Housing Action Plan

The 2019 City of Port Angeles Housing Action Plan has been approved! The Plan includes an assessment of current housing conditions, community survey results, and a number of strategies for providing housing in our community.

The Port Angeles Housing Action Plan 2019 was prepared in response to the City’s 2017 Comprehensive Plan in conformance with the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA) and in conjunction with the City’s 2019 Comprehensive Plan Amendment. In accordance with GMA requirements, analysis includes:

• Population trends in Port Angeles and Clallam County;
• Demographic characteristics including age, household status, employment, income, housing tenure, and housing costs;
• Housing market trends in Port Angeles and Clallam County compared with the surrounding areas and Washington State including housing affordability;
• Housing opportunity for critical skill occupations within Port Angeles and Clallam County;
• Housing cost burdens of all income groups including extremely low, lower, and low income;
• Publicly assisted housing inventory including numbers and key sponsors;
• Demographic characteristics of occupants of publicly assisted housing units;
• Homeless populations;
• Population projections and allocations for the 20-year planning period;
• National trends in household formations and characteristics of impact on housing needs;
• Housing policy implications for Port Angeles including the impact of various incentives;
• Number of foreclosures and short term rentals; and
• Availability, number and size of residentially zoned vacant land.

In order to ensure the inclusion of the greater Port Angeles community and all sectors housing market, the Mayor requested the involvement of a number of organizations in the creation of a Housing Task Force. The Task Force and a smaller data gathering Housing Working Group met regularly over several months in late 2018 and 2019 to initiate the process of developing the Plan through a general assessment of the current state of housing availability, development, and need in the community. The organizations involved included local public employers, builders, realtors, building material suppliers, public housing officials, tribes, and public/non-profit agencies.  

In late 2018, with the assistance of the Housing Working Group the City developed and sent out a Housing Needs Assessment Survey to the greater Port Angeles community to assess community wide opinions on current housing conditions, preferences, and priorities. The City received over 580 responses to the survey, which assisted in informing the Plan’s strategy for future implementation.

The final plan was presented to City Staff by the Consultant, Beckwith Consulting Group and Staff provided to the City Council at their regular May 21^st meeting. Steps were immediately taken to begin the Plan’s implementation recognizing that current conditions and plan outcomes demand action. Staff began by incorporating Tasks from the plan into Chapter 11 of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, which directs the implementation of goals and policies within the Plan, during the 2019 Amendment Cycle. The process of initiating more accessible municipal code changes to address infill and alternative residential development are currently underway.

For more information on the Plan or its development, please contact the Planning Division at 360-417-4750 or ced@cityofpa.us