HOUSING COMMISSION HISTORY

The Tillamook County Housing Commission was created by the Tillamook County Board of Commissioners to create, maintain, and implement a strategic housing plan for the entire county based on housing needs data for the identified workforce population. The County Board expressed the desire that the Housing Commission provide a framework to support development and preservation activities which will increase and/or preserve workforce housing in unincorporated areas of Tillamook County, and to partner with incorporated cities for the same. The Tillamook County Housing Commission held its first meeting in January 2019. It is an advisory committee that makes recommendations to the Commissioners. Understanding underlying issues relative to the housing crisis and identifying potential solutions in collaboration with a wide variety of stakeholders have occupied the Housing Commission’s subsequent work.

In 2019 the Housing Commission completed a comprehensive Tillamook County Housing Needs Analysis to get the hard facts needed to look at the next 20 years of housing needs based on population growth, available buildable lands and economic analysis. A Housing Summit held in October 2019 generated significant momentum for creating housing solutions. The Housing Commission and the Department of Community Development were joined by over 70 local community stakeholders to collaborate in addressing critical housing issues. Two Summit proposals, co-designed by the parties impacted, became ordinances #85 and #86 passed by the Board of County Commissioners in late 2020. A third proposal from the Summit regarding Accessory Dwelling Units is in progress.

Historically, the Housing Commission followed on the heels of the Tillamook County Housing Task Force, convened by the Board of Commissioners in October 2015 to address the extreme housing crisis in Tillamook County. The Task Force convened stakeholders from all of the county’s geographic areas and economic sectors to look for short-term, creative solutions and create a long-term housing plan for Tillamook County. The Task Force was coordinated and facilitated by Erin Skaar, Executive Director of CARE, Melissa Carlson-Swanson, Branch Manager Oregon Food Bank Tillamook Services Center, and Commissioner Bill Baertlein.

The Task Force was responsible for the 2017 housing study, “Creating a Healthy Housing Market for Tillamook County.” This was followed by formation of the Tillamook County Housing Commission.