June 2025 Housing Newsletter

Welcome to the Clatsop County housing newsletter! Housing is a critical issue that impacts everyone in our community, and many are invested in finding solutions. This newsletter will help share information about what’s happening with housing throughout the county. In addition to quarterly updates, the Clatsop County’s Housing Information and Resources website contains a wide range of information and resources about housing planning, projects, and policies in Clatsop County.

Elissa Gertler, Clatsop County Housing Manager, sits down with key Seaside city leaders to talk about the challenges and opportunities around housing in the coastal community.

In this episode, Mayor Steve Wright reflects on why housing has been a central issue throughout his public service and how the city is working to meet the needs of residents. City Manager Spencer Kyle shares what surprised him, what’s working, and what still needs improvement.

Community Development Director Jeff Flory offers insight into the impact of recent policy changes and the city’s next steps for increasing housing options.

This conversation offers a candid look at housing in Seaside and what it will take to move forward.

Listen to their PodClatsop

Housing Studies Completed

Over the past year, Clatsop County, with a technical assistance grant from the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), has worked with the consulting company, 3J Consulting, to complete a series of studies that look at the potential for housing development throughout the county. The goal of this work is to better understand the challenges and opportunities faced by each city and the unincorporated areas of the county, and to help inform local government policy, funding, and development decisions that affect housing production in Clatsop County.

The reports have three main parts:

• Buildable Land Inventory
• Housing Infrastructure Inventory
• Housing Supply Inventory

The Regional Housing Task Force, consisting of staff and elected leaders from each jurisdiction, plus community and business partners, served as the Steering Committee for this work, providing guidance and input throughout the project. While each city has its own set of specific issues, there are also many commonalities between all of the jurisdictions where working together can be helpful.

Read the reports for each jurisdiction

Housing Production Data Helps Visualize Progress Toward Housing Goals

Vacant Homes for Seasonal Use & Short Term Rentals vs. Total Units

Housing Units (2018 - 23), by Jurisdiction, by Year, by Type

Housing Units (2018 - 23) by Year, by Jurisdiction, by Type

County staff have been working with a consulting firm, Urbsworks, to better understand where housing has been built throughout the county over the past six years.

The state of Oregon has established targets for how much housing is expected to be built in Clatsop County over the next 20 years, so it is helpful to be able to see how much housing has been built in recent years.

Given the shortage of buildable land throughout the County, meeting the targets will be challenging and cities will have to consider what kind of housing can be built in what locations. Given Clatsop County’s status as a recreational tourist destination, the question of how much housing is considered a vacation or second home, or is used as short-term rentals, is also important.

The charts provide useful information as cities and the county consider next steps for building housing to meet the needs of residents and employers throughout the area. 

Next Regional Housing Task Force Meeting Speaker: National Planning Leader Gil Kelley

At the next monthly meeting of the Regional Housing Task Force, attendees will have a chance to hear from Gil Kelley, former Planning Director of the cities of Portland, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Vancouver BC.

Through his years of experience in planning in west coast cities, Mr. Kelley has worked with many housing approaches that are applicable to the North Oregon Coast. He will discuss lessons and successes of various affordable housing policy and program tools, and how they could be used in Clatsop County.

All are welcome to attend.



When: June 25, from 1:30-3 p.m.

In person: Bob Chisholm Community Center in Seaside,

Online: Via Zoom - Meeting ID: 856 9691 1634, Passcode: 540363