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Clatsop County reviews draft ordinance to adopt clear, objective housing standards
Summary
County staff presented Ordinance 25-02 to update code language intended to create clear, objective standards for housing approvals; staff said the draft responds to a 2023 legislative requirement and incorporates Department of Land Conservation and Development comments.
Clatsop County staff reviewed Ordinance 25-02, a draft update intended to create clear and objective standards for housing approvals, during a board work session. Community Development Director Gail Henderson told the board the ordinance grew from a 2023 legislative change and a year-and-a-half county effort that began in December 2023.
Henderson said the county has “taken the expanded our mission, so to speak, and looked through everything in the code that might possibly touch housing,” and that staff submitted the draft to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) in February and received DLCD comments between March 24 and March 26. “We’ve incorporated all those comments to the best of our ability,” she said.
The draft has gone through multiple work sessions with the board and three planning commission drafts, Henderson said. Planning commissioners, including two builders who serve on that panel, reviewed the draft and the planning commission held a public hearing on the draft; staff reported the planning commission recommended the board approve the ordinance as presented. Henderson said the county “held 4 work sessions with your board, 3 in our last year and 1 back in February this month,” before the current reading.
Commissioners generally praised the clarity of the proposed standards. One commissioner said the ordinance’s approach should reduce subjective neighborhood objections and “streamline and simplify and promote housing.” Commissioners asked for confirmation that the next published draft would include all final “shall” language and other edits before formal adoption.
Next steps identified in the session were a formal reading later in the evening if the board directs it and continued incorporation of stakeholder and planning commission comments into the published ordinance language. The board did not take a final vote on Ordinance 25-02 during the work session; staff said the ordinance would return with the planning commission’s formal recommendation and the board would see a consolidated draft addressing stakeholder comments before any adoption vote.
