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Wasco County advances LUDO changes to speed post‑disaster rebuilding
Summary
After a public hearing, the Wasco County Board moved proposed updates to the National Scenic Area Land Use and Development Ordinance to a second hearing, seeking to allow expedited administrative review for post‑disaster replacement homes, temporary RV housing, and limited size/orientation flexibility; the Board set a second hearing for July 1, 2026.
Chair Scott C. Hege continued a June 17 public hearing on proposed updates to Wasco County’s National Scenic Area Land Use and Development Ordinance, which county staff say are needed to implement the Columbia River Gorge Commission’s January 2026 Management Plan amendments.
Planning Director Daniel Dougherty said the changes would allow quicker, administrative-level approvals for replacing homes damaged or destroyed in disasters and to provide temporary housing options. “The amendments are necessary to bring local regulations into compliance with the National Scenic Area Management Plan updates approved in January 2026,” Dougherty said.
Kelly Howsley‑Glover, Community Development managing director, told the Board the revisions respond directly to lessons from the 2024–25 hazard recovery planning and the Rowena fires. Among the changes staff proposed are an administrative expedited‑review path for like‑for‑like replacements, a clarified definition of “same location,” limited allowances to increase footprint or orientation by up to 10%, and a 10‑year window to commence rebuilding after a disaster. She said counties and affected residents had sought more time to rebuild and more predictable review paths.
Howsley‑Glover also described a temporary housing option: a limited allowance for one recreational vehicle or one temporary storage structure per affected parcel during recovery. She emphasized constraints designed to protect resources, saying the temporary placements must be sited outside sensitive resource buffers and cannot require permanent foundations.
Public testimony focused on cultural‑resource protections and rebuild timelines. A county official and members of the Planning Commission asked staff to clarify when cultural resource review is required; staff added language that would trigger cultural review when a proposed replacement is within 500 feet of a known cultural site or within 100 feet of an area with a high probability of containing cultural resources.
After deliberation, Commissioner Jeffrey L. Justesen moved to advance the ordinance to a second hearing July 1, 2026; Chair Hege seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The Board did not adopt the ordinance at the June 17 meeting but asked staff to refine language around cultural review and the technical definitions of footprint/height before the July hearing.
