31.02.280 Housing.
The Growth Management Act (GMA) includes a planning goal to encourage the availability of affordable housing to all economic segments of the population of this State, promote a variety of residential densities and housing types, and encourage preservation of existing housing stock.
The GMA requires a County comprehensive plan housing element that includes:
•An inventory and analysis of existing and projected housing needs;
•Identifying the number of housing units necessary to manage projected growth;
•A statement of goals, policies, objectives, and provisions for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing, including single-family residences;
•Identifying sufficient land for housing, including, but not limited to, government-assisted housing, housing for low-income families, manufactured housing, multifamily housing, and group homes and foster care facilities;
•Provisions for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community.
(1) Housing Element. In addition to this section, this plan contains the following sections incorporated as part of the housing element:
(a) CCC 31.02.210 through 31.02.255 governing urban growth area issues;
(b) CCC 31.02.285 governing essential public facilities, including in-patient facilities, group homes, and secure community transition facilities;
(c) CCC 31.02.510 and 31.02.520 governing affordable housing and providing policies recommending approaches to expand opportunities for the development of affordable housing; and
(d) Various sections in the respective regional plans providing additional details for the management of subarea housing needs and resources.
(2) The following supplemental reports are incorporated by reference as part of the housing element. They provide an inventory and analysis of the County’s existing and projected housing needs, as well as a written record of unique local circumstances to be considered in devising goals, policies, and objectives to preserve, improve, and develop affordable housing to all economic segments of the County’s population:
(a) Urban Growth Areas Analysis and 10-Year Review, May 2007;
(b) Measuring Housing Need: A Data Toolkit for Clallam County, May 2006;
(c) Draft Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Clallam County, December 2005;
(d) Draft Rural Lands Report, December 2006, as supplemented; and
(e) Draft LAMIRDs Report (Limited Areas of More Intensive Rural Development), September 2006, as supplemented.
(3) Housing Issues. The reports referenced above include, but are not limited to, the following findings and conclusions as to Clallam County’s unique local circumstances relating to housing needs:
(a) The 2007 State population estimate for Clallam County was 68,500 persons (OFM, 2007). According to the Urban Growth Areas Analysis and 10-Year Review (“UGA Report”), growth trends support utilizing the State growth management 2000 – 2025 High Series Population Forecast (OFM, 2002) for Clallam County of 86,927 persons. Based on this forecast, the County needs to plan housing for approximately 18,427 new people between 2007 and 2025. Most of this population increase is anticipated to occur within Central and Eastern Clallam County.
The County allocated growth to urban growth areas (“UGAs”) in consideration of historical trends, policies supporting a shift in population growth to urban areas, city projections, and corresponding infrastructure planning and investments.
The “UGA Report” calculates the number of housing units needed in each UGA to accommodate existing population plus its allocated share of the 20-year growth using OFM figures for average people per household (“PPH”) and concludes that there is an adequate supply of land within each UGA to accommodate new housing units necessary for its allocation of urban population growth.
The “UGA Report” describes how each UGA provides for a variety of housing densities, which serve to protect the character of existing residential areas and allow for new single-family and multifamily housing developments. Commercial areas that provide for mixed use developments also address GMA and Comprehensive Plan policies for a variety of urban housing choices and affordable housing. Larger areas of undeveloped land within UGAs, efficient use of existing infrastructure, careful infrastructure investment strategies, and adequate capacity help to stabilize land values for the provision of affordable housing.
(b) According to Measuring Housing Need: A Data Toolkit for Clallam County, population growth in the County is primarily due to an influx of retirees; while there is a loss of younger people, resulting in a median age of 43.8 in 2000, compared to 35.3 in Washington State. Clallam County households are becoming smaller, with an increase in single person households, including the elderly. In 1999, 25 percent of households in Washington State had an annual income less than $25,000; in Clallam County, 33 percent. In 1999, 13 percent of Clallam County’s population lived in poverty; increasing housing and utilities costs since that time continue to reduce the number of housing options affordable to many working families and place a great burden on low-income households. The report identified mobile homes as an important housing component in Clallam County, constituting 17 percent of total housing units in 2000 when compared to eight percent Statewide. Forks and Sequim, in particular, contain high numbers of mobile home units.
The report includes strategies to be considered by local jurisdictions to expand, improve, or maintain quality affordable housing, including specific strategies designed to provide affordable housing and meet the demand for diversity of housing choices, which are included verbatim at CCC 31.02.510(3).
(c) According to the Draft Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Clallam County, the County has been a leader in the development of a continuum of care to address homelessness, counting our homeless, and developing a plan to end local homelessness. The Continuum of Care/Shelter Providers Network has been meeting since 1989, working to identify and address gaps in services and coordinate delivery of services to local homeless individuals and families. It is comprised of representatives from housing (shelter, transitional, permanent), social services, healthcare, domestic violence, mental health, veterans, church groups, substance abuse, education, employment, tribal, and legal services. In 2004, the group began working on a 10-year plan to end homelessness with numerous drafts developed, disseminated, and discussed during meetings and at two public forums.
