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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2016)
8A THE HOUSING CRUNCH THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016 County: Solutions remain a work in progress Continued from Page 1A The cities and county are also at the mercy of private develop- ers willing to invest. Develop- ers are able to build more homes and make more money in the Port- land metro area than they can on the coast. “In the end, you need some- body with the buildable land, and the money to build something that hopefully people can afford,” Rohne said. Local developer Richard Krueger recently proposed build- ing a 48-unit apartment complex in Miles Crossing south of Astoria, but the project was denied by the Clatsop County Planning Com- mission based on concerns from neighbors. Krueger withdrew his appeal to county commissioners this month. When adding up all the housing limitations in the region, County Manager Cameron Moore said, it does not leave the community much to work with. Moore, however, remains optimistic. “If the economy continues to do well here, and we continue to experience population growth, I’m sure we will see develop- ers that are interested, much like the developer in Miles Crossing,” Moore said. Clatsop County census and housing data 101 PACIFIC 103 Long Beach 4 401 WAHKIAKUM Wash. Ore. Warrenton Astoria 30 202 Seaside Cannon Beach CLATSOP 26 TILLAMOOK N 101 Source: U.S. Census Bureau Item Population, 2015 est. Population, 2010 est. Population per square mile (2010) Land area in square miles (2010) Under age 18, 2015 Under age 18, 2010 65 years and over, 2015 65 years and over, 2010 High school graduate or higher, age 25 or older* Bachelor’s degree or higher, age 25 or older* In civilian labor force, age 16 or older* Median household income (2014 dollars)* Housing units, 2015 Housing units, 2010 Owner-occupied housing units* Median value, owner-occupied housing units* Median selected monthly mortgage costs* Median gross rent* Building permits, 2015 *2010-14 Clatsop Oregon 37,831 37,037 44.7 829 19.6% 20.5% 20.0% 16.6% 90.9% 23.6% 60.3% $47,337 21,928 21,546 62.7% $248,300 $1,526 $825 208 4.03 million 3.83 million 39.9 95,988 21.4% 22.6% 16.4% 13.9% 89.5% 30.1% 62.4% $50,521 1.72 million 1.68 million 61.5% $234,100 $1,591 $894 17,510 Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group Political will Inside the Clatsop County Community Development Depart- ment, staff is actively looking for ways to address the housing crunch. Community Development Director Heather Hansen said the county has teamed up with Clatsop Economic Development Resources and the Columbia-Pa- cific Economic Development Dis- trict on an affordable and available housing task force. In addition, the county works closely with the nonprofit Clatsop Community Action. “The frustrating part is we all describe what the problem is, but then we are not really sure what to do about it,” Hansen said. “It takes a lot of political will and land. What is needed is pretty much every kind of housing.” After several task force meet- ings, local leaders have decided Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Richard Krueger, left, listens during the Clatsop County Plan- ning Commission’s deliberation on his proposed Miles Cross- ing property in July. The Clatsop County Planning Commission de- nied the proposed 48-unit proper- ty near Lewis and Clark Elemen- tary School in Miles Crossing. Clatsop County Manager Cameron Moore gives his report during a meeting of the county Board of Commissioners. to take on the housing crunch one project at a time. “Each city has its own issues, that’s why we shifted gears saying lets do this proj- ect-by-project,” Hansen said. Alternate housing The county’s Community Development Department is doing its part by staying open minded to alternative housing. If someone wants to put a boat on their yard, live in a sheltered home or even build a treehouse, county staff is willing to work with the applicant. Every type of housing helps, Hansen said, especially for those Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian relocating to the region for work. “It came to light that businesses are having problems. They’re hav- ing to put people in hotels, liv- ing on people’s sofas or living in their cars,” Hansen said. “People are actually accepting jobs and then pulling out at the last minute because the couldn’t find a place to live.” When looking at unincorpo- rated Clatsop County, some point to the Knappa area as a place for housing. Yet most of the east county is already privately held by owners who are not interested in building large developments. Rohne, who represents the east- ern part of the county, said his inland region is not as sought after as the coast. There is a house next to Rohne’s farm in Brownsmead that is for sale, he said, and no one seems to be looking at it. “Honestly, I don’t know if peo- ple want to live out here,” Rohne said. “They want to live between Astoria and Cannon Beach.” Solutions A hurdle for housing on the coast is state regulations that dis- courage high density housing in unincorporated areas. The idea is to protect farm and forest land, but in Clatsop County, such