When Permits Price People Out

Clallam County's growing fee burden

In this Sundays With Seegers, County Commissioner candidate Jake Seegers highlights a pattern many residents may miss: while leaders say housing affordability is the county’s top issue, they continue raising permit, septic, and environmental health fees—adding costs to anyone trying to build or buy. Seegers points out these aren’t isolated increases, but a deliberate strategy of annual hikes plus periodic larger jumps—small enough to avoid backlash, but significant over time. The result: a steady squeeze on affordability that compounds year after year.