05/11/2025
Digital Zoning Solution to Advance Housing Production in Boardman
Private, public, and non-profit sector partnership will make zoning codes easier to access and navigate
BOARDMAN, Ore.— An innovative new approach to advance housing production in the City of Boardman is now live and available, empowering developers, designers, and city staff with instant access to accurate and verifiable zoning information.
The City’s 1,496 parcels are now digitized by UrbanForm, an Oregon-based technology company that helps communities translate complex zoning codes into simple, parcel-specific insights. UrbanForm’s platform provides accurate, verifiable, and easy-to-use zoning information so that city officials, developers, and architects can collaborate with confidence and keep projects moving forward.
The new platform will streamline access to jurisdictional zoning codes, improve permit application quality, and reduce costly delays. By digitizing zoning data, Boardman is providing a development tool that benefits both public agencies and the private sector.
“This is about giving our community a clear, shared foundation so every project starts on the same page and with confidence that the zoning rules are accurate and verified,” said Carla McLane, Planning Official for the City of Boardman.
The initiative represents a collaborative partnership between UrbanForm, the Missing Middle Housing Fund (MMHF), and the City of Boardman. The Boardman Housing Advisory Committee recommended the project as part of its goal to improve housing affordability, expand development capacity, and foster public-private collaboration.
“By digitizing zoning at the parcel level, we are removing uncertainty and opening the door to faster housing development in Boardman,” said Nathan Wildfire, CEO of the Missing Middle Housing Fund. “This kind of collaboration between city,
nonprofit, and technology partners is exactly how we scale housing production across Oregon.”
Funding for the project was provided through the City of Boardman’s Building Department. The digitized zoning platform is expected to add capacity for municipal staff, reduce the time required to develop critically needed housing, and increase transparency for both city officials and developers.
“I found it [UrbanForm] really very intuitive. It was easy to navigate. It was a joy,” said Glenn McIntire, Building Official for the City of Boardman. “It gives us the ability to respond more efficiently to applicants and keep projects on schedule.”
The UrbanForm interface is easy to access and read and incorporates data overlays provided by the City of Boardman, including Urban Renewal Districts and Interchange Area Management Plan (IAMP) areas, with the additional layers of transportation and parks coming soon.
“UrbanForm is not just about technology. It is about clarity, capacity, and collaboration,” said Quang Truong, Founder and CEO of UrbanForm. “Boardman’s leadership is setting a model for how rural communities can use digital tools to unlock housing potential, improve transparency, and build trust between planners, developers, and residents.”
The UrbanForm zoning map for Boardman is now available at: https://boardman.urbanform.us
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About Missing Middle Housing Fund
The Missing Middle Housing Fund (MMHF) is an Oregon-based 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2020 to find, support, and scale innovations across product design, materials and assembly, financing, labor, and policy that reduce the time and cost to build. The MMHF partners with economic development agencies, municipalities, employer consortiums, and housing innovators to create out-of-the-box solutions that make housing more affordable for middle income workers who earn 80-120% of the area median income. More information about MMHF and the communities they serve can be found at https://www.missingmiddlehousing.fund.
About UrbanForm UrbanForm is an Oregon-based technology company that digitizes zoning and development codes. The company creates an easy-to-use, interactive website to access zoning codes and development regulations, streamlining access to authoritative sources, and ensuring authoritative and verifiable summaries of parcel-specific regulations. UrbanForm improves transparency and accessibility, enhances permit applications and project proposal quality, and saves time for applicants and reviewers. Since its inception in 2020, UrbanForm has digitized nearly 2 million parcels in cities such as Seattle and Bellevue, Portland and Beaverton, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Austin. For more information on UrbanForm’s technology and services, visit https://www.urbanform.us