land is mostly what is left to be developed. Rohne said the county could get creative and try to get permis- sion from the state to rezone cer- tain forest land for housing. If the state approved the zone change, it could be done in specific areas close to transportation and sewer systems without impacting much of the existing farm and for- est land. “We could work out a deal and get land that is out of the flood zone,” Rohne said. The housing crunch is some- thing government alone cannot fix. Moore said a solution will take collaboration between the pub- lic and private sectors. Many res- idents point to elected leaders for results, but Moore said the gov- ernment should not be solely responsible. “I’m not sure every- one wants to see your county gov- ernment, for instance, building and managing housing and sell- ing housing,” Moore said. “That’s not really what we are equipped to do.” Solutions remain a work in progress. “It’s one of several issues we are going to have to figure out,” Moore said. “I think there are some good efforts underway to at least identify the scope of the problem.” Gulasky found space in Nehalem after renting week-to-week in Cannon Beach Steady income not always a fix ordan Gulasky and her partner recently relocated from Cannon Beach, where they rented week to week, to Nehalem, where they found a “super affordable” home to buy. Gulasky and her husband worked at Sea Level Bakery in Cannon Beach. With a com- bined income of about $40,000 a year, they struggled to find a new place to live after leaving their old residence. J “In spite of our connectivity and how much we are in the com- munity serving coffee and baking bread, we gave up that lease for a myriad of reasons and are now in a friend’s extra space paying her week to week,” Gulasky said this summer. “There’s no rental agree- ment and we would have loved to find one.” Gulasky also spoke about the lack of community in Cannon Beach in connection to the lack of housing. “It’s been pretty frustrating and there’s definitely the idea of being a young person and wishing there was a community, that there were other people in my age range who work similar jobs,” she said. “No one else can find a way to live here, so we have a severe lack of youth community. I travel pretty far to engage in activities with people my age.” Gulasky, who now works at Oregon Coast Cannabis in Manza- nita, said the move was positive in that she found “more of a commu- nity” just south of Cannon Beach. She said Cannon Beach has many second homes and little affordable housing. — Lyra Fontaine Mom with autistic child in Cannon Beach makes too much for affordable home Lives with sister, and four others hen Amber Gage moved to the coast from Oklahoma to work for Vacasa in the summer, she moved into a unit at Shore- wood Apartments, a subsidized housing development in Cannon Beach with a lengthy waitlist. However, the move became the “worst experience of her life” when the apartment manage- ment told her that the $27,000 she makes each year was too high for her to be eligible for the apart- ment. Gage, a single mother, has an autistic child who has “back- tracked” due to the experience, she said. Gage and her two young chil- dren had to relocate to her sister’s home in Manzanita. There are seven people living in a two-bed- room home. Gage said she felt homeless. This week, Gage hopes to hear back from a possible house to rent in Rockaway Beach. If she ends up getting the house, she will shift her housekeeping duties to the area. — Lyra Fontaine W Lyra Fontaine/The Daily Astorian Amber Gage struggled to find affordable housing when she moved to the Oregon Coast. Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Michael McNickle, Clatsop County public health director, commutes daily from McMinnville while he searches for a rental in Astoria. McNickle: ‘I miss four hours everyday. I lose all of that time with my family’ Continued from Page 1A Rather than spending thou- sands a month on rent for a place near his Astoria office, McNickle prefers making the daily com- mute. Paying rent on a place in Astoria does not make much sense when McNickle already has mortgage payments to make in McMinnville. “Why would I spend more to rent when I could just live at home?” he said. While it has been difficult for McNickle to find a home in Clat- sop County suitable for his fian- cée and two teenagers, he is also stuck waiting to sell his home in McMinnville. He is also help- ing his fiancée sell her home in McMinnville. Prices are so high in Clatsop County, McNickle anticipates having to sell both McMinnville homes to afford one in Astoria. “We don’t really want to buy anything right away because we have to sell the ones we have before we buy something new,” he said. McNickle continues to search for the right place, and the right buyers for his McMinnville homes. All the while, he contin- ues to commute. “I’m just going to drive until we can sell it,” he said. In the winter months, McNickle said, he sometimes has to find a hotel in Astoria because of weather or crashes on U.S. Highway 26. In the summer, he is often stuck in traffic. “I miss four hours everyday,” he said. “I lose all of that time with my family.” — Kyle Spurr
