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Nehalem council adopts ordinance to allow duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in residential zones
Summary
The Nehalem City Council on June 9 adopted Ordinance No. 2025-04, allowing additional middle housing types (duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes) across residential zones subject to siting, lot-size and parking limits; the vote was unanimous, 4-0.
The Nehalem City Council on June 9 adopted Ordinance No. 2025-04 to allow additional middle housing types — duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes — in all residential zones under special siting standards.
City Planner John Morgan told the council the code change would permit one duplex, one triplex or one fourplex on a single lot and maintain existing minimum-lot-size and parking rules. “They would still need to meet the requirement of at least one parking space per unit,” Morgan said during the hearing.
Mayor Phil Chick described the amendment as restoring housing patterns that were common before strict zoning, saying the proposal “essentially allow[s] new housing types in all residential zones, harkening back to an era when there was no zoning and duplexes and small higher density housing development were commonplace.”
During public comment, Rod Murphy asked whether lot-size limits would constrain the number of units; Morgan confirmed minimum-lot-size requirements remain in place. Council discussion also noted that duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes may be attached or detached and that the code does not allow multiple such multi-unit complexes on a single lot.
The council approved the ordinance after first and second readings by title only and adopted it by a 4-0 vote (Yes: Howell, Cram, Larzelier, Quintana; No: None). The ordinance takes effect according to its terms, and staff will publish implementing standards and application instructions for property owners and developers.
