HDC Members: Help set our policy priorities for 2019

Each year HDC staff seek policy ideas from members for consideration in our annual Policy Priorities, beginning with an online survey. Staff at all member organizations are encouraged to use this survey to share what you would like the HDC Board to consider including in our 2019 Policy Priorities.

The deadline to submit a response to the survey is Friday, July 13th at 5 pm. If you would prefer, you may also share ideas over the phone or in person by contacting Sara Wamsley. We’ll continue to reach out in the coming weeks with other ways to engage in the policy setting process.

Other developments…

• Seattle’s ‘Head Tax’ may be headed for repeal tomorrow. Council President Bruce Harrell announced this morning that in a special meeting tomorrow, he will sponsor legislation to repeal the city’s employee hours tax less. Mayor Durkan and six other councilmembers also signaled their support in the statement. Councilmember Mosqueda said she could not support a repeal without a replacement.
• Kent caps impact fees on residential development. Last Tuesday, the Kent City Council capped impact fees to about $8.4k per apartment and $8.2k per single family house, rejecting a proposal from Federal Way Public Schools that would have placed the impact fee at over $20k per apartment.
• Capitol Hill Station Groundbreaking next Tuesday: Once completed, the development will include 428 new homes, 42% of which will be affordable to households at or below 30%, 50%, and 60% AMI.
• New Out of Reach report to be released Wednesday. The NLIHC’s annual report showing the housing wagefor each state will be released this Wednesday, June 13th at 10 am EST. The current housing wage for King County? $29.69.
• Mary’s Place has a new place in Burien: The new location will sleep about 200 people and offer supportive programming.
• Renton City Council approved a moratorium on townhomes in the city’s commercial arterial zone. “There’s a need for town homes in the city. We just need to identify where is the appropriate location,” one city staff member said.
• Rent in Renton up 2.2% from last year and has increased for four months straight, reports the Renton Reporter.
• Unique opportunity for Bellevue advocates: The Bellevue Essentials program for emerging community leaders to learn about various public and community development processes. Apply to be part of the 2018 class by August 1st.
• Redmond’s first budget hearing of the season coming up 6/19. HDC will be there to urge continued support for the Eastside Housing Trust Fund. Redmond advocates- join us! 
• Seattle’s proposed city-wide Mandatory Housing Affordability program is inching closer to implementation after a hearings examiner ruled largely in city’s favor, but much remains before council can vote.
• Seattle’s ADU/DADU Draft EIS Comment Period Open: The City is accepting comments on its Accessory Dwelling Unit Draft EIS until June 25th.
• 35% of parking spaces within existing apartment buildings go unused, but West Seattle residents are feeling frustrated by perceived lack of parking planning for new housing developments.
• “Tenants don’t know about their right to challenge rent hikes in those situations.” A couple living in South Park shared their story about living in substandard housing… and still being priced out.
• Washington Home Ownership Resource Center hosts State Homeownership Convening on June 13th in Tukwila: Registration is now open for the third annual statewide homeownership convening!

Mandatory Housing Affordability: Final in-district public hearing on Tuesday

With four hearings down, we’re in the homestretch for public hearings on Seattle’s Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program. District 1 is next!

Join us tomorrow, Tuesday, June 5th at 6 pm at the Chief Sealth International High School Auditorium. Lend your voice to ensure that new development in Seattle includes homes that are affordable.

RSVP Here
(if you’d like talking points, let us know!)

or

Find My District

MHA is so close to the finish line thanks to the hard work and support of dedicated advocates like you. Thank you for helping ensure that when new development comes to your neighborhood, it includes affordable homes.

