State officials brief Clatsop County on new housing law framework and local technical support
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Summary
DLCD staff told the Clatsop County Board the Oregon Housing Needs Analysis retools how local governments plan for housing, while the Housing Accountability and Production Office (HAPO) will prioritize voluntary technical assistance, interagency navigation and, if needed, a limited enforcement path.
State housing officials on Thursday told the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners that Oregon's new housing planning framework shifts the basis for local housing targets and offers a mix of technical assistance, coordination and limited enforcement to help local governments meet those targets.
Sean Edging, a housing planner with the Department of Land Conservation and Development's Housing Accountability and Production Office (HAPO), and Ethan Stockmeyer, manager of DLCD's housing division, presented the Oregon Housing Needs Analysis (OHNA) and described HAPO's role in helping counties and cities implement the law. "Very few of [the new housing laws] affect or apply to the county," Edging said, while noting a subset of statutes do reach counties and unincorporated urban lands.
The presenters said OHNA replaces the older, locally driven population-projection method with a statewide, data-driven allocation of needed housing units by affordability tier. Stockmeyer described three core elements local governments will use: the needed housing allocation (units by affordability bracket), the housing capacity analysis (land and zoning capacity), and a housing production strategy (local actions and incentives). A separate monitoring system and a housing acceleration program will track results and, in limited cases, allow the state to intervene if jurisdictions fail to carry out adopted strategies.
HAPO was created by the Legislature and an interagency agreement in 2024 to provide three main services: housing law support (answering inquiries, model code and funding for local code updates), interagency navigation (helping developers and local governments coordinate with agencies such as DEQ and DSL), and research and process improvement (including a legislatively directed process-improvement study to map the development pipeline). Edging said HAPO prioritizes voluntary compliance and that formal complaint intake is available but generally leads with technical assistance and funding to help local code changes.
Commissioners asked about known barriers to development, with one commissioner describing project delays caused by wetlands mitigation and permitting timelines that can drive away private investment. Edging acknowledged wetlands mitigation credits and related permitting issues are common constraints and said HAPO is working with the Department of State Lands (DSL) and other agencies to identify policy and procedural fixes; a report on statewide barriers is being prepared by staff member Palmer Mason and partners for the legislature.
Presenters offered to share the slide deck and the state's housing production dashboard; staff said they would circulate written materials and memos to the board. The presentation followed a work session request and was meant to help county leaders better understand which parts of the new housing law primarily affect cities within urban growth boundaries and which elements apply to county-administered lands.
Next steps: DLCD staff will provide written materials, and the board may seek further follow-up on wetlands mitigation, wastewater permitting and any technical assistance HAPO can deploy for Clatsop County.