THE DALLES — The city council voted 4-1 to adopt an ordinance accepting the residential land needs assessment and the buildable lands inventory update at its Dec. 11 meeting. The ordinance also included amending The Dalles comprehensive plan, particularly Goal 10: Housing.
The vote followed a presentation of the housing analysis by MIG Consulting Project Manager Matt Hastie, in which he went over an overview of the process, the findings and the company’s recommendations. In the process, the company assessed the need for housing over the next 20 years and inventoried the supply of the land that’s zoned for residential use and could potentially accommodate that future need.
For existing housing, they noted approximately 62% of households are owner-occupied and 38% are renters; the majority of owner-occupied households are single-family homes, whereas rental houses tend to vary, ranging from apartments, row homes, duplexes and triplexes to manufactured homes.
Hastie said that, looking backwards, The Dalles has grown around 11% over the last 13 years. However, Portland State University, who conducts the population projections for the state, projects a lower growth rate of 0.3% a year going forward.
“I will say that, in most communities across the state where we’re doing these analyses, they are showing pretty similar trends,” Hastie said. “There’s just a few communities where I’m seeing their projection showing higher rates of growth.”
Hastie said those numbers would mean an increase of about 1,000 people, or around 400 households, over the next two decades. However, he noted that it’s important to have a healthy vacancy rate, meaning approximately 500 new housing units would be needed.
To determine if the city would be able to meet this demand, Hastie said they started looking at all land within the urban growth boundary zoned for housing, and deducted properties committed or planned for public or institutional use, such as a school or city-owned property. They also deducted land constrained by natural hazards, such as floodplains or steep slopes. Through this process, they were able to find about 330 acres of buildable land, or approximately 3,000 units.
“What this is showing is, based on all the assumptions in the analysis, you have an adequate supply of land to meet those future housing needs over the next 20 years,” Hastie said.
Councilor Rod Runyon shared Wasco County Commissioner Scott Hegewas concerned about the low population forecast, saying it was “another nail in the coffin of justifying the [urban growth boundary] expansion.”
The Dalles Community Development Director Joshua Chandler noted many municipalities from around the state voiced similar concerns. He said there would be updated projections in 2024, but pushing off the adoption of the ordinance could create complications, financially and logistically.
Following a presentation by The Dalles Assistant Planner Kaitlyn Cook on how the comprehensive plan amendments align with the goals already set in the comprehensive plan, Mayor Rich Mays asked the public for comment on the adoption of the ordinance. No one testified in favor, but Hege, previously mentioned by Runyon, testified in opposition.
“I’m not necessarily trying to oppose anything, but I have concerns,” Hege said. “I’ve tracked our population growth. We’ve never really been a huge population increase kind of city or county, but consistently, it’s been nearing 1%. Historically, for decades. So it’s hard to imagine why all of a sudden it’s 0.3%.”
Hege said he understood it was required to use the PSU numbers, but expressed frustration at how these numbers could affect the perception of the urban growth boundary. He said that housing has become increasingly difficult to find and that land is limited due to the growth boundary. “It’s frustrating when we adopt documents like this, which gives basically no justification for expanding our urban growth boundary, which I think is an essential thing that has to happen and has to happen soon,” Hege said.
Hastie agreed that there were limitations to the report, but the organization had to follow state regulations and use the numbers provided. After the discussion, councilors voted 4-1 to adopt the ordinance accepting the report. The one dissenting vote was from Runyon, who said his vote was “just on principle.”
In other business, City Manager Matthew Klebes noted in his report that, in response to the Zoom-bombing that took place at the Nov. 27 meeting, he and the city clerk reported the incident to the Oregon Department of Justice. According to Klebes, a number of cities around the country and throughout the state have also dealt with meetings on Zoom being interrupted by hate speech. The Oregon DOJ reportedly is working with the FBI on the matter. The incident also led to the city trialing different public participation policy changes. As of the Dec. 11 meeting, those who wish to take part in the audience participation portion of the meeting via Zoom will have to sign up with the city clerk by noon the day of the meeting.
The council also approved the appointment of Sarah Mello to the beautification committee, and adopted a general ordinance amending The Dalles municipal code by creating a chapter on small wireless facilities, as required by the Federal Communications Commission.
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