In 2005, Clallam County established the Homelessness Task Force Fund, financed by a surcharge of $10 for each document recorded, pursuant to Chapter 43.185C RCW and established the Homelessness Task Force to serve as an advisory committee to the Board of Commissioners. Members of the Task Force include representatives from the Clallam County Health and Human Services Department; the cities of Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks; Clallam County Tribal Governments; Olympic Medical Center; Clallam County Housing Authority; Peninsula Community Mental Health; Healthy Families; West End Outreach; Serenity House of Clallam County; Olympic Community Action Programs; United Way of Clallam County; WorkSource; Law and Justice Council; a representative of the business community; a representative of the faith community; a representative of landlord/property management; and three representatives from the homeless or formerly homeless community. The Task Force reviewed and approved the Draft Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Clallam County and recommended adoption. On December 13, 2005, Clallam County adopted the Draft Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Clallam County, and in 2006, was the successful recipient of a $1,000,000 homeless grant assistance program grant, to be distributed over three years, to address homelessness issues.
(d) According to the Draft Rural Lands Report, as supplemented, at about 40 people per square mile, Clallam County is a rural county. The County was on the State’s distressed counties list for 30 years, only being removed in 2004, making it imperative to exercise the flexibility granted rural counties under the GMA to maintain land use policies designed to attract and accommodate economic development and affordable housing for all segments of its population. With more than 85 percent of its land designated as natural resource and public lands, the County is assured extensive rural character. This extensive rural character is attracting retirees and newcomers in search of a “rural quality of life” while extensive natural resource and public lands leave only nine percent available for rural designations, including LAMIRDs. As these newcomers provide much-needed diversification of the County’s economy, it is imperative to accommodate their housing needs.
(e) According to the Draft LAMIRDs Report (Limited Areas of More Intensive Rural Development), as supplemented, LAMIRDs, identified at CCC 31.02.263, provide residential infill opportunities in areas already characterized by existing commercial, industrial, residential, or mixed use development, providing rural quality of life housing opportunities to newcomers and affordable housing opportunities for natural resource and recreation-industry workers close to where they work. This is especially important in the West End which depends heavily on these industries for its economic (re)development. The West End is characterized by remoteness, long distances, and difficult driving conditions, making it unreasonable to expect workers to commute to UGAs.
(4) Policies. Based on consideration of all of the growth management goals and unique local circumstances, Clallam County adopts the following policies to achieve its goal of ensuring a variety of housing options to all economic segments of the population, and to create vital communities where people live close to work, attend school, receive services and recreate, and have access to viable public and multi-model transportation options:
(a) Urban growth areas shall be adequately sized to guard against negative market fluctuations attributed to artificially tight land supply and shall promote a variety of housing types, including multifamily, single-family, mixed uses, affordable housing, and accessory living units.
(b) New high density, mixed use, affordable housing developments, and manufactured housing (mobile home) parks should be focused in urban growth areas that have the infrastructure and services to support them.
(c) Rural areas should promote a focus on single-family housing and accessory housing units, using a mix of densities, development regulations, and incentives to provide rural lifestyle opportunities while retaining rural character and protecting more remotely located low density rural and natural resource lands from conversion pressures.
(d) LAMIRDs, as identified at CCC 31.02.263, should be available to provide residential infill opportunities in areas already characterized by existing commercial, industrial, residential, or mixed use development, providing rural lifestyle and affordable housing opportunities.
(e) Accessory housing units (AHUs) should be allowed to provide much needed affordable housing opportunities throughout the County. AHUs provide general convenience for landowners to accommodate family and guests with independent living quarters; accommodating unique or special housing needs and circumstances such as caretaking housing; and allow opportunities for housing above businesses without consuming valuable commercial and industrial land base. AHUs do not require extension of any public and private transportation facilities or utility services. To limit impacts to a neighborhood or rural character, public health and safety, groundwater resources, and governmental services, AHUs shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to the primary land use and subject to size and structure type limitations, water and wastewater disposal standards, certificates of occupancy, design standards, and recorded title notices. The existence of AHUs shall not serve as justification for amending the Official Comprehensive Future Land Use and Zoning Maps to allow for increased densities.
(f) Housing in commercial forestlands should be strictly limited to parcels that pre-existed the commercial forest designation and/or do not interfere with commercial forest production.
(g) Housing in designated commercial and industrial areas should support the primary use of those areas or shall be part of mixed use developments such as affordable housing opportunities above commercial facilities.
(h) Housing in critical areas should be consistent with the policies to protect them from incompatible development.
(5) New residential development should not cause the level of service on locally owned transportation facilities to decline below the standards adopted in the Transportation Element of the County’s Comprehensive Plan.
(6) Capital facilities plans and funding should be integrated with land use plans to ensure timely replacement and rehabilitation of substandard infrastructure in order to accommodate future housing demands and to maintain existing housing stock.