Josephine County, Ore. — A follow-up to a story NBC5 News first brought you earlier this month. Josephine County is working to amend a rural land development code. The public meeting took several hours Wednesday morning. Eventually, Josephine County commissioners voted to approve the ordinance, with some housing updates.
The current code only allows one house on a single property. That means no tents and no granny flats. This amendment, would allow for those units and more. The whole idea is to address the housing crisis, while also creating safer living conditions for Josephine County residents. County commissioner Lily Morgan said a lot of work and public input went into the decision, adding there were more than 40 pages of updates.
“To provide dwellings that are actually safer for residents to live in and to address that people have a tendency to want to take care of their loved ones,” Morgan said.
Commissioner Morgan goes on to say while the current code allows people to care for their loved ones in times of need – whether due to illness or old age – it doesn’t always allow the accessibility. The approved amendment from this morning allows people to create more space on their property for ADA requirements or to make room for a caregiver.
The amendment was approved Wednesday morning. Under Josephine County law, any amendment will take 90 days to go into effect.
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