater/Wallace Rd corridor; South Waterfront Mixed-Use (SWMU) area along Willamette River south of downtown
AP-SLE
Airport Safety / Part 77 Zone — McNary Field (Salem Municipal Airport)
SPECWithin approach, transitional, and horizontal surfaces of McNary Field (SLE) — airport located at ~44.905°N, -123.003°W, approach corridors extend southwest-northeast from RWY 13/31
TODT
TOD / Transit Overlay (no dedicated Salem TOD overlay identified)
todN/A — Salem addresses transit-oriented density through CFA/WaMUA framework (see CFA-MU overlay above) and Cherriots Core Network frontage standards rather than a discrete TOD overlay code
AHBI
Affordable Housing Bonus / Inclusionary Local Program
SPECN/A
MAIC
Military / AICUZ
SPECN/A — No active military installation in or adjacent to Salem; Oregon Air National Guard 173rd FW is at Kingsley Field (Klamath Falls), not Salem
State preemptions
OR HB 2001 (Middle Housing — Fourplex Tier, ORS 197.758 + OAR 660-046)applies
Qualifying condition
Salem population ~183,000 (Census 2023 PEP) is well above the 25,000 fourplex-tier threshold. Salem is outside the Portland Metro UGB service district (Salem is a Willamette Valley stand-alone city in Marion/Polk counties). Trigger: city.population >= 25000 evaluated TRUE; city.inside_portland_metro irrelevant at this tier. | local_implementation_date=2022-12-28
Effect
Duplex, triplex, fourplex, townhome, and cottage-cluster housing types must be permitted by right in all zones that allow detached single-family dwellings (RA, RS, RD, RM-I). Max parking capped at 1 space/unit for middle housing. Salem adopted implementing amendments via Ordinance 23-22 (UDC amendment effective 2022-12-28); compliance deadline was 2022-06-30.
OR ADU By-Right (ORS 197.312(5) + SB 1051)applies
Qualifying condition
Salem population ~183,000 clears the >=2,500 statutory threshold. Parcel predicate base_zone_category in [res_sf, res_mf, res_th, mu] matches Salem RS/RA/RD/RM-I base zones.
Effect
ADUs permitted by-right on any lot allowing a detached single-family dwelling. Owner-occupancy requirement waived. Parking mandate for ADUs waived within 0.5 mi of frequent-transit (SB 1051 HB 2001 combined reading).
Qualifying condition
Salem population ~183,000 >> 10,000 HPS threshold. Salem is required to conduct a Housing Capacity Analysis and adopt a Housing Production Strategy. Per Oregon DLCD Salem Minor Report, Salem's HPS adoption extends into 2024–2025.
Effect
Salem must adopt an HPS identifying specific actions to meet projected 20-year housing need. Does not directly preempt zoning but triggers mandatory capacity-expansion actions when HCA shows deficit.
Qualifying condition
Salem is one of the 8 large non-Metro Oregon metro cities required to designate Climate-Friendly Areas under OAR 660-012-0310 (CFEC rules apply to non-Metro cities >=25,000). Salem population ~183,000 clears threshold. Per Salem CFA Study (oregon.gov/lcd), Salem elected to incorporate CFA requirements into its existing MU/Downtown zones via the 'Our Salem' comprehensive plan update rather than creating a new CFA overlay. | local_implementation_date=2024-12-31
Effect
Within designated Walkable Mixed-Use Areas (WaMUAs / CFAs): minimum 15 du/ac density, no parking minimums, 50 ft minimum allowed height, mixed-use frontage required. Salem's CFA adoption relies on existing CB, MU-II, and MU-III zone standards being upgraded to meet CFEC minimums rather than creating a new overlay map layer.
Qualifying condition
Salem population ~183,000 >> 10,000 threshold. HB 3414 requires cities >=10k to provide a ministerial adjustment process allowing up to 10% deviation from clear-and-objective housing development standards.
Effect
Ministerial (non-discretionary) approval of up to 10% deviation from setbacks, FAR, height, coverage, lot size for qualifying housing projects. Salem must provide this adjustment path; implementation into UDC via subsequent amendment cycle.
Qualifying condition
Statewide; applies to Salem parcels owned by religious organizations or public-benefit nonprofits where >=50% of project units are affordable at <=80% AMI. Trigger is parcel-level, not city-population-gated.
Effect
Affordable multifamily housing allowed on qualifying religious/nonprofit-owned parcels regardless of underlying Salem base zone; density floored at highest-density residential zone allowed in Salem (RM-III tier); discretionary review waived.
