River Rock is a rental project consisting of three duplexes and a single cottage at the north end of Canton Street in John Day.

A new economic report and action plan, commissioned by the Grant County Economic Development Department, points to a shortage of adequate housing in the region as a significant barrier to economic growth.

Data in the report by consulting firm ECONorthwest points to a shrinking population, with housing availability not having significantly increased for remaining or prospective residents, as well as the deteriorating condition of housing stock here — the majority of which is over 40 years old, according to the action plan.

Housing, according to the report, has become increasingly unaffordable to many local residents, with about 28% of Grant County residents being cost-burdened by spending 30% or more of their income on housing — up 20% from 2000.

“The lack of adequate housing presents a barrier to local businesses attracting and hiring new employees to support their growth,” said the report, which underscores the understaffing afflicting many businesses and agencies in Grant County.

The reason for Grant County’s decrease in affordability, according to the report, is that housing costs have soared while incomes have shrunk. Since 2000, household income has decreased by 4%, adjusted for inflation, the report stated. Meanwhile, the median home sales price increased by 49% between 2018 and 2022 and median gross rents rose by 23% between 2010 and 2020, according to the report.

The action plan includes information and data related to seven communities in the county: Canyon City, Mt. Vernon, Prairie City, Long Creek, Dayville, Seneca and Monument. A similar study by the same consulting firm was conducted for the city of John Day in 2019 and presented similar findings relating to demographics and cost challenges.

Public agencies and social service providers are struggling to fill vacancies and pay adequate wages to keep pace with the rising cost of living, according to the study. Limited housing diversity and availability are also contributors to the trend of young people and families with children leaving the county, it states. As young people leave for other regions, they leave behind smaller, older households, and as families with children move out of the county, they are often replaced by retirees, according to the study.

While each city in Grant County has unique challenges, many housing needs and barriers are shared across the county, according to the report.

The regional housing strategy provides a plan for combating the problem and includes several courses of action local leaders can take to address barriers to housing development and improve land availability.

Actions include zoning code revisions and conducting buildable land assessments, in addition to recommendations for the county and the cities within it to use regional collaboration and partnerships to build local capacity and garner the resources needed to support housing.

Tory Stinnett, Grant County’s economic development director, said she plans to discuss the regional housing strategy with municipal leaders throughout the county.

“This is a great tool to help our cities to identify barriers for housing in their communities, and strategies and action items moving forward to mitigate those barriers,” she said.

Hiring difficulties

On the front lines of the issue are the region’s major employers, such as the U.S. Forest Service and Blue Mountain Hospital.

Cam Marlowe, CEO of the Blue Mountain Hospital District, says it’s a difficult situation.

“We’re hit as hard as anybody else is and so for us, we have a situation where we have really good candidates and they would come and meet with us and they would be a good fit for us, but the only reason they don’t end up coming is they can’t find housing,” he said. “If they can find housing, they have a narrow window of time when they’re considering a position. But if they can’t find a place within a week, they get nervous, and many of them withdraw and don’t accept the job offer.”

He also said there’s an issue with a shortage of non-rental housing, which also poses a challenge with hiring permanent staff.

“Not only do we have a hard time with the lack of housing keeping people from coming here, we’ll also hire a traveling doctor or nurse who work in three-month segments and they end up liking the community and liking where they work, but they can’t find long-term housing, so they end up stopping their contractor agreement with us or they end up working with us as a contractor and don’t take the plunge to becoming a full-fledged employee because they can’t find long-term housing,” he said. “It’s difficult hiring people in the first place, but it’s also having a negative impact on converting travelers to permanent staff once they’re already here.”

Ann Niesen, supervisor of the Malheur National Forest, also spoke to the challenge of finding housing for prospective employees. She said the new report captures the housing needs in the county.

“When we hire permanent positions, people are definitely looking for housing and sometimes that may impact their decisions if they can’t find housing in a short amount of time, and it can be discouraging,” she said. “I think we truly have had employees turn down positions because they haven’t been able to find housing.”

