LONGVIEW — Woodland might need to add more than 1,000 housing units over the next 20 years to meet its expected population growth — and likely find ways to make them more affordable.
The Woodland City Council reviewed the results of a Housing Action Plan during a workshop at Monday night’s council meeting. Associate planner Melissa Johnston presented the housing data and growth projections for the city.
The plan was funded by a $50,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce. Housing plans like this were spurred on by a state law signed in 2019, which offered incentives for cities to increase urban residential developments by creating Housing Action Plans or updating city code.
Woodland’s housing plan used data from the American Community Survey to project the city’s population will increase to nearly 9,500 residents by 2040. Meeting that growth would mean the city adds around 1,300 housing units over the same time frame.
Woodland’s Community Development Director Travis Goddard said what stuck out to him from the data was the rising number of families renting homes instead of buying them. Nearly 75 percent of Woodland residents could not afford to buy an average-priced home in the city.
“The average family is not able to come up with a bag of cash so they can purchase the home when it’s on the market, whereas the commercial investing industry can,” Goddard said.
According to the Housing Action Plan, a mortgage payment plan to buy the average home in Woodland required a household income of $94,000. The current median household income for residents is around $62,000.
The Woodland City Council is considering changes to the city building code related to the Housing Action Plan to address the housing market. The proposed code updates would set a minimum density for future developments at six units per acre and permit duplexes to be built on corner lots without applying for a conditional use permit.
The council did not take action on the housing plan or code changes during Monday’s meeting. Councilman Benjamin Fredricks expressed skepticism over how much the local government should do to lower the market costs of homes.
“If you want affordable housing, leave the area,” Fredricks said. “For whatever reason, the costs (in Washington) are higher, and I don’t know what’s driving that.”
