Portland vs Beaverton vs Gresham — do permit rules differ?

Portland, Beaverton, and Gresham sit inside a single metropolitan economy but run three independent permit jurisdictions with meaningfully different processes, fees, and overlay rules. Portland's Bureau of Development Services (BDS) reviews under Title 24 of the Portland City Code adopting the 2022 Oregon Residential Specialty Code with Portland-specific amendments, layered with Title 33 zoning (Residential Infill Project density, Tree Preservation under Title 11, Historic Landmarks under 33.846, and the 2020 Stormwater Management Manual). Permit-fee schedules are valuation-based and indexed annually under PCC 24.10. Beaverton's Community Development Department reviews under the Beaverton Development Code Chapters 20-90, which adopts state code but adds Beaverton's own design overlay zones, tree-preservation standards under Chapter 60.60, and the Cooper Mountain and South Cooper Mountain Community Plan overlays. Beaverton sits inside Washington County for some peripheral parcels, and county-level permit jurisdiction can apply on unincorporated islands inside the city's UGB, which is a common surprise for homeowners. Gresham's Urban Design and Planning Department reviews under the Gresham Community Development Code Articles 5-10, with its own Springwater Plan, Pleasant Valley Plan, and Civic Neighborhood Plan overlays. Gresham generally runs faster on minor permits but has tighter design-review thresholds in Civic Neighborhood and Downtown overlays. All three cities adopt the Oregon Structural Specialty Code, Oregon Residential Specialty Code, Oregon Mechanical Specialty Code, Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code, and Oregon Electrical Specialty Code as the structural baseline under ORS 455.020, so the underlying code is identical — what differs is local amendments, overlay zones, fee tables, and review queue. Site address determines jurisdiction and you cannot pick. The Multnomah County GIS portal and Washington County's Intermap are the canonical lookups for jurisdiction boundaries. Always confirm jurisdiction before drafting plans because a Beaverton-format submittal will not move through BDS intake.