Nehalem City Council reviews SB406 middle-housing code options

Nehalem City Council members on March 6, 2025 heard a presentation from Cascadia Partners on options to implement Oregon’s SB406 middle-housing law and discussed how the changes could affect local zoning, infrastructure and development in flood-prone areas.

Cascadia Partners Senior Associate Lydia Ness told the Council that “SB406 does not preclude single-family housing, but it allows for more types of housing,” and that the law would permit multi-unit housing across the city’s residential zones, including A‑1, RL, RM and MR. Partner Jamin Kimmel told the Council the new regulations could apply differently across those zones and that the city can use tools such as lot-size requirements and floor area ratio to shape allowable units.

Why it matters: The changes guided by SB406 would expand the types of housing permitted on residential lots—potentially allowing duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in areas that previously limited such housing—while leaving many implementation details to local code decisions, such as garage and driveway standards, minimum lot sizes and whether to allow attached versus detached units.

Councilor Dave Cram urged residents and the Council to weigh infrastructure limits in Nehalem, saying current development is already constrained “by parking requirements and by how much water is required to be contained on site.” He also noted that much of the city’s flat ground has already been developed and said building in tsunami or flood areas “may be cost prohibitive.” City Manager Lori Longfellow clarified procedural roles: the Planning Commission will review options and provide a recommendation, the Council will decide whether to adopt changes, the city issues zoning permits and the county issues building permits.

Presenters said the city could regulate several local standards even while implementing SB406. Lydia Ness described that the city may regulate garage and driveway standards and choose whether to allow detached housing, while noting accessory dwelling units are governed by a separate ordinance. Kimmel said it is legally possible for multiple detached homes to occupy a single lot and for units to be owned individually if a lot is divided; he also observed that it is relatively rare for the state to directly override local zoning.

Public process and next steps: Cascadia Partners said they presented concepts to the Planning Commission and will return later in March; Planning Commission public hearings and subsequent Council hearings are scheduled for April and May. Council members and presenters encouraged residents to attend Planning Commission meetings in person or via Zoom to provide feedback on preferred approaches, including garage standards, lot-size limits and design choices.

No motions or votes were recorded on March 6. The Council is expected to consider a Planning Commission recommendation and any proposed code amendments in the coming months.