Louis Dix, superintendent of the Grant School District, said he had a similar experience when he moved to the area, and new teachers in the district have also struggled with the shortage of housing stock.

“When I moved here last year and accepted a superintendent position, I thought that there would be housing available,” he said. “When my wife and I came to John Day and looked at housing, there were limited options and, due to that, we made the choice to build a home, which we’re really excited about.”

Dix said one of the teachers hired for the 2023-24 school year is still renting while having a difficult time finding a home for family and children.

“I think it’s a real challenge for professional people who’ve got families making the big move and prefer to find a home that’s move-in ready,” he said. “I don’t know if people have left because of it, but I know this last year I had somebody show who was interested in one of our positions that were open and called me about it and called a few days later and said there was no housing available, so they backed out of the spot.”

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office is also facing recruitment issues, with department leaders saying they’ve lost viable applicants because of a lack of affordable housing and low wage levels.

“It’s just concerning when the wages don’t match the housing opportunities,” said Sheriff Todd McKinley. “It’s difficult to get people here.”

Tammy Bremner, executive director of the Grant County Chamber of Commerce, said available rentals are almost nonexistent.

“Cam Marlowe (at Blue Mountain Hospital) has people that want to come to work here and they can’t find a place to live, so a lot of them don’t come because they have no place to live,” she said.

“In the spring, when all of the seasonal people are coming, rentals go fast. What we need are short-term rentals like extended-stay rentals, and there are a couple of Airbnbs that do that, and that works well for traveling medical people.”

Development adding to the housing stock

While employers struggle with the housing shortage in the county, developers say they recognize the issue and have been busy adding to the housing stock.

Iron Triangle is developing infrastructure on the hill above Valley View Drive in John Day for a project called Ironwood 2 — about 15 lots they hope to have ready for sale later this summer, said King Williams, a contract manager for Iron Triangle. Phase 3 of Ironwood, just below Valley View Drive, will add another 17 to 18 lots to the mix within the next two years. Another project called Iron Ridge, on the south side of the John Day Golf Club, aims to add another 10 lots sometime between 2024 and 2025, Williams said.

“Iron Triangle is developing the infrastructure and the lots, and the (lot) purchasers will build their own homes,” he said.

“We’ve understood there’s a shortage of housing in the county, and (Iron Triangle owner) Russ (Young) has been working to help alleviate that.”

The company is also building apartment units.

Sunrise Construction Specialties owner Bruce Ward, known for the steel-framed homes he builds, is also adding to the housing mix as a developer. Last year, he purchased a 31-acre subdivision with 43 buildable lots that was started 20 years ago but stagnated for well over a decade following the construction of a small number of homes.

So far, he said, he’s sold about 15 lots, with two more pending sales that are close to finalizing. He’s built three homes so far on three lots, with another home set to start construction within the next month.

He said there are now about 26 lots available for sale at Canyon Mountain Heights. The lots range in size between 8,000 and 20,000 square feet. The lot prices range between $25,000 and $75,000, depending on size and location.

“There’s a huge shortage of new construction, and I believe there’s a shortage of existing homes and rentals,” Ward said.

Sally Knowles is both a developer with her John Day-based company Sally Knowles Property and a real estate agent with Duke Warner Realty in Dayville. In the past five years, Knowles developed three duplexes and a cottage in John Day at the end of Canton Street near the river, and she is now building five 1,800- to 1,850 square-foot single-family homes in Prairie City on Johnson Avenue.

The first two homes in Prairie are expected to be completed in September and October, and Knowles hopes to get the foundations down for the other three before winter with the entire project to be finished in late 2024 or early 2025.

“I get calls (about housing availability) through (the) real estate company and also on a personal level because of my rental properties,” Knowles said. “I get them from people moving to the community and local employers looking for people to hire. Everyone is working hard to try to find housing so they can bring people in to fill their job needs. … That’s why my business is rentals and trying to build homes to sell to people that want to stay in the community.”