A shortage of available, affordable housing is a problem across Oregon. That crunch is especially pronounced in Tillamook County, and recent uncertainty about federal funding is making things worse.
Parker Sammons is the county’s housing coordinator. It’s his job to solve the housing problem by attracting new development to a region that has seen little movement in the past couple decades.
Housing vacancy is virtually nonexistent in Tillamook, Sammons said, especially for rental units. Those that do become available are quickly snatched up, often without any kind of online advertisement.
“These units get rented before they even hit the market, which even further exacerbates [the problem],” he said.
FILE -- The coastline in Tillamook County in June 2024. Available housing is extremely limited in the area.
Bryce Dole / OPB
County officials were counting on $3.6 million from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Climate Equity and Resilience Through Action Grant, known as CERTA. That grant — which originally came from the federal Environmental Protection Agency — would fund housing projects that are more environmentally friendly.
Tillamook County was one of four local governments in Oregon to receive the grant. After a year of developing the projects, Sammons was getting ready to make a public announcement about the funding. But he received a surprise email two weeks ago: The federal government was freezing the funds.
The funds are a small piece in what’s been a widespread slashing of federal spending since President Donald Trump regained control of the White House this year. His administration has specifically gone after many clean energy projects.
Nearly 4 million dollars could have an outsized impact in Tillamook County, which usually allocates about $400,000 per year for housing construction. The sudden cuts have thrown the projects into limbo, and it’s unknown when or if the units will become available for renters.
Tillamook County has never been an easy place to develop, County Commissioner Erin Skaar said. Between the coastal topography and remote location, convincing developers to invest in the area can be a tough sell. From 2001-2019, the county did not produce any new affordable or workforce housing units, she said.
“We have a huge amount of very expensive housing along the coast that is essentially second homes and vacation homes,” Skaar said. “The problem is the houses that have been built don’t align with folks who live and work here.”
That’s a gap county officials were hoping to fill with the CERTA funds. Three projects were planned across the coast: 60 units in Manzanita, 56 duplex units in Rockaway Beach and 36 units in Tillamook. Some funding would also have gone to homeowners looking to build accessory dwelling units on their properties.
The CERTA funds would’ve provided 8% of the total needed for the Tillamook apartments, alone.
And employers, desperate for workforce housing, quickly jumped on the opportunity to secure units. The Tillamook County Creamery Association, Adventist Health and the local school district — three of the region’s largest employers — had all agreed to pre-lease some of the units to improve the plan’s viability. By the time the federal government froze the funding, 100% of the units had been pre-leased and there was a long waiting list for future opportunities.
Eric Swanson, president of Adventist Health Tillamook, said the project would’ve been for his employees, who often struggle to find housing. The hospital currently has 40 open positions, and it’s not uncommon for someone to rescind an acceptance letter once they attempt to find housing. He said one-third of his EMTs and paramedics live outside the county, some as far away as Bend and Klamath Falls.
The hospital had pre-leased 16 units within walking distance of the hospital. Now, Swanson will now have to wait to see if the project moves forward.
“It was a light on the horizon for us,” Swanson said. “I’m disappointed that it’s not happening.”
For now, the county and all its partners will have to wait to see if the funding returns, or try to make it up somewhere else. Sammons said even if the projects are completed, it’s likely they won’t be as high-quality as originally planned.
Plus, it’s easy for partners to become pessimistic about a project when funding suddenly vanishes, Sammons said. Housing projects rely on momentum; when one fails, it’s even harder to start the next one.
“It will be very, very difficult for me to go back to the hospital and the creamery and the school district, and get them to commit to pre-leasing projects in the future,” he said. “That’s one of the most frustrating parts about this, is that we did find that momentum.
“We found all of these solutions and here we are, taking a step back.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the percentage of the units pre-leased in Tillamook County. OPB regrets the error.
