Oregon has extended a residential foreclosure moratorium.

Astoria plans to make changes to the development code over the next several months to remove barriers for new housing construction and comply with state requirements.

Recent counts put the city’s population over 10,000, which means Astoria went from being designated as a small-sized city to a medium-sized city. The shift requires the city to comply with state legislation for medium-sized cities, which includes allowing duplexes on residential lots that allow single-family homes.

The changes in state law are intended to respond to the housing crisis across Oregon by increasing affordability and availability.

Alex Murphy, a city planner, told the Planning Commission on Tuesday night that the code amendment process is designed to satisfy state law and incorporate recommendations made in Clatsop County’s 2019 housing study.

Some provisions need to be in place by the end of the year, so Murphy suggested an approach and timeline for public engagement and adoption, and asked the commission for feedback about how best to proceed.

“This is going to be a very emotional topic,” he said. “And I don’t think it will go smoothly. And so I want to provide opportunity as much as possible for everyone that’s interested to participate and have the opportunity to be heard.

“At the end of the day, we have to have a code that incorporates all of these pieces.”

Recent legislation requires cities to allow what is known as “middle housing” — which includes duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, cottage clusters and townhouses — based on population. Cities with a population over 10,000 are required to allow a duplex on “each lot or parcel zoned for residential use that allows for the development of detached single-family dwellings.”

If the city does not adopt the changes by the end of the year, the state code will automatically take effect. The city is also expected to expand middle housing land division opportunities.

Murphy emphasized that the change will not ban single-family homes, just allow duplexes. While the city anticipates public concern, Murphy said the change will not necessarily lead to many new duplexes. He pointed to other cities and states that have made similar changes but have seen few new developments.

Recent state legislation also required state agencies to analyze regional housing needs for the next 20 years.

The analysis, which was completed last year, expects that Astoria will need about 1,400 additional housing units over the next two decades, an increase of about 28%.

The state also requires the city to analyze the housing needs for current and future residents every six or eight years, which must be completed by the end of 2024. The city’s forecast for housing needs may differ from the regional analysis. After the analysis, the city must adopt a housing production strategy to ensure the needs are addressed.

“And I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not entirely sure where we do that,” Murphy said of the additional housing. “That’s going to be one of these challenges that we need to figure out.”

Some of the other changes the city is considering involve reducing minimum lot sizes and removing lot coverage limits in residential zones, establishing a minimum density standard in residential zones and reevaluating parking requirements.

Planning commissioners called for a thorough public process.

“I have no idea where the state believes that we can add another 1,400 units in the next 18 years given that we are surrounded by water on three sides and a forest on the fourth side,” Planning Commissioner Sean Fitzpatrick said. “At some point, we have to communicate to the state: this can’t be done. And given our absolute physical constraints, we have to recognize that we can’t do it. They don’t want us to fill in the river, and we don’t want to do that anyhow. Where are we supposed to go?”

Fitzpatrick, who is running for mayor in the November election, echoed other commissioners suggestions for soliciting community feedback. He said people in the community already feel like they are not being heard by elected officials over other projects.

“It’s vital that we make sure that the public feels that they are being heard, because we see what happens when they don’t,” he said.

Commissioner Cindy Price asked for the city to take its time and expressed concerns that the state-mandated changes could alter the character of many parts of Astoria.

“I mean, this town is in a rage over what is going on at Heritage Square,” said Price, who has been among the most vocal critics of the proposed workforce housing project at Heritage Square. “It’s very divisive, and it’s engaged a large segment of the population, people who are interested in development, density, and all that sort of thing.”