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Commissioners debate House Bill 3197 compliance, DLCD grant offer; no application approved
Summary
Planning staff described House Bill 3197’s requirement for clear-and-objective residential standards and a DLCD grant opportunity to fund outside consultant work; commissioners raised concerns about loss of local discretion and timing and did not authorize a grant application at the workshop.
Josephine County planning staff briefed the board July 29 about House Bill 3197 (2023) and a Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) grant opportunity that would fund consultant work to review and modify the county’s land-use code to ensure "clear and objective" standards for single-family residential development.
Why it matters: HB 3197 requires counties to remove discretionary elements that affect decisions about building houses and to adopt clear, objective standards; for geographically diverse counties such as Josephine, staff and commissioners said compliance could be complex and could reduce local flexibility to address topography, floodplain, and other site-specific constraints.
What was discussed
Planning staff explained that DLCD has made consultant-supported grants available to help counties perform substantial code reviews and that the grant application deadline was Aug. 4. Staff described the proposed consultant role: review the county’s large and complex codebook, recommend changes to establish clear and objective standards, and work toward codification that meets the statutory requirement.
Commissioners expressed several concerns: a commissioner said the county’s code book is lengthy and that codifying all clear-and-objective standards might inadvertently add complexity; others worried the statutory implementation could remove necessary local discretion used to accommodate mountainous terrain, flood-plains and other site-specific conditions. Commissioners also noted the grant application requires a governing-body resolution or signed letter of support and that the next properly noticed opportunity for broad public input would be a later meeting, making the Aug. 4 application deadline difficult to meet without further legal review.
Outcome
No motion to submit the DLCD grant application was made during the workshop. Commissioners asked staff and legal counsel to review the grant language and implications and to watch early implementing counties (two counties were named as early implementers) for lessons learned before committing the county to grant-funded code changes. Staff noted the DLCD offer would provide consultant time through 2027 if awarded, but commissioners emphasized the work will be time-consuming and likely require boots-on-the-ground engagement with local developers and planners.
Ending
Staff will return with legal review and a recommendation; the board did not authorize submission of the DLCD grant application at the July 29 workshop and will consider next steps after further review and public notice as appropriate.
