Divisions have emerged in the community over a proposal for workforce housing on forest property east of U.S. Highway 101 in Arch Cape.

Following scrutiny from residents in Arch Cape, Clatsop County announced it will take a step back from a plan to transfer surplus property to groups interested in housing, child care or social services projects.

Last year, the county invited expressions of interest from cities, nonprofits and others for 31 surplus properties from Astoria to Arch Cape. Providing land is one avenue the county has taken to help spur the development of more workforce and affordable housing amid a housing crunch on the North Coast.

County commissioners agreed last summer to transfer a combined 1.85 acres of land to Seaside for potential housing.

Astoria and a private developer have shown interest in a downtown parking lot at Ninth and Duane streets, the site of the former Darigold Building, for potential housing.

But the county’s plan became controversial after the nonprofit North Coast Housing Solutions expressed interest late last year in parcels in Arch Cape for a workforce housing project.

Over the last several weeks, Arch Cape residents and others organized under a group called Responsible Land Use Alliance, which used several strategies to campaign against the project. Through emails, a website and public meetings, the group advocated for more due diligence and changes to the county’s process for releasing the land.

The Cannon Beach residents behind North Coast Housing Solutions have said the campaign stems from NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) objections that often undermine workforce and affordable housing projects.

During a county Board of Commissioners work session Wednesday, County Manager Don Bohn recommended the county update its policies and process before moving forward with expressions of interest.

“I think we need to take a step back at this point and make sure we get all the underpinnings in place before we go much further,” he said.

Bohn said the work will allow the county to make the process a long-term legacy program. “And right now, using the previous policy framework is just not adequate to what we need going forward,” he said.

Bohn said the county needs to update its property management policy and develop a new policy that addresses transferring property to nonprofits. He said the county will receive support with the process from the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority.

He said the county also plans to review and categorize the surplus properties to make sure the parcels are appropriate for housing, child care and social services.

When asked by The Astorian why the county did not explore the policy changes before offering up the surplus land, Bohn called policy work “iterative.”

The county identified 15 properties last April and added another 16 properties in September, including the land in Arch Cape. The county invited cities, special districts, social service nonprofits and nonprofit housing developers to submit proposals.

In an update posted to the county’s website in late January, the county repeated the invitation and outlined the process for how expressions of interest for the surplus land would be reviewed.

A week later, though, the county shifted direction.

“The county has, over the last several months, identified and discussed various elements to be included in the policy review/policy development process,” Bohn said in an email. “These (discussions) predated the Arch Cape feedback, but their comments further reinforced the need for a strong policy foundation moving forward.

“Public policy work is by nature iterative — staff was unsure of the specific policy elements needed to include nonprofits in the disposition process.”

Bohn said the land the county transferred to Seaside last year will not be impacted by the change.

Chet Moritz, a Cannon Beach resident behind North Coast Housing Solutions, called the outcome of the work session a positive step for the project and housing in the county.

“The county will now move forward with formalizing the process for approving surplus land transfers to nonprofits such as (North Coast Housing Solutions) to build affordable housing,” Moritz said in a statement. “In his presentation, County Manager Bohn noted several times that affordable housing is greatly needed in Clatsop County, and one of the only subsidies the county can offer is the dedication of surplus land to qualified nonprofits.

“(North Coast Housing Solutions) fully supports the county as they formalize their process. We believe that this process will create stronger community connections and address many of the concerns we heard from local residents. We are excited to be moving forward with the necessary steps to build affordable workforce housing in Clatsop County.”

In an email on Wednesday, Responsible Land Use Alliance said resident voices were heard.

“We want to applaud and appreciate the county manager’s continued efforts towards a criteria-based due diligence process,” the group said. “And we want to thank the commissioners for their patience and attention to our concerns.

“Our effort for Responsible Land Use started out as a sprint. It has now transitioned into a marathon. We will continue to do our part in monitoring the county’s progress, participating as much as we can with public comments and using our website to keep everyone updated.”