Tillamook County to draft code compliance ordinance; staff to scope enforcement and resources

Sarah, a Community Development staff member, briefed the Tillamook County Board of Commissioners on a draft code compliance ordinance and asked the board to confirm next steps to scope the program and identify resource needs.

She said the county now has space to reallocate staff time after recent legal activity and that a draft ordinance is under development but incomplete. "I do anticipate, coming back routinely moving forward, to really start gelling some of those proposals for those updates," Sarah said. The draft raises a set of policy choices about which nuisances the county should regulate and what should remain outside county enforcement.

The county discussion focused on where enforcement should apply — unincorporated communities, urban growth boundaries or rural/farm and forest lands — and which departments should participate. Sarah noted solid waste and community health issues have surfaced repeatedly, and that the proposal has broadened to include other topics such as a canine program for animal retrieval. "We have 75 linear miles of coastline," she said, underscoring geographic diversity that affects enforcement design.

Rachel, the county's chief administrative officer, recommended organizing the work as a cross‑departmental effort. "It feels like this would be a central...potentially a place where the executive team would be really valuable," Rachel said, noting the need to involve law enforcement, solid waste, public works and environmental health where appropriate.

Commissioners and staff discussed capacity limits and labor relations. Sarah said she has a draft position description for a non‑deputized code compliance officer and noted union bargaining schedules could affect timing. She asked permission to "dump, sort and organize" the ordinance components with department peers and to engage Commissioner Fournier as a board liaison; she said later outreach to community advisory committees (CACs) would follow once a firmer draft exists.

Staff and commissioners stressed the importance of a realistic implementation plan: the county should not adopt an ordinance it lacks the personnel to enforce. The board asked staff to continue developing the ordinance framework, to bring a clearer staffing and budget placeholder for the next budget cycle, and to return with a draft ordinance for future review and formal hearings.

Next steps: staff will convene department leads, refine the ordinance draft and scope a proposed code compliance officer position, then present a draft ordinance and recommended implementation approach to the board for formal action and public engagement.