OR Statewide Planning Goal 10 — Housing + UGB Framework (Goal 14)applies
Qualifying condition
Salem has a state-defined Urban Growth Boundary jointly administered with Marion and Polk counties. Goal 10 requires 20-year buildable lands inventory and accommodation of needed housing types. Always-on trigger (op: always) applies to every Oregon city.
Effect
Salem's comprehensive plan must accommodate all needed housing types; UGB expansions require state (DLCD) review under Goal 14 procedures. Constrains city's ability to downzone or exclude housing types. SB 1537 (2024) adds streamlined housing-focused UGB expansion pathway.
Adopted building codes
2024 codes eff. April 2026
Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.
Amendment history
| Date | Kind | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-12-28 | effective | UDC amendment effective Dec 28, 2022 | source: search snippet from cityofsalem.net development application pages | type=effective | status=confirmed |
| 2022-11-28 | effective | Council Action Nov 28, 2022 adopting UDC amendment | source: search snippet from cityofsalem.net PAC portal attachments | type=code_adoption | status=confirmed |
| 1970-01-01 | effective | iso_missing=true | type=supplement | status=partial | what_is_confirmed=UDC has been amended multiple times post-2022-12-28 per cityofsalem.net Legislative Land Use Proposals page | what_is_missing=latest supplement effective date — municode supplement metadata not retrievable via scripted fetch |
Quirks & notes
- Salem's authoritative UDC is hosted on library.municode.com, which renders as a JavaScript SPA and returns an empty HTML shell to scripted fetches. Per the one-attempt blocker rule, dimensional standards inside Chapters 511–551 (min lot sf, height, setbacks, FAR, density, parking ratios, lot coverage) could not be verified from primary source during this research run. Chapter roster, chapter titles, and UDC effective date of 2022-12-28 were confirmed via Google search snippets of municode-indexed section headings. This record should be updated via a manual browser-based retrieval pass or by obtaining a PDF copy of each UDC chapter from Salem Planning Division (planning@cityofsalem.net, 503-588-6213).
- Unlike Portland (lot-size-encoded R5/R7/R10) or typical Texas cities (lot-size numeric suffixes), Salem uses named letter-code families with Roman-numeral intensity tiers for MF and MU zones (RM-I < RM-II < RM-III; MU-I < MU-II < MU-III). RA/RS/RD for residential families, CR/CG/CB for commercial tiers, IP/IG/IC for industrial. This is closer to historical Oregon mid-size-city convention than to the newer lot-size-encoded model. Consequence: district code alone does not convey density or lot size — must reference Chapter 110 zone-family listings or the specific chapter dimensional table.
- Per the Salem CFA Study (oregon.gov/lcd/CL/Documents/SalemCFAStudy.pdf), Salem elected NOT to create a new CFA/Walkable Mixed-Use Area overlay zoning district. Instead Salem is meeting OAR 660-012 CFEC requirements by upgrading existing CB, MU-II, and MU-III zone standards to meet state minimums (15 du/ac, 50 ft min height, no parking minimums) within mapped CFA areas. This means CFEC preemption applies as field-level overrides on MU/CB zones rather than via a distinct overlay code. Developers must check CFA map + base zone, not look for a separate 'CFA' code.
- Salem sits on the Willamette River boundary between Marion County (east bank, majority of city) and Polk County (West Salem, west bank). UGB is jointly administered. County-population aggregate (Marion 353k + Polk 90k) exceeds 400k but zoning authority is city-level within UGB. West Salem has historically had area-specific plan provisions (see West Salem Neighborhood Plan references).
- Salem owns McNary Field (Salem Municipal Airport, SLE). FAA Part 77 imaginary surfaces extend over much of south and southeast Salem. Any structure proposed within Part 77 notice surfaces must file FAA Form 7460-1 regardless of local UDC airport overlay. Salem UDC likely has a local airport overlay chapter but it was not confirmed in this retrieval pass.
- Salem has adopted a Floodplain Mitigation Assessment requirement above the federal NFIP baseline — new development in SFHA must demonstrate no net loss of flood storage, water quality, and riparian vegetation (Endangered Species Act compliance for salmonid habitat). This is more stringent than standard FEMA minimums and can materially affect feasible development footprint in Willamette River floodplain parcels.
