A housing style proposed by Joanee Blackler Equipment Consulting.
Containers like these are proposed for workforce housing.
Meeting workforce housing needs may take a turn to containerized housing.
Layout of a living container proposed to meet workforce housing needs.
A housing style proposed by Joanee Blackler Equipment Consulting.
Containers like these are proposed for workforce housing.
Meeting workforce housing needs may take a turn to containerized housing.
Layout of a living container proposed to meet workforce housing needs.
What will workforce housing look like in Seaside in the future?
The Seaside Housing Task Force, an ongoing committee chaired by City Councilor Steve Wright, met Monday with Joanne Blackler, of Joanee Blackler Equipment Consulting LLC, based in Madras.
She and her father, Bill Blackler, appeared before the task force on Monday with a proposal for housing containers similar to those in use at work sites outside the U.S.
They may be of use in communities in the Northwest, especially areas with a large population of seasonal, agricultural cannery or logging workers.
“It’s a simple container concept, with quick transport and installation on-site,” Joanne Blackler said. “If you have budget constraints, this may be your way to go especially with the price of lumber nowadays and a timely manner. It’s a lot faster than having anything built nowadays.”
Delivery takes two to three months.
The containers can be set directly on the ground or on cement blocks, she said. Footings are available to raise them off the ground. The containers are more durable than an RV, with its 20-year expected life.
Inside is “plug-and-play,” with lighting, electrical and plumbing. ‘We could do commissary kitchens or little kitchenettes in them as well,” she said.
These originally were designed and built to serve the oil and mineral exploration industry in South America, Bill Blackler said.
“The term I like to use they’re they’re built like ‘a prison toilet,’’ he said.
“They’re tough, as opposed to a tiny home or RV. You’re going to get something that lasts significantly longer, that is a better investment for your money in that regard.’’
The containers can be delivered empty or fully furnished. A 40-foot container can offer 310 square feet, she said. Costs begin at $80,000 for a 20-foot container, with $9,500 added for shipping. Forty-foot units start at $9,600. Modifications could bring down that price, and units may be available at a multiple discount.
It’s a concept that we’re not really used to here in the U.S.,” Wright said. “You’re trying to get on the ground floor getting this going. I think it’s definitely an interesting idea. Particularly because you can do it so fast with everything else nowadays.”
Whether Seaside zoning would accommodate the unvits remains an open question, Jeff Flory, the active planning director said.
“It’s different from a manufactured home,” Flory said. “It’s different from an RV and different from a stick-frame house. First we would need to figure out how to classify these and what building codes would be allowed by the state of Oregon to set these up as permanent dwellings you could set up on a property. ... What it would look like, I don’t know.”
Revisions to the city’s comprehensive plan may be necessary to take advantage of options like this, Wright said.
While the containers may not be the city’s answer, Wright also presented potential modular solutions like those elsewhere.
“For us in particular in Seaside the biggest issue is where on how much space it’s going to take because we just don’t have much land, period,” Wright said. “We just need to find the owners of the places that do have it and figure out where we go.”
In late May, the county will convene elected officials and planning directors to talk about housing, Wright said.
“There’s lots of us around that want to do something about housing,” Wright said. “No matter what it is, I think every idea is worth talking about.”
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