Union County Commissioners discuss first-in-state temporary workforce housing ordinance
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, February 19th, 2026 in Northeastern Oregon News Northeastern Oregon Top Stories
UNION COUNTY – During a regular commission meeting on Wednesday, February 18, the Union County board of commissioners held the first public hearing on Ordinance 2026-01, titled in full:
In the Matter of an Ordinance Amending the Union County Zoning, Partition, and Subdivision Ordinance to Revise Articles 12, 13, and 21 to Provide Clarification and to Include the Addition of a Temporary Workforce Housing Conditional Use
As the title suggests, the measure, if approved following further readings, would make amendments to articles 12,13, and 21 of the county’s zoning, partition, and subdivision ordinance, in addition to allowing for temporary workforce housing in specific conditional use cases.
According to Union County Planning Director Inga Williams, the modifications to the articles in question largely consist of clearing up language, standardizing language, and removing redundant wording, an example being removing wording from the description of allowed practices in light and heavy industrial zones that is already covered in the dedicated conditional use sections, among other minor changes.
The primary addition to county ordinance, however, would be temporary workforce housing. If approved, the ordinance would allow for the establishment of local temporary workforce housing for light and heavy industrial zones, including commercial, energy, or utility projects. The general intention would be to allow for the temporary influx of workers and contractors during major construction projects, refurbishments, overhauls, expansions, etc.
According to Williams, these temporary housing areas would operate under the following conditions (summarized from meeting discussion):
- Cannot make use of a permanent foundation
- Must maintain minimum sanitation, cleanliness, and housing quality
- Must either connect to public water/septic systems or provide temporary on-site water and septic systems
- Have an on-site manager available for contact in the event of any issues or emergencies.
- The manager would not need to live on-site, only be available for easy contact.
- Provide all parking needed
- Provide all needed fire safety measures.
- Provide financial assurance in the form of 110% of the decommission costs, through bonds or similar measures, that would be returned upon completion.
A two-year permit would be issued for temporary housing beginning at the time of occupation, with two one-year extensions possible. According to discussion, any further extensions to the timeline would need to be re-approved by the planning commission.
Notably, the temporary housing would not need to be located in the project work/industrial zone directly but instead could be located in an adjacent property in the same industrial zone or even be leased from a different property owner. This also means Union County could, in theory, host temporary workforce housing for projects in different counties.
The language of the measure was adapted from Oregon’s own state ordinances on temporary work zone housing, most of which predominately refers to temporary agriculture workforce housing.
During the meeting, Commissioner Matt Scarfo asked if any other counties had passed this specific ordinance related to industrial zones. According to Williams, other counties have passed similar ordinances specifically related to large utilities, and the City of Prineville has passed a similar industrial ordinance, but by and large it would be a first for the state.
Concerns were raised by Commissioner Paul Anderes and Scarfo on how the new ordinance language change could impact the use of wedding venues on industrial or agricultural zone areas. According to Williams, wedding venues are already allowed by the county on ag and forestry zoned areas, but technically prohibited by the state. Some questions were also raised regarding variance.
Commissioners ultimately approved the first reading, with the second reading scheduled for March 4, 2026, at 9:20 a.m. during the next regular meeting. Commissioners agreed to leave public comment open for the second reading.