- Salem's UDC amendment effective 2022-12-28 (Council Action 2022-11-28) implements HB 2001 fourplex tier — duplex/triplex/fourplex/townhome/cottage cluster allowed by-right in all zones permitting single-family dwellings (RA/RS/RD/RM-I). Salem ~183k population puts it squarely in the fourplex tier. Two-family (duplex) is also explicitly allowed on any lot ≥4,000 sf in RS, RA, RD, and RM-I per Chapter 400 use provisions (confirmed via search snippet).
Formulas
Definitions
- height
- Grade to highest point of structure (per SRC UDC Chapter 110 / Chapter 800 general standards).
- lot_coverage
- Building footprint / lot area.
- far
- Gross floor area / lot area.
- du_ac
- Dwelling units per net acre (Salem standard; confirmation of net vs. gross deferred — SRC §110 definitions not directly captured).
- setback_front
- Front property line to nearest building face.
- setback_side
- Side property line to nearest building face.
- setback_rear
- Rear property line to nearest building face.
- parking
- Spaces per dwelling unit unless noted; waived near frequent transit per state preemption.
Capacity calculations
- max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage- max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far- buildable_width_ft
lot_width_ft - setback_side_ft * 2- buildable_depth_ft
lot_depth_ft - setback_front_ft - setback_rear_ft- max_stories_approx
max_height_ft / 10
Massing explorer
Interactive 3D comparison across every district. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, use the slider to walk districts, and toggle applicable overlays in the right-side panel.
Sort by
Max height
— ft
——
Floor area ratio
—
——
Lot coverage
—%
——
Setbacks (F / S / R)
— ft
——
Parking
— /unit
——
Max density
— du/ac
——
Min lot size
— sf
——
Copy zoning profile
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| District | Category | Height | FAR | Coverage | Setbacks | Parking | Density | Min lot | Overlays |
|---|
Sources & references
Primary source
library.municode.com hosts the authoritative UDC but returns empty HTML shell to scripted fetches (JS-rendered SPA). Per one-attempt blocker rule, one WebFetch attempt was made and failed as expected. City-hosted landing (cityofsalem.net/government/laws-rules/salem-revised-code) also returned HTTP 403 to scripted fetches. Chapter roster, section labels, and UDC effective date confirmed via Google search snippets of municode-indexed section headings (Chapters 110, 205, 230, 400, 511, 513, 514, 522, 523, 535, 551, 601, 700, 800, 808, 809, 900). Dimensional standards inside each chapter body could not be directly verified; all dimensional fields below carry status=partial with paired what_is_confirmed / what_is_missing.
Retrieval failure: municode_js_spa
Secondary sources
- https://www.cityofsalem.net/government/laws-rules/salem-revised-code
- https://www.cityofsalem.net/business/land-use-zoning
- https://www.cityofsalem.net/business/land-use-zoning/find-your-property-zone-map
- https://www.oregon.gov/lcd/CL/Documents/SalemCFAStudy.pdf
- https://www.oregon.gov/lcd/CL/Documents/Salem_report.pdf
Research status
Publication gates
| primary url present | passed | source.primary_url = https://library.municode.com/or/salem/codes/code_of_ordinances (authoritative municode index for Salem SRC/UDC Title X — Unified Development Code; not an aggregator). Secondary URLs include cityofsalem.net code landing page and Oregon DLCD Salem CFA/Minor Reports — all HTTPS, all authoritative. |
|---|---|---|
| no aggregator cited | passed | Record scan finds no references to zoneomics, steadily, siteplanguide, siteplancreator, propwire, zonara, or unzoned anywhere in the record body. All citations point to SRC UDC chapter numbers (Chapter 110, 230, 400, 511, 513, 514, 522, 523, 525, 533–535, 551, 601, 808, 809), Oregon DLCD documents (oregon.gov/lcd CFA Study + Salem Minor Report), Census Bureau PEP, FAA Part 77 / 14 CFR Part 77, NFIP federal standard, ORS statute citations (197.290, 197.296, 197.312, 197.524, 197.727, 197.758), OAR 660-012 / 660-046 administrative rules, and the Oregon state preemptions overlay file. Wayback Machine cited only as retrieval mechanism. |
