Clallam County housing committee maps funding, zoning and projects to ease worker and affordable housing shortage

Tim Dalton, Clallam County housing and grants administrator, told the Housing Solutions Committee that the county’s housing shortage is countywide and requires coordinated funding and zoning changes.

“The housing is not an isolated problem in any 1 area. It's a holistic problem throughout the whole area,” Dalton said as he outlined funding streams and local project lists the county is using to address gaps in workforce and affordable housing.

Committee members described three primary funding sources the county is using: the state-authorized 14-06 sales-tax credit, the county’s local 0.1% sales-and-use tax sometimes referred to as the 15.90 fund, and the state Opportunity Fund (0.09% of state sales tax). Dalton and other speakers said those funds are restricted in different ways — the 14-06 and local sales-tax funds are targeted to households at or below roughly 60% of area median income (AMI), while the Opportunity Fund can support households up to about 120% of AMI and also can be used for infrastructure tied to workforce housing projects.

The committee reviewed a list of roughly two dozen projects the county is tracking. Dalton highlighted a proposed 36‑unit permanent supportive housing project in Port Angeles that draws about $22…