The Astoria Planning Commission approved development code amendments Tuesday night designed to remove barriers for new housing construction.

The amendments, which are expected to go before the City Council in September, are in response to recent changes in state law intended to increase housing affordability and availability across Oregon.

Astoria became recognized as a medium-sized city when its population tipped over 10,000, which means it must comply with new rules that include allowing duplexes on residential lots that allow single-family homes. The city must also expand opportunities for lot divisions for middle housing, which enables units in duplexes and triplexes to be sold individually.

To avoid the state code automatically taking effect, the changes must be adopted by the end of the year.

Since most of the city’s buildable land has been developed, the city said the changes would encourage infill. The amendments also incorporate recommendations made in Clatsop County’s 2019 housing study.

During a public hearing on the amendments, Megan Leatherman, the city’s community development director, reviewed adjustments made since the last Planning Commission meeting in June.

“The state legislation is definitely more specific in what we have to do, and we made those changes in the draft that I presented at the last meeting,” she said. “And so where we have a little bit of wiggle room and room for discussion and input from the community and the commissioners is with some of the county housing study components.”

The amendments approved on Tuesday include removing the permit requirement for accessory dwelling units, reducing lot sizes and removing lot coverage requirements to make adding accessory dwelling units more feasible.

A maximum lot size was included as a result of removing lot coverage requirements to prevent lots from being combined to build McMansions. The measure is also intended to encourage higher-density housing. Setbacks would guide the buildable land.

Based on feedback from the business community and developers, Leatherman said the minimum lot size was further reduced.

Planning commissioners were supportive of the changes, but asked city staff to clarify the language around maximum lot size.

Commissioners noted concerns raised by residents about prohibiting homestay lodging in low-density residential areas, and moved to allow them under conditional use.

Currently, homeowners in residential areas can apply for licenses to rent bedrooms in their homes to visitors as long as the homeowners live on-site. An earlier version of the draft amendments prohibited homestay lodging in low-density residential areas and allowed it under conditional use in medium residential areas instead of permitted outright.

“I’m concerned about removing short-term rentals — homestay lodging — from R1 because I don’t see any evidence that that impacts the housing supply,” said Daryl Moore, the president of the Planning Commission. “It is a way for people to generate extra revenue to stay in their home and pay their property taxes or whatever.

“So I don’t see that that impacts the housing supply in any way. All it does is take away opportunity for local residents.”

The amendments would move hotels in commercial zones along the Columbia River and Port of Astoria from being permitted outright to being allowed under conditional use. The change ensures the public has an opportunity to weigh in prior to a building permit being issued.

Multifamily homes, which include three dwellings or more, would be permitted outright in medium- and high-density residential areas instead of conditional. Duplexes will be allowed everywhere single-family homes are allowed.

Cottage clusters, which usually have shared open space, would be permitted outright in residential and commercial zones.

Parking for homes would be calculated by the number of bedrooms, which Leatherman said would reduce parking requirements, but not significantly.