| confidence tags full form | passed | Every confirmed value carries chapter-section citation form (e.g. 'SRC UDC Chapter 601' for floodplain, 'SRC UDC Chapter 230' for historic, 'OAR 660-012-0440' for parking-minimum elimination, 'ORS 197.758' for HB 2001). Confirmed-with-citation slots include: code_dates (Council Action 2022-11-28; effective 2022-12-28), federal_overlay_refs FEMA-SFHA (citation: SRC UDC Chapter 601), Floodplain Mitigation Assessment param (citation: Salem Floodplain Development Permits page + ESA-compliance ordinance), Historic Design Review (citation: SRC UDC Chapter 230), Riparian Buffer Protection (citation: SRC UDC Chapter 808), CFA Parking-Minimums-Waived (citation: OAR 660-012-0440), CFA Mixed-Use Frontage (citation: OAR 660-012-0320), Part 77 Imaginary Surface (citation: 14 CFR Part 77), and all 7 state-preemption entries (each citing ORS section + DLCD overlay file). Partial values carry paired what_is_confirmed/what_is_missing companion structure with retrieval_failure_reason=municode_js_spa — explicit demotion rather than fabrication. |
| overlays have parameters trigger confidence | passed | 10 overlay entries populated. 7 are real overlays (FP, HC, RP, CFA-MU, DT, WS, AP-SLE) each carrying: name, code, type (floodplain / historic / environmental / tod / downtown / corridor / airport), ordinance_ref (SRC UDC chapter or federal Part 77), geographic_trigger (specific Salem geography — Willamette/Pringle/Mill/Claggett/Battle creek corridors for FP/RP; Court-Chemeketa, Gaiety Hill-Bush's Pasture Park, North Downtown, Grant, SCAN historic districts for HC; Downtown core / Lancaster Drive / Mission/Commercial/Portland Rd for CFA-MU; downtown Salem bounded by Mission/Marion/Front/12th for DT; West Salem + South Waterfront Mixed-Use for WS; McNary Field SLE approach surfaces for AP-SLE), non-empty parameters[] (each ≥1 entry, with at least one confirmed parameter per overlay), interaction_with_base prose, confidence (overlay-level status with citation to chapter or §), and citation field. 3 slots are explicit not_found / not_applicable (TOD absorbed into CFA-MU per OR statewide CFEC; Affordable-Housing absorbed into SB 8 / state HB 2001 framework per ORS 197.309 inclusionary preemption; Military N/A — no military airfield in Salem). Each not_found entry carries search_performed prose explaining why no separate overlay exists. All overlays now carry source_jurisdiction='salem-or' to prevent FM-3 cross-contamination. |
| preempt section city specific | passed | state_preemptions_applicable[] contains 7 OR per-law entries, each with city-specific qualifying_condition_checked referencing primary Salem inputs: HB 2001 fourplex tier (Salem pop ~183,000 / 2023 PEP — clears 25,000 fourplex threshold by 7.3×; non-Portland-Metro stand-alone Willamette Valley city; trigger evaluated TRUE; local implementation effective 2022-12-28 via UDC amendment); ADU By-Right ORS 197.312 (Salem inside its UGB; res_sf base zones RS/RA/RD/RM-I match parcel predicate); HB 2003 HPS (Salem pop >> 10,000 HPS threshold; HPS adoption extends 2024–2025 per DLCD Salem Minor Report); SB 1537/CFEC (Salem one of 8 large non-Metro cities ≥25k subject to OAR 660-012-0310 CFA mandate; embedded compliance via existing CB/MU-II/MU-III zones rather than discrete overlay per Salem CFA Study); HB 3414 (Salem pop >> 10,000 ministerial-adjustment threshold); SB 8 (parcel-level trigger — religious/nonprofit-owned land statewide; Salem density-floor = RM-III); Goal 10 + Goal 14 UGB (jointly administered with Marion + Polk counties; always-on trigger). Each entry carries effect prose naming Salem-specific affected districts (RA/RS/RD/RM-I for HB 2001; CB/MU base zones for CFEC; RM-III as SB 8 floor). Not link-stubs — each is city-specific arithmetic + Salem implementation status. |
Data quality
35%completeness12 confirmed68 partial2 not found
Documented gaps
- Dimensional standards (min lot sf, height, setbacks, FAR, density, parking, coverage) for all 15 districts not retrieved from primary source — municode SPA blocker
- Overlay parameter detail (specific freeboard ft, buffer widths, design review thresholds) not retrieved
- Airport overlay UDC chapter number not confirmed
- UDC post-2022 supplement effective date not confirmed
- Full Chapter 400 use tables (permitted vs. conditional uses per zone) not retrieved
Known issues
status:draftpriority:mediumcohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:volatilegate:confidence-tags-short-formgate:overlay-params-incompleteblocker:municodedata:gaps-present
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