Oregon
Buying Land in Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is overwhelmingly Portland, but its rural edges -- Sauvie Island's protected farmland, the far-eastern reaches inside the Columbia River Gorge, and the urban/rural reserve boundary itself -- carry some of the most consequential and most tightly regulated land-use frameworks in Oregon.
Portland's growth boundary and the reserves system behind it
Multnomah County is Oregon's smallest county by land area and its most populous, and the practical reality for anyone buying rural or fringe land here is that Portland's urban growth boundary -- and Metro's broader regional planning apparatus -- shapes nearly everything. Since the 2007 Legislature authorized the process (Senate Bill 1011, now ORS 195.137 through 195.145), Metro has coordinated with Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties on a formal Urban and Rural Reserves program: land is designated either an 'urban reserve,' a likely candidate for eventual UGB expansion over the coming decades, or a 'rural reserve,' intended to remain outside the UGB long-term regardless of growth pressure. Multnomah County finalized its own coordinated rural-reserve designations with Metro around 2010. This reserve designation, far more than a parcel's simple distance from Portland's current city limits, is what actually determines a rural Multnomah County property's long-term development trajectory -- treat it as a required check, not an assumption.
Sauvie Island: protected, high-value farmland with hard limits
Sauvie Island sits in the Columbia and Multnomah Channel northwest of Portland, and its unincorporated farmland is governed by a real, substantial EFU zone -- roughly 12,300 acres, all classified high-value farmland under Oregon's EFU tiering system, with approximately 119 existing dwellings scattered across that acreage. High-value-farmland EFU status generally means an even narrower path to a new non-farm dwelling than ordinary EFU land elsewhere in the state. It's also worth flagging a specific, hard restriction unique to how Sauvie Island's waterfront interacts with EFU rules: state law bars any new houseboat moorage, marina, or private boat dock within the EFU district here, regardless of how appealing a given riverfront parcel's water access might otherwise look.
The Columbia Gorge: a genuinely separate regulatory system
Eastern Multnomah County -- generally from around the Sandy River eastward, including communities like Corbett and Springdale -- falls within the federally designated Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, established by Congress in 1986 under Public Law 99-663 specifically to protect the Gorge's scenic, cultural, natural, and recreational resources while supporting the local economy. Multnomah County has the distinction of being the first of the six Gorge counties (spanning both Oregon and Washington) to adopt its own local ordinances implementing the federal Gorge Management Plan, with those regulations taking effect June 22, 1993. New land use within the Scenic Area boundary is reviewed under these county ordinances with oversight from both the Columbia River Gorge Commission and the U.S. Forest Service -- a genuinely dual-jurisdiction review process distinct from standard Multnomah County zoning review elsewhere in the county. A parcel here should be checked specifically for whether it falls in the Scenic Area's General Management Area or the more restrictive Special Management Area before assuming ordinary rural residential rules apply.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Multnomah County
Multnomah County Land Use Planning staff are available by appointment (Tuesdays-Thursdays) with limited walk-in hours; for any parcel in the eastern county, also confirm directly with the Columbia River Gorge Commission whether Scenic Area review applies, since that authority sits outside normal county planning channels.
Planning & Zoning
Multnomah County Land Use Planning
Confirming zoning district, urban/rural reserve status, EFU rules on Sauvie Island, and Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area applicability for a specific parcel.
GIS / Parcel Records
Multnomah County Assessment, Recording & Taxation
Parcel maps, property search, and the Survey and Assessment Image Locator (SAIL).
Other
Columbia River Gorge Commission
Land use ordinances and permit review specific to land within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area boundary.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Multnomah County Recording
Recorded deeds, easements, and plat records (MultcoRecords.com).
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Get local guidanceSources
- Sauvie Island/Multnomah Channel Rural Area Plan — University of Oregon Scholars Bank (accessed 2026-09)
- Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) Defined — sauvieisland.org (accessed 2026-09)
- Urban and rural reserves | Metro — Metro (Oregon regional government) (accessed 2026-09)
- Multnomah County Comprehensive Plan Chapter 2: Land Use — Multnomah County, Oregon (accessed 2026-09)
- Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area | Multnomah County — Multnomah County, Oregon (accessed 2026-09)
- The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act — Friends of the Columbia Gorge (accessed 2026-09)
- How to Contact Land Use Planning | Multnomah County — Multnomah County, Oregon (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09