Photo CAMAS — A mixed-use development planned near Camas High School could significantly increase the number of so-called “middle housing” units in east Clark County. The Camas Woods development, proposed for a 36-acre site north of Camas High School’s ball fields and tennis courts, would build 118 detached single-family homes; 88 attached townhomes; three multifamily residential buildings containing 72 apartments; and a three-story, mixed-use building with commercial space on the ground level and 16 apartments on the upper levels. Representatives from HSR Capital, the Vancouver developer behind the Camas Woods project, told city staff they hope to start construction in the spring of 2027 and will likely build the project in nine phases over a period of no more than nine years. Camas Woods is one of the first major developments planned for Camas’ North Shore, a 990-acre, mostly undeveloped area north of Lacamas Lake that includes hundreds of acres of city-owned land near the lake slated for use as parks and open space.

In August 2023, following six years of subarea planning, Camas officials approved a North Shore-specific set of zoning and design standards based on the city’s adopted North Shore Vision, which seeks to protect the area’s natural environment and maintain Camas’s small-town feel by clustering uses for a more walkable community, providing a variety of housing options and favoring small businesses, such as restaurants, grocery stores and retail shops. The city of Camas’ environmental review of the project, released Thursday, found Camas Woods is not likely to cause significant adverse impacts. Public comments on the city’s ruling are due by 5 p.m. April 3. Middle housing With its blend of townhomes and apartments, the Camas Woods development could help the city of Camas meet new state regulations aimed at increasing housing diversity and affordability. House Bill 1220, adopted by the Legislature in 2021, requires cities to plan for housing that is affordable for all income levels. House Bill 1110, known as the “middle housing” bill, requires cities to allow for townhomes, duplexes and triplexes in single-family residential zones.

According to Camas Community Development Director Alan Peters, the new legislation “is a significant change to how cities must plan for housing and requires that cities plan for sufficient capacity for all housing needs, including moderate, low, very low and extremely low income, as well as emergency housing and permanent supportive housing.” Clark County’s growth targets for Camas show the city will need to accommodate more than 7,000 new residents, 4,226 housing units and 11,615 jobs by the year 2045 to meet the requirements of the Washington State Growth Management Act. Peters has warned Camas officials that the city “needs a greater variety of housing choices at a range of price points to meet residents’ diverse needs.” Between 2015 and 2024, 70 percent of the city’s housing permits were for detached single-family homes, while just 2 percent were for housing developments considered “middle housing,” according to Peters.

As developers have concentrated on larger, single-family homes in Camas, the city’s housing affordability has suffered. According to the city’s Engage Camas website, median home prices in Camas have increased by nearly 120 percent since 2013. In 2023, the average single-family Camas home price was a little more than $700,000 — nearly $250,000 more than the highest home price considered affordable for “middle income” Camas households that earn between 80 and 100 percent of the annual area median income. If approved, the Camas Woods development would add 292 units to the city’s middle-income housing inventory by 2036.