TL;DR (generated, confidence: high)

MHLD projects must provide separate water, sewer, and storm facilities for each lot with specific spacing requirements in the right-of-way and on-site. Easements are required for utilities to enable access, maintenance, and replacement of services.

Key points:

Separate water service lines from meter to each lot required (City utilities and easements for MHLD ↗)
Separate sewer laterals required unless Bureau of Environmental Services approves otherwise (City utilities and easements for MHLD ↗)
Separate storm facilities required per lot unless shared facilities allowed under BOD 17-01 (City utilities and easements for MHLD ↗)
Water service spacing: 18 inches between taps on main, 5 feet from sewer and from water line/meter (City utilities and easements for MHLD ↗)
Sewer spacing: 36 inches total header (up to 6m), 3 feet minimum skin-to-skin, one tap maximum per pipe section for concrete or clay (City utilities and easements for MHLD ↗)
Other utilities (gas, power, cable): 3 feet from underground lines, 3 feet skin-to-skin from gas line (City utilities and easements for MHLD ↗)
Preliminary plan must show easements or tracts for locating, accessing, maintaining, and replacing utility services (City utilities and easements for MHLD ↗)

Entities: project_type: MHLD | organization: Bureau of Environmental Services | regulation: BOD 17-01: Shared Stormwater Facilities · Portland City Code Section 33.671.130 | document: Sewer and Drainage Facilities Design Manual · Water Bureau Engineering and Technical Standards Administrative Rule · Stormwater Management Manual

City utilities and easements for MHLD

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Source: City utilities and easements for MHLD ↗ Last modified: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 20:06:48 GMT

Separate facilities are required for each lot

Include:

Separate water service lines from the water meter to each lot.
Separate sewer laterals unless otherwise allowed by the Bureau of Environmental Services. Get the MHLD sewer service requirements ↗.
Separate storm facilities for each lot, unless allowed under the BOD 17-01: Shared Stormwater Facilities ↗.

The preliminary plan for the MHLD must include easements or tracts necessary to locate, access, maintain, and replace services to each dwelling unit. Easements for other utilities, such as gas, power, and cable, should also be shown to ensure adequate space is available.

Get the Approval Standards in Portland City Code Section 33.671.130 ↗.

MHLD Sample utility and service plan:

MHLD Service Requirements

The MHLD layout must provide sufficient street frontage to accommodate the spacing requirements for services to each lot, either directly or through an easement. It may be difficult to meet spacing requirements on sites with narrow street frontages or narrow easements. Spacing requirements in the public right-of-way and on the site may vary, and both must be factored into the lot layout for the MHLD.

Spacing in public right-of-way. General separation requirements in the right-of-way are described in the table below, but site-specific circumstances may require greater distances.

Horizontal Spacing Requirements in the Right-of-Way

Type of Spacing

Water Service (3)

Sanitary Sewer and Storm Sewer Laterals (1)(2)

Spacing between connections to public main

18 inches between service line taps on water main

36 inches total for header service box (up to 6 meters)

3 feet minimum skin-to-skin between taps

Only one tap is permitted per pipe section for concrete or clay sewer pipes (2)

Spacing between service types

5 feet from sewer

5 feet skin-to-skin from water line and meter

Spacing between other utilities (gas, power, cable)

3 feet from underground utility lines (2 inch service and smaller)

3 feet skin-to-skin from gas line

(1) Refer to Chapter 5 of the Sewer and Drainage Facilities Design Manual ↗.
(2) Storm sewer laterals should only be proposed when on-site infiltration of stormwater is not feasible, per Stormwater Management Manual (SWMM) requirements, and where an acceptable off-site disposal point (e.g., storm-only or combination sewer main) is available.
(3) Refer to the Water Bureau Engineering and Technical Standards Administrative Rule ↗.

On-site plumbing. On constrained sites, it is essential to plan and map out all underground services and utilities to ensure adequate space is allocated for water, sewer, stormwater, and other utilities. It is recommended that applicants contact gas, power, and cable providers early and include those utilities on their building permit and land division plans.