Calichi — Portland

Portland to the Columbia. Oregon to Washington.

We opened our Portland office in 2018 because we fell in love with the City and State — we wanted to establish roots in a place we previously only played in. Our Portland team does the site civil work that makes projects move: grading, stormwater, utilities, right-of-way improvements, and the agency coordination that determines whether your schedule holds or slips six months. We work across the metro on multifamily infill, mixed-use on former surface lots, industrial repositioning in the Columbia Corridor, and K-12 modernization. We know the agencies. We know the process. We know the small details that fast-track projects — predictable BES stormwater comments, PBOT ROW requirements we've run block by block, and land use review timelines that actually hold.

Portland's regulatory environment has real specificity. BES stormwater compliance plans aren't boilerplate. PBOT right-of-way requirements change block by block. Type II and Type III land use reviews have their own documentation cadence, and a weak Pre-Application Conference submission can cost you a full cycle before design even starts. We know how this works because we've run it repeatedly across the metro.

Some of the Jurisdictions We Work In

Our Portland team regularly manages grading permits, stormwater plans, and utility coordination across the region:

• City of Portland
• City of Beaverton
• City of Hillsboro
• City of Lake Oswego
• City of Tigard
• City of Tualatin
• City of Gresham
• City of Oregon City
• Multnomah County
• Washington County
• Clackamas County

We coordinate directly with BES, Portland Water Bureau, PBOT, PGE, Pacific Power, ODOT, and Clean Water Services depending on project location and scope.

BES Stormwater & Green Infrastructure

BES compliance plans are not something you can template your way through. Portland's Stormwater Management Manual sets specific thresholds for on-site retention, runoff reduction, and pollution control — and BES reviewers know the difference between a facility that performs and one that just checks a box. Green infrastructure requirements are real: ecoroofs, flow-through planters, vegetated swales, and pervious pavement are standard tools for most Portland infill sites, not optional upgrades.

We design for actual BES review, not the easy version. That means sizing facilities against verified impervious areas, preparing operation and maintenance agreements that satisfy the Bureau, and building in the documentation BES needs to move your plan check forward on the first cycle.

PBOT Right-of-Way & Transportation

Portland Bureau of Transportation requirements go further than most cities. Street improvements, curb extensions, pedestrian connectivity, and bike parking aren't afterthoughts — they're scope items that get determined at Pre-Application or during Type II review, and they have to be designed and permitted alongside the site work. We coordinate PBOT right-of-way improvement plans, half-street construction drawings, bike parking placement per Title 33, and pedestrian path-of-travel upgrades as part of our standard site civil scope.

If your project is near a bike corridor or a planned PBOT improvement, that coordination starts early. Missing it late costs more than doing it right the first time.

Project Types

Typical Portland metro and Pacific Northwest projects include:

• K–12 schools (public, charter, BES compliance)
• Institutional and civic projects
• Affordable and market rate housing
• Streetscape and roadway projects
• Large scale commercial, retail, and corporate campuses
• Parks and public open space
• Municipal projects and on-call contracts
• ADA compliance and path-of-travel design
• Stormwater engineering (BES, Clean Water Services, NPDES)