Commonly Used Terms

References • Land Use Terms • Common Abbreviations

References

Glossary of Comprehensive Plan Terms (PDF)

Development Code Definitions (PDF)

Glossary of Land Use Terms

The following words and phrases are terms that are frequently used in land use notices, correspondence, and reports. The list is not exhaustive and represents just some of the more commonly used terms.

Building Coverage: That percentage of the total lot area covered by buildings, including covered parking areas.
Comprehensive Plan: The comprehensive plan is the land use policy document of the City of Beaverton that guides the development of the City. Elements of the Comprehensive Plan include, Land Use, Transportation, Economy and Housing, Public Services, Environmental Quality, Safety, and Natural Resources.
Density: The number of dwelling units per unit of land expressed as the number of square feet of land per dwelling unit. The net density for any lot is computed by dividing the net square footage of the parcel by the number of dwelling units. The net square footage is determined by subtracting from the total square footage of the parcel that area deemed necessary for street dedication and that area used for private streets and common driveways, if any.
Development Code: The Development Code is the document that specifies the City's zoning districts, lists of permitted and prohibited uses, use restrictions, development standards, parking ratios, application processes, etc.
District or Zoning District: A portion of the territory of the City within which certain uniform regulations and requirements or various combinations thereof apply under the provisions of the Development Code.
Floor Area: The gross area, under roof, of all of the floors of a building, measured from the interior of exterior walls, excluding only space devoted to off-street parking or loading.
Floor Area Ratio: The amount of gross floor area in relation to the amount of net site area, expressed in square feet.
Metro: Metro is the Regional Government that provides general policy direction to each jurisdiction and agency within the Portland Metropolitan area. Topics that Metro advises and provides general policy on are wide ranging and include; land use, transportation, environmental protection, housing, and parking to name a few.
Multiple Use Development: A building or groups of buildings under one ownership designed to encourage a diversity of compatible land uses, which include a mixture of two or more of the following uses: residential, office, retail, recreational, light industrial, and other miscellaneous uses.
Periodic Review: Each jurisdiction is Oregon is required to update its Comprehensive Plan every seven years. When the update is in progress, it is know as Periodic Review.
Site Plan: A plan, prepared to scale, showing accurately and with complete dimensions all the uses proposed for a parcel of land, and other information as required by specific sections of the Development Code.
Urban Growth Management Functional Plan: The Urban Growth Management Functional Plan is the document by which Metro specifies regional expectations of the regional jurisdictions and agencies.

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Common Abbreviations

The following list of abbreviations and acronyms are some of the more commonly used terms in Planning Division.

BDR	Board of Design Review
BMP	Best Management Practice
BSD	Beaverton School District
BCCI	Beaverton Committee for Citizen Involvement
CDBG	Community Development Block Grant (Federal Program)
CPO	Community Participation Organization (County Agency)
DBH	Diameter at breast height, measurement of tree diameter at 4’ above the ground
DEQ	Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
DLCD	Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development
FRC	Facilities Review Committee
EPA	US Environmental Protection Agency
ESEE	Economic, Social, Environmental and Energy Consequences Analysis
FEMA	Federal Emergency Management Agency
HFDP	Habitat Friendly Development Practices
IGA	Intergovernmental Agreement
LCDC	Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission
LID	Low Impact Development
LUBA	Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals
MUD	Multiple Use District
LWI	Local Wetland Inventory
MFI	Median Family Income
NAC	Beaverton Neighborhood Association Committee
PC	Planning Commission
ODFW	Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
RAHS	Metro Regional Affordable Housing Strategy
SNRA	Significant Natural Resource Area
SWM	Surface Water Management
THPRD	Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District
TSP	Transportation System Plan
TVF&R	Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue
UGB	Urban Growth Boundary
UGMFP	Metro Urban Growth Management Functional Plan
UPAA	Urban Planning Area Agreement

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Commonly Used Terms

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