Molalla council adopts updated Housing Production Strategy after DLCD remand

The Molalla City Council voted 7-0 on Feb. 25 to adopt an updated Housing Production Strategy (HPS), repealing the 2025 resolution and readopting a revised plan that the city will submit to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) for final review.

The decision followed a staff presentation by Planning Manager Dan Zinder and a summary from consultant Violet Brown of 3J Consulting, who described changes made in response to a DLCD remand. Brown said the update focuses on four remand conditions and adds a clearer public-engagement record and implementation timeline. "We have been working, in conjunction with DLCD very closely," Brown said, and staff integrated DLCD's specific comments into the draft.

Why it matters: the HPS sets the city’s near-term actions and timelines to increase housing capacity and reduce barriers to development. Brown said the revised draft replaces vague time ranges with explicit years (for example, adoption in 2026 and staged implementation through 2027 and beyond) so readers and implementers share a common understanding of when each strategy is expected to occur.

Key changes and context: Brown and staff added cross-jurisdictional coordination — notably with Clackamas County programs — to assist people at risk of eviction or homelessness. The consultant also considered a request from the Fair Housing Council of Oregon and Housing Land Advocates to produce geospatial mapping of vulnerability to gentrification, but Brown told the council that census block-group data for Molalla had too large a margin of error to produce reliable neighborhood-level maps. "The margin of error is so high that ... the number could actually be 0," she said, adding that staff would instead combine qualitative review with case-by-case analysis when development applications are submitted.

Council discussion focused on implementability and code changes. Several councilors asked whether proposed changes to parking rules — described as an evaluation of duplex parking requirements to ease conversions of single-family houses into duplexes — would be mandatory. Staff said those items will be studied in 2027 and any ordinance or code change would return to the council for formal consideration. "There isn't anything right now that forces it," a staff member said; "it would have to be state law," but the study is required under the HPS timeline.

What happened procedurally: After public comment (no speakers on the HPS item) and the staff and consultant presentations, Council President Vermillion moved to adopt the resolution by title; Councilor Basenius seconded. The city recorder called the roll and the motion carried 7-0. Staff will submit the final document to DLCD, opening DLCD's review period.

Next steps: Staff will publish the final HPS and proceed with the scheduled studies and ordinance work described in the document. Council members were assured that items delayed for realism and staff capacity will still be tracked and return for council review before ordinance-level action.