In a visit to Astoria, Gov. Tina Kotek emphasized a commitment to build more housing and reduce homelessness on the North Coast and across Oregon.

For the past several years, Clatsop County has had among the highest per-capita rates of homelessness in the state. Monday’s visit served as an opportunity to see some of the local successes in tackling the issue. The Democrat toured the Columbia Inn and the Owens-Adair Apartments, projects that emerged with the help of efforts at the state level.

The Columbia Inn, a shelter on Marine Drive run by Clatsop Community Action for individuals and families facing homelessness, was acquired by the county last year through the state’s Project Turnkey 2.0. The initiative, which Kotek helped launch when she served as state House speaker, has provided grant funding to turn vacant hotels and motels into shelters.

The Owens-Adair Apartments offer 46 units to low-income seniors and people with disabilities near downtown. Now, the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority is looking to expand that work with the Owens II, a development next door that would roughly double the available units.

Over the past few years, plans for the Owens II have been a source of debate and neighborhood opposition. Hsu-Feng Andy Shaw, the housing authority’s executive director, said the project faced geotechnical concerns that ultimately led them to scrap plans for an underground parking garage. Without the help of Senate Bill 1537, which Kotek backed during the last legislative session with a focus on prioritizing affordable housing, the project likely wouldn’t have gotten a grading and erosion control permit.

Despite the efforts on the state level, Kotek attributed the progress in Clatsop County to relationship-driven outreach and collaborative partnerships between local governments, law enforcement and social services agencies. She noted the transformation she’s seen since signing an emergency order on homelessness on her first day in office, when the county had zero year-round shelter beds.

Clatsop County was not initially part of the governor’s emergency declaration, but was added later.

“That is an incredible start,” Kotek said. “That is an incredible amount of work to be done in the last 24 months — less than 24 months — and that’s because of the hard work here in the community.”

But that work hasn’t come without challenges. Kotek’s visit came just days after Oregon Housing and Community Services released a first-of-its-kind report on housing in Oregon, indicating that demand continues to outpace supply, costs continue to exceed wage increases and the state remains at the top of the list for unsheltered homelessness in the nation among families with children.

That need is certainly a reality in Clatsop County — Shaw said the waitlist for the Owens-Adair Apartments is roughly 300 people.

“To hear about the waitlist for this facility for our older citizens here in Clatsop County needing this type of housing, it’s pretty shocking,” Kotek said.

Kotek said she sees unique challenges for housing on the North Coast, including a lack of available land. Coastal communities also have a high number of second homes that often don’t fall into the category of workforce or affordable housing.

Infrastructure also poses a challenge.

“We have a lot of communities around the state, regardless of housing, (that) need new water and sewer,” Kotek said. “I’m going to invest as much as I can for water and sewer projects that are going to bring in new housing or maintain existing housing, because that has to be the priority right now.”

Kotek highlighted the recent work she’s done with the state Legislature to allocate roughly $100 million toward water and sewer infrastructure to help spur housing development. She added that she sees a path forward by prioritizing affordable and workforce housing for families around the state.

As the governor looks to release her budget in December, she said the focus will be on maintaining and sustaining the commitments the state has already made to communities working to provide a continuum of care to people facing homelessness. Looking to the upcoming legislative session, she has a similar focus.

“My message to Legislature is going to be, let’s build on the progress we have and stay the course on the things we know that are working, in that case, housing, homelessness, behavioral health, our education initiatives,” Kotek said. “I don’t think we need to be flashy. We just need to be consistent, and I think right now that’s what we’re going to need to see in our budget.”

As she continues to navigate housing and homelessness across the state, Kotek said the issue won’t be a quick fix.

“The job’s not done,” the governor said. “We’re building a statewide system that is a bare minimum to help folks who are unsheltered get into housing, and we have to then maintain that and pivot to putting more into production. This is a multiyear issue. It’s not going to get solved overnight, so we’re going to continue to push.”