Four cities in west Umatilla County have a lot in common, geographically and demographically. However, residents typically don’t define themselves as members of the Greater West Umatilla County region. Rather, they define themselves as residents of one of the four cities, Echo, Stanfield, Umatilla and Hermiston.
Tamra Mabbott, community development director for the city of Umatilla, said when it comes to livability and economic development, the region has even more in common with a cohort of employees in the major industries such as agriculture, food processing, warehousing, shipping and more recently data centers.
“In this regard residents in the West Umatilla County are very transportable, working in and around all west Umatilla County and north Morrow County,” Mabbott said in press release.
Last spring, representatives of the cities of Umatilla, Hermiston, Echo and Stanfield talked about housing needs, specifically workforce housing, and decided to partner on a state grant application. Hermiston, however, opted out of the state grant program since it has already completed a buildable lands inventory and housing analysis in 2017.
Umatilla, Echo and Stanfield were awarded a grant from the state Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) to develop their own housing needs analysis. The kickoff meeting with the state and consultant was held Thursday, Dec. 13 in Echo. Over the next several months, city staff and planners from Angelo Planning Group will produce an inventory of buildable lands and a residential lands needs analysis. The effort will conclude with a comprehensive list of recommendations for accommodating needed housing in each of the three cities.
Over the coming months, two open house events will be held as well as outreach meetings within each city. Mabbott said more information about the events will be made available in January.
