Union County Approves First Reading of Temporary Workforce Housing Ordinance

The Union County Board of Commissioners approved the first reading of Ordinance 2026-01, a proposed amendment to the county Zoning, Partition, and Subdivision Ordinance that would create a conditional-use pathway for temporary workforce housing. The action was taken during the board’s regular meeting Feb. 18, 2026, and the proposal would revise Articles 12, 13 and 21 of the county code to add the new conditional-use category.

The ordinance is formally titled: "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." The draft materials circulated with the proposal include attachments showing exact revisions by strikeout and underline; those attachments determine whether the county’s new pathway will explicitly allow particular temporary housing forms such as modular units, RV parks or dormitory-style housing.

The proposed change would explicitly list temporary workforce housing in I-1 and I-2 industrial zoning districts, a zoning shift that could open industrial parcels to employer-provided or developer-built temporary accommodations. The ordinance materials note that specifics in the attachments will govern siting, occupancy and other standards for temporary facilities and that those details will determine how flexible the county becomes in permitting modular units, RV parks, dormitory-style housing or other temporary accommodations.

Commissioners Paul Anderes, Matt Scarfo (R. Matthew Scarfo) and Jake Seavert presided over the Feb. 18 proceedings. The board scheduled a second reading for March 4, 2026, at 9:20 a.m. and agreed to leave public comment open to allow further testimony when the ordinance returns for final action. Official county contact information is listed at 1106 K Avenue, La Grande; phone 541-963-1001; fax 541-963-1079; email webmaster@union-county.org.

Public records assembled with the ordinance did not include a published roll-call tally for the Feb. 18 first reading in the materials provided here. A separate public posting elsewhere includes a transcript that references an ordinance numbered 864-2026 and a nine-member board, but those details conflict with Union County’s three-commissioner structure and were not linked to Ordinance 2026-01 in the ordinance packet and county materials reviewed.

The March 4 second reading and remaining attachments will determine whether the ordinance sets limits on duration, occupancy, services or infrastructure for temporary workforce housing — provisions that employers, workers and nearby neighborhoods will be watching closely as the county moves toward potential final adoption.