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 million from 14-06/15.90 sources plus behavioral-health and local contributions; committee materials estimated building costs at roughly $365,000 per unit when prevailing-wage requirements apply. Peninsula Housing Authority is developing a roughly $10 million, 24‑unit project in Gale’s Addition aimed at households at 60% of AMI; other items on the list include Habitat for Humanity sites, Sequim-area projects, a Carlsborg subdivision partly funded with Opportunity Fund money, and an effort to preserve USDA‑financed units in Forks (the “Oxbow”).

Committee members and staff said project costs have risen because of prevailing-wage triggers, higher construction costs and limited local supply. Bruce, a county planning staff member, told the group the Growth Management Act requires the county to show capacity for housing by income band and that current residential zoning in many areas (for example, urban residential low-density zones allowing fewer than four units per acre) will not support the multifamily development needed to meet lower-income demand.

“We need zoning that allows multifamily development,” Bruce said, adding the county can’t build housing itself but must create realistic opportunities in zoning and capacity analyses for higher-density housing types, accessory dwelling units and townhomes.

Speakers discussed nontraditional strategies: using Opportunity Fund revenue to buy housing for targeted workforce groups (for example, housing for sewer operators), encouraging land trusts to preserve land and limit future speculation, and partnering with ports or private property managers rather than having the county manage rental properties directly. Participants also discussed barriers to manufactured-home financing and the need for deed restrictions or land-lease structures to preserve long-term affordability.

Several committee members said the West End (Forks, Clallam Bay/Columbia Q area) has few new affordable units on the county list and urged seeking a local developer or NGO to lead West End projects. The group noted that while funding streams collect about $1–1.5 million annually, the county currently has limited reserves and needs shovel‑ready projects to match proposed state capital investments. Committee discussion referenced a state capital-budget proposal committee members said would add roughly $700 million to the Housing Trust Fund and about $100 million to the CHIP (Connecting Housing and Infrastructure Program); participants said having concrete plans will be necessary to compete for that money.

The committee also discussed market drivers that limit affordability: short-term rentals and investors buying and holding seasonal properties, a lack of local jobs and “escalator” paths for homeowners to move up, and the effects of vacancies when nearby employment centers draw workers away. The group identified immediate local steps — zoning amendments to allow higher density in selected areas, promoting ADUs and townhomes, outreach to local developers and ports, and pursuing land-trust or deed‑restriction models — as priorities to increase local housing supply and preserve affordability.

The committee requested that members and residents with land or ideas contact county housing staff to explore partnership or funding options; Dalton asked residents with potential sites to reach out so staff can evaluate projects for available funding programs.

Ending: Committee members said they will continue the Housing Solutions Committee’s project tracking and zoning analysis, bring more specific proposals for West End projects, and pursue opportunities to be ready for state capital funding cycles. The committee will reconvene and continue public outreach as its capacity analysis and housing element work progress.