A plan to rezone land north of the former high school for housing or social services has run into a snag.

In April, Clatsop County transferred two surplus properties north of the former high school to the city intended for housing, child care and social services. If rezoned for residential use, the properties, a combined 1.85 acres, could result in as many as 24 units.

But state law prohibits rezoning for housing in the tsunami inundation zone. The development of the property is constrained by land use regulations based on statewide land use planning goals relating to natural disasters and hazards.

At an Oct. 18 workshop, City Council and Planning Commission members considered ways to meet the need, including an urban growth boundary expansion to add to the city’s buildable lands inventory and updates to the city’s comprehensive plan, which is headed for review.

Originally adopted in 1983, a plan revision could provide justification for an urban growth boundary expansion or rezoning and avoid decisions being overturned on appeal, City Planner Jeff Flory said.

A request for a quote from consultants to update the plan will go out in December, Flory said. The contract could be awarded in January and a revision would begin in the spring.

Housing is the “No. 1 concern for our community,” City Manager Spencer Kyle said at the meeting.

In addition to an update to the comprehensive plan, the city could work with local representatives, coastal communities and the League of Oregon Cities to get changes at the state level to resolve competing rules.

“That seems like a long shot,” Kyle said. “But that’s something we should be considering.”

Seaside has very little buildable land left for individual or multifamily housing, Mayor Jay Barber said. “It’s making the cost of any left buildable land sky-high so it isn’t eligible for workforce or affordable housing at all.”

The solution to increasing Seaside’s housing inventory could come with guidance from state legislators, Barber said.

“We have to develop relationships with them, so that they really understand where we’re coming from, and we understand where they’re coming from — and work together to achieve common goals,” he said.