Other developments…

• More than 12,000 people were counted as homeless during this year’s point-in-time count, a 4% increase over last year. For the first time, over half of those counted were in tents, vehicles, or other places besides shelter, with the biggest increase vehicle residency. People of color and LGBTQ+ communities continue to be disproportionately represented among those counted, and this year organizations representing Native Americans believe they were undercounted. It’s not all bad news, reports KUOW. Homelessness declined among veterans and families, youth homelessness held steady.
• Beyond numbers, hear the voices of people who have experienced homelessness and those working to end it with Project Homeless this Thursday night.
• Christmas in July for Capitol Hill Station: construction will soon begin on the transit-oriented development above light rail which will include 176 affordable homes.
• Pitching Safeco Field maintenance and affordable housing against one another. King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove spoke in favor of using hotel-motel lodging tax dollars to fund affordable housing instead of field maintenance.
• The Difference a Home Makes: Five HDC members hosted a community dialogue to foster understanding between their clients with other community members during Affordable Housing Week. Good work, Attain Housing, Congregations for the Homeless, Imagine Housing, Lifewire, and the Sophia Way!
• Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced a proposal for 500 new shelter beds last week. The proposal includes funding for both new and expanded shelters from a sale of publicly-owned land.
• Rent in Kent up 4.3% from last year and has increased for seven months straight, reports the Kent Reporter.
• 19 months and counting: local home prices continue to lead the nation. Home prices in the Seattle-Metro area increased 13% in the time from March 2017-March 2018, exactly double the national index.
• Both sides of the head tax debate are hitting the streets as opponents gather signatures for a possible November referendum.
  
• “The energy level for backyard cottages seems to be growing” but is Seattle ready to take ADUs & and DADUs mainstream? The City is accepting comments on its Accessory Dwelling Unit Draft EIS until June 25th.
• Affordable housing tops the list of needed amenities, poll of local immigrants reveals.
• Impact fee discussion back on in South King County cities. Kent City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to adopt a cap on impact fees charged to residential developers within the city limits.
• Naloxone Training for Case Managers and Housing Providers 6/5: The Coalition on Homelessness and King County Department of Community and Health Services host this free training in Kent. Register here.
• LGBTQ Allyship is accepting applications to be a part of the 2018 Housing Justice Institute! The deadline to submit an application is June 7th at midnight.
• Washington Home Ownership Resource Center hosts State Homeownership Convening on June 13th in Tukwila: Registration is now open for the third annual statewide homeownership convening!

Putting a bow on #AHW2018

Last week hundreds of community members came together at dozens of events across the county in support of safe, healthy, affordable homes for all as part of our third annual Affordable Housing Week! Check out #AHW2018 and #Homes4AllKC for a rundown, and email your city council to thank them for recognizing the week and encourage them to stay engaged.

#AHW2018 Headlines:

• Council recognizes challenges and need for affordable housing
• Seattle-area universities and colleges declare Affordable Housing Week
• Kirkland proclaims Affordable Housing Week

..and finally, our #AHW2018 Theme Song Contest Winner (for the second year in a row) Weber Thompson! Their in-house band “Two Turntables and a Micro House” brought the heat once again with “Imagine Our City.” Come for the tunes, stay for Construction Spice.

Thanks to everyone who participated in Affordable Housing Week! We’ll see you again next year.

Other developments…

• New “head tax” puts Seattle in the national spotlight. Following Council’s unanimous vote Monday to enact an employee hours tax, folks around the sound and the rest of the country had a lot to say. This week, local outlets have turned speculative, with Seattle Times, KUOW, and Capitol Hill Blog wondering what’s next. Meanwhile, opposition aims for a November referendum.
• “Zoning is the whole game when it comes to housing,” Maybe not the whole game, but either way, Mike Rosenberg takes a look at Seattle’s single family zoning and finds that 88% of new growth has been absorbed by 18% of its zoned residential land area.
• Home is a parking spot for thousands in King County. South Seattle Emerald explores what life feels like for people living in their vehicles.
• How a 2013 motel raid inspired a vision for new affordable homes in Tukwila: KUOW chats with Mohammed Jama about the Abu Bakr mosque’s plans to turn an old motel into new community asset.
• King County’s homeless population has grown 11.5% since 2017, but funding has increased by less than 2.5% even as public and non-profit agencies move more households out of homelessness. This and more from the McKinsey report, which is partially behind a paywall.
• An estimated 300 new affordable homes coming to Issaquah after Council approves changes to inclusionary zoning code.  Under the new policy, 15% of new units must be affordable to households earning 70% of AMI, or a developer can build fewer units with deeper levels of affordability.
• “The crisis of housing and the cost of housing has moved from a social issue to one of core economic competitiveness,” Bellevue Mayor Chelminiak said at the State of the City meeting. 
• King County taxpayers are paying more to add lanes to freeways into Bellevue than they would to put affordable housing within Bellevue city limits, according to KCHA executive director Stephen Norman.
• ADU: What’s it 2 U? The City of Seattle is accepting comments on its Accessory Dwelling Unit Draft EIS.
• “We’re moving outside the box.” King County Housing Authority’s work acquiring properties and leveraging housing choice vouchers to house more people was featured in Slate.
• New tool in the works to identify publicly-owned land suitable for affordable housing development. Enterprise Community Partners’ Home & Hope tool will map all the public land in King County.
• Naloxone Training for Case Managers and Housing Providers 6/5: The Coalition on Homelessness and King County Department of Community and Health Services host this free training in Kent. Register here.
• Affordable developments face land construction costs just like any other building, KING 5 reports. Susan Boyd of Bellwether Housing sums it up her conversation with the news outlet; “Lots of money, land, and political capital are needed to build more.”
• Washington Home Ownership Resource Center hosts State Homeownership Convening on June 13th in Tukwila: Registration is now open for the third annual statewide homeownership convening!

Affordable Housing Week kicks off TODAY at noon!

Join the Kick-off!        View Event Calendar

Ensuring everyone in our region has a safe, healthy, and affordable home takes each and every one of us. Affordable Housing Week is a time to celebrate what we have accomplished together and what’s ahead. Join us Monday to kick off our third annual rally and march for #Homes4AllKC!

RALLY & MARCH TO KING COUNTY COUNCIL
12-1:30 pm at SEIU 775,  215 Columbia Street
featuring Rep. Nicole Macri, Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna, and King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, who will lead us on the short march to King County Council Chambers

KING COUNTY COUNCIL PROCLAMATION
1:30-2 pm King County Council Chambers, 516 Third Avenue
Join us in accepting the King County Council’s Affordable Housing Week proclamation!

No matter who you are or where you live in King County, there is something you can do for housing affordability in your neighborhood. Learn about what you can do and share ideas with others during an event-filled week! See the full calendar here.

Other developments…

• All eyes on Seattle City Hall as council considers an employee hours tax. Last Friday, the council finance committee voted 5-4 to advance a $75 million ‘head tax’ to the full council, and against a smaller proposal from Mayor Durkan. Council will vote this afternoon on the proposal
• $360-410 million per year. That’s what it would take to end homelessness in King County at its current levels, according to a new report from McKinsey. It’s also a far greater number than current spending. The report calls for 85% of the extra funding to be investments in affordable housing.
• “I’d like to live somewhere where I don’t have to have roommates.” Q13 covered last week’s public hearing in District 2 on Mandatory Housing Affordability. The MHA Program is in only six neighborhoods so far, and KUOW offered an early check-in.
• Mother’s Day-feel good story: Two Men and a Truck’s “Movers for Moms” campaign benefits The Sophia Way.
• As rents move north, people and businesses go south.  Rising costs are coming to historically black Tacoma neighborhoods, like Hilltop, as Seattle restaurants, along with former Seattle residents, are increasingly moving to south.
• Twin problems of high cost of living and homelessness top PSRC poll of region worst problems.
• Scarcity of affordable housing tripping up regional homelessness response, according to a report from the King County Auditor’s Office.
• Today a Sears Auto Parts, tomorrow, mixed-income housing. Redmond’s Seritage development will include affordable homes and, if city council gets their way, some affordable commercial space, too.
• New affordable housing coming to Roxy Cinema site in Renton, the developer will use the multi-family tax-exemption to build affordability into their transit-oriented development.
• Washington Home Ownership Resource Center Forum set for June 13th in Tukwila: Registration is now open for the third annual statewide homeownership convening!

Affordable Housing Week 2018 kicks off in just one week!

Join Rep. Nicole Macri and Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna as we kick-off our third annual Affordable Housing Week! Register to attend the kick-off on Monday, May 14th at noon at Seattle City Hall. Following a brief kick-off rally, we’ll march down the street to accept the King County Council’s proclamation.

No matter who you are or where you live in King County, there is something you can do for housing affordability in your neighborhood. Learn about what you can do and share ideas with others during an event-filled week! See the full calendar here.

#AHW2018 Theme Song Contest! 

If the thought of safe, healthy, affordable homes for all makes your heart sing, let the world know! Send us a video of you or your team breaking it down for affordable homes by Thursday, May 10th. We’ll announce the winner at our kick off rally on May 14th.

For inspiration, check out last year’s winner Weber Thompson performing their instant classic “Rad Row House.”

Other developments…

• Seattle Advocates: Three more public hearings on MHA remain! D2, you’re up next. Show up to ensure new growth in Seattle includes affordable homes.
• It’s National Call-in Day: Urge Congress to fully invest in Affordable Housing Programs! Join The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual Our Homes, Our Voices campaign by calling your congressional representatives about federal affordable housing investments today. View a sample script and dial (202) 224-3121.
• Every talking head is talking about the head tax As Amazon narrows its highly publicized search for HQ2, this week all eyes are on Seattle. The company halted a downtown project pending next week’s vote on an employee hours tax. Choice words from the headlines include “showdown,” “hardball,” “fury,” “fury” again, and “Seattle nice died.” Looking for an explainer? The Seattle Times examines how we got here, and Geekwire Podcasts audio-friendly version.
• Sound Transit’s Board is on board for affordability and equity around the county the agency codified internal language to meet 2015 direction from the Legislature. The policies prioritize surplus land for affordable housing, like this.
• Local leaders should be courageous when tackling homelessness and housing affordability, new research out of Seattle University School of Law says.
• Amidst soaring costs of living, case workers are ‘a paycheck away from being homeless themselves.’ Local agencies grappling with high turnover get a sympathetic ear from some Seattle City Councilmembers.
• King County & Seattle sign MOU to restructure regional homelessness response. The County and Seattle will develop recommendations on how to improve the governance structure by December 1st.
• Rainier Beach ready for REDI: Mt. Baker Housing announced plans for new affordable homes in the first Seattle project funded through Enterprise Community Partners’ REDI Fund.
• Affordable Housing a talking point for Eastside legislators at East King County Chamber of Commerce event. Representatives from every eastside district were present with ideas ranging from upzones to condominium legislation.
• Auburn is exploring incentivizing affordability or ‘attainability,’ as Mayor Backus calls it.
• Nearly 10,000 households live in mobile homes around the county, all of them at risk for redevelopment, says KCHA Executive Director Stephen Norman.
• 133 new affordable homes opened in the U-District today! Bellwether Housing held the grand opening ceremony for Arbora Court this morning.

Our Homes, Our Voices National Housing Week of Action kicks off May 1

Affordable housing advocates around the country will be calling for increased investments in affordable housing and community development May 1st – 8th as part of the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action. This year, NLIHC and advocates are urging congress to reject HUD’s proposal to increase rent burdens and impose work requirements on those of us with the lowest incomes.

You can join in to their National Call-in Day on May 7th, tweetstorm on May 8th, and by signing their letter to Congress.

#AHW2018 Theme Song Contest! 

If the thought of safe, healthy, affordable homes for all makes your heart sing, let the world know! Send us a video of you or your team breaking it down for affordable homes by Thursday, May 10th. We’ll announce the winner at our kick off rally on May 14th.

For inspiration, check out last year’s winner Weber Thompson performing their instant classic “Rad Row House.”

Other developments…

• This Thursday: Implementing Equity in Self, Staff, and Sector Staff at every level are invited to join HDC’s Recruiting Diversity Task Force on Thursday, May 3 from 9 am-12 pm at the Centilia Cultural Center for the Implementing Equity in Self, Staff, and Sector to share in a facilitated dialogue and to be in a gracious space. Register here.
• DON of a new era?​ Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan shook up the Department of Neighborhoods Friday. Current Director Kathy Nyland will shift to a senior advisory role in Parks effective 5/16. Taking Nyland’s place as acting director will be Andrés Mantilla. Meanwhile at HSD, concerns about oversight amidst homelessness efforts.
• A shelter for women and families on the Eastside is scheduled to break ground in 2019, literally and figuratively. The 24/7 shelter will be the first of its kind in East King County.
• “This is what homelessness looks like for my mom,” thousands of neighbors around King County live in their vehicles, Melody Clark’s mother was one.
• Rebooting the reboot? Amidst One Table conversations, All Home considers new ways, and potentially new structures, to coordinate homelessness responses around the county.
• Olympia’s approach to Seattle’s homelessness crