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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Saintedw@aol.com
[mailto:Saintedw@aol.com] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, January 16, 2007
1:23 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> rod@sage1.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Housing Crisis</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Rod:</span></font><font color=black><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Would you please send the following
article to the CAPR announce list and ask them to send to me any facts,
statistics, perspectives, ideas, feelings, observations, etc. on the topic so I
can get the maximum input from others before I wrap up an article I am
writing. I would like to send it out this week. Thank you.</span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Edwina Johnston</span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><a href="mailto:Saintedw@aol.com">Saintedw@aol.com</a></span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>_____________________________________________________________________</span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Friday, January 12, 2007 - Page updated
at 12:00 AM<a
href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/EMailStory.pl?document_id=2003520855&zsection_id=268883724&slug=lambert12&date=20070112">
</a>G<span style='background:white'>uest columnists</span></span></font><font
size=6 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black;background:white'><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Action needed to avert crisis as growth,
affordable housing collide</span></b></span></font><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;
background:white'><br>
<br>
By Kathy Lambert and Russell Hokanson<br>
Special to The Times<a href="javascript:ChangeImage('-');"> </a></span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;background:white'>A quiet crisis of
housing affordability is growing in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. Despite our
expanding economy and record housing sales, too many middle- and lower-income
families cannot find housing they can afford, and housing prices continue to
increase.<br>
<br>
Consider a few statistics:<br>
<br>
• The median price of a single-family home rose by 31 percent in the past two
years, from $324,000 in 2004 to $425,000 in October 2006.<br>
<br>
• Only 2.4 percent of single-family homes for sale in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
are affordable for families of median income here ($65,940 projected for 2006).<br>
<br>
• For the 12 months that ended in June, the <st1:City w:st="on">Seattle</st1:City>
area alone added more than 65,000 jobs, but only 10,000 new housing units were
built in all of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<br>
<br>
• Nearly one-third of homeowners and almost half of renters in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
are paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing, which is the
federally recognized threshold for affordable housing.<br>
<br>
• In 2005, the tri-county King-Pierce-Snohomish area registered a net loss of
1,500 apartment units, largely due to condominium conversions, underscoring the
need for more rental and for-sale housing.<br>
<br>
• Earlier in 2006, the King County Housing Authority received nearly 12,000
applications for rental assistance in just two weeks.<br>
<br>
Last May, a group of industry professionals met to define the scope and causes
of the affordable-housing crisis, and to brainstorm some solutions. As the
discussion progressed, one issue kept coming up again and again. In <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>,
the state Growth Management Act of 1993 has had the greatest impact on the
availability and affordability of housing.<br>
<br>
Just last November, a task force of the state Affordable Housing Advisory Board
— convened by Gov. Christine Gregoire — called for changes in state law that
will help meet affordable housing goals.<br>
<br>
It is time to fully implement the balance directed by the Growth Management
Act. Housing production must catch up with population and job growth while also
protecting our natural resources and open space. In order to ensure that
affordable housing can be built for all price ranges, we urge the state
Legislature to take action on the following recommendations:<br>
<br>
• In order to make realistic plans, growth projections must be based on job
growth as well as population growth. Employment numbers must be factored into
growth projections. <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType> should be able to house all of its employees
instead of relying on adjacent counties such as Pierce, Thurston, Kitsap,
Snohomish and <st1:place w:st="on">Skagit</st1:place> to house our new workers.<br>
<br>
• Comprehensive land-use plans must be more flexible to respond to changing
conditions. When a large new employer opens for business, the housing has to be
there for the employees. As the baby boomers age and retire, homes that are
closer to health services and accessible at ground level will be more in
demand. Currently, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> allows zoning to
be revised only once every four years, and that can leave development of
housing far behind the increasing demand.<br>
<br>
• To better meet changing needs, statistics for jobs and housing should be
reported annually for every jurisdiction. Telling every city to plan for a
certain percentage of growth in the next 10 years does not address the vastly
different job-growth rates in different communities. Workers then are forced to
live where the houses are, which may be 20 or 30 or more miles away from their
jobs. This distance between jobs and the housing that workers can afford
overburdens our transportation infrastructure.<br>
<br>
• The "Buildable Lands Report" that the state requires the county to
issue every five years should reflect real conditions. For instance, urban land
that is zoned for high density, but does not yet have infrastructure serving
it, should not be considered the same as vacant, accessible land. Land where
development is restricted by critical areas, steep slopes or transportation
concurrency limits should be listed as "potentially" buildable
instead of available. Failure to account for land-use restrictions creates a
falsely optimistic picture of land available for housing.<br>
<br>
• In addition, the state should fund the production and enhancement of the
"Buildable Lands Report," an unfunded mandate that currently must be
covered by the county general fund.<br>
<br>
• The Growth Management Act should be modified to prohibit new county land-use
laws from creating a net loss of housing capacity.<br>
<br>
• Finally, the state should undertake a long-term effort to study how growth
management affects housing affordability, and recommend changes that support
affordability.<br>
<br>
Here is one more statistic: Half of the growth in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
comes from our own children. Without taking significant action now to make
housing available and affordable, our children may have nowhere affordable to
live.<br>
<br>
Metropolitan King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Redmond</st1:place></st1:City> serves as the council's
human-services policy chairwoman. </span></font><font color=black><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;background:white'>Russell Hokanson is CEO
of the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors. <br>
<br>
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company</span></font><font color=black><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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