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Wheeler planner outlines Senate Bill 406 requirements, council asks for funding, timeline details
Summary
Contract planner Thomas D'Aurelli told the Wheeler City Council that Senate Bill 406 would extend HB 2001 requirements to Tillamook County, requiring housing capacity analyses and production strategies every eight years and costing an estimated $150,000–$200,000 per city; councilors asked for more detail on funding, timeline and scope before deciding whether to opt into a county‑led process.
Thomas D'Aurelli, a contract planner for the city of Wheeler, told the City Council on Sept. 17 that Senate Bill 406 would expand the requirements of House Bill 2001 to include all cities and unincorporated areas in Tillamook County, regardless of population size.
D'Aurelli said the bill would obligate jurisdictions to complete housing capacity analyses and adopt housing production strategies on roughly an eight‑year cycle. He cited a legislative fiscal estimate — as presented in his staff briefing — that each city could expect to incur about $150,000 to $200,000 in costs every eight years to comply with the analysis and strategy work.
"These reports require in‑depth GIS analysis, infrastructure inventories and consultant support," D'Aurelli said, adding that smaller cities typically lack in‑house planning capacity and would need to hire private consultants for the work. He recommended the council consider a memorandum of understanding for cost‑sharing should Wheeler opt into a county‑led or regional process and suggested asking the Legislature for targeted funding.
Councilors pressed D'Aurelli on timing and choice of approach. He confirmed the implementation date sketched in SB 406 is July 2025, though he said an additional bundle of legislation at the state level might change that date. He also said regional coordination through the county could lower per‑city costs but that the extent of any savings has not yet been quantified.
On the substance of middle housing, D'Aurelli clarified that the term covers duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes and accessory dwelling units and that policy goals typically target workforce‑range rents (roughly 80%–120% of area median income). He said ADUs are included in the analysis and that the production targets focus on rental units priced to local workforce thresholds.
D'Aurelli recommended that Wheeler wait for additional guidance and funding details from the Department of Land Conservation and Development and the county before committing to a coordination model. He said he would return with a written staff report and subsequent presentations that include answers to council questions and potential MOU language for cost sharing and monitoring county performance.
Council next steps: councilors asked staff to seek more background on grant opportunities, to identify what parts of the analytic work could be centralized at the county level, and to report back with proposed timelines and cost estimates before the body makes a decision.
