PORT ANGELES – The City Council has taken what they hope will be a major step toward addressing the housing shortage in Port Angeles by forming a task force of people representing a broad range of expertise.
Builders, lenders, local and state government, non-profits and more will be tasked with identifying, and recommending solutions to, the barriers that are causing the serious lack of housing options here.
Councilman Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin says it’s not just that the number of new residents is outpacing the rate of building, but the kind of homes being built are not necessarily meeting the need:
Other examples of housing solutions include duplexes and triplexes, townhouses, cottage housing and so-called mother-in-law apartments. Schromen-Wawrin has also proposed allowing landowners to rent out RV’s on their property under certain conditions.
A close look at local codes and ordinances might reveal some opportunities, but there’s one issue that gets mentioned a lot by builders as being particularly cumbersome within city limits, and that’s the stormwater treatment permit. The Federal Clean Water Act is implemented in Washington by the Department of Ecology, and they’ve imposed expensive requirements that keep a lot of projects from going forward:
That meeting with the Department of Ecology is scheduled for Tuesday July 3 at the regular Council meeting.