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Council backs joint city-county DLCD housing planning grant application with $20,000 city match
Summary
Klamath Falls agreed to join Klamath County in submitting a joint application to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) for the Housing Planning Assistance Grant Program and offered a $20,000 cash match for consultant fees; councilors emphasized coordination on code updates and compliance with state legislation.
Klamath Falls, Ore. — The Klamath Falls City Council on Aug. 4 voted to support a joint grant application with Klamath County to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) for housing planning assistance and to provide a $20,000 cash match to hire consultants for development-code updates.
Planning Manager Joe Wall told the council the city initially planned a solo application but coordinated with county counterparts and the DLCD representative to submit a joint proposal to improve competitiveness. "We would also offer a $20,000 cash match towards consultant fees related to doing development code updates," Wall said.
Why it matters: The project would fund updates to local development standards to accommodate different housing types — such as shared-wall townhomes and cottage-cluster housing — and to ensure local codes align with evolving state requirements. Wall said the updates would focus on the urban growth boundary and would be processed through the planning commission and council public hearings.
Council discussion: Councilors expressed support for collaboration with the county and said aligning codes across jurisdictions would reduce friction for developers and improve consistency for public works and engineering standards. Councilor Mueller said she was "stoked" to see the code update effort and praised the cross-jurisdictional approach.
Outcome: Council introduced and approved a resolution supporting the joint application and the $20,000 cash match. Staff said the grant application process would include a project advisory committee and public hearings for any code changes.
Next steps: If the grant is awarded, staff will engage a consultant, convene advisory and planning commission review, and return to council for public hearings on code amendments.
