Community Development reports faster building‑permit turnaround, staffing gaps and a 2026 planning update deadline

Wallowa County Community Development Director Lauren Prentiss told commissioners on Jan. 6 that building‑permit reviews continue to move more quickly, with an average single‑review turnaround of about six days. She said that figure helps the county meet current code deadlines and that the department has prioritized building permit reviews to reduce private‑sector delays.

Prentiss reported roughly 17 open permits at a typical time and that the department issued about 950 building and fire permits for 2024, generating roughly $950,000 in revenue. She said the department is operating with staffing gaps: an associate planner vacancy, an extended vacancy in a second planner line and an open building‑inspector vacancy. She told commissioners she has a viable candidate for an associate‑planner role and recommended the board consider a hiring‑freeze exception because permit workload and statutory review deadlines make timely staffing important.

On long‑range planning, Prentiss said the county must complete its periodic comprehensive‑plan update and a newly required climate resilience element by June 30, 2026. Staff have secured Department of Commerce grant funding for portions of the update and are scoping consultant work with Kimley‑Horn to support population projections, land‑capacity analysis, allocation to cities and the climate‑resilience element. The department expects to present a scope, timeline and budget for the periodic update to the planning commission and the board in January.

Prentiss also briefed the board on a large Rockwell project, which had submitted an updated traffic‑impact analysis after work with the Washington State Department of Transportation; she said staff anticipate issuing a SEPA threshold determination and that grading permits could follow if final plans are ready.

The board did not take action on planning items but directed staff to return with any needed follow‑up and to pursue the associate‑planner candidate as permitted under the hiring‑freeze discussion.