08/21/2026
After outcry from coastal residents to the Department of Land and Conservation Development (DLCD), the agency appointed a coastal representative to the rules advisory committee considering ways to increase housing in unincorporated communities. Unfortunately, that person is Gail Henrikson, the planning director for Clatsop County. Henrikson was at the forefront of pushing through a measure in the county last year that opened up unincorporated communities to housing types from duplexes to multiplexes. At the RAC meeting, Henrikson characterized the Clatsop County experience as requiring “brute force” (her words). ORCA would certainly agree with that assessment of the county’s tactics, as we were heavily involved in the opposition. We argued the changes would not lead to new housing, which has in fact been the outcome. For this committee, Henrikson stressed the importance of being “nuanced,” because each community is unique. That is quite different from the way she approached rural housing in Clatsop County, and ORCA hopes she champions the uniqueness of individual communities in future. The RAC is now beginning its work; the first meeting was the 19th. In fact the state has plenty of land for rural housing already in place, and ORCA opposes this entire process as a land grab — the rulemaking language is explicit that they plan to give counties the option to allow not only housing but also light commercial and other services. If ever implemented, such changed rules would urbanize and commercialize our rural communities forever.
Early Moon over Woahink Lake. Courtesy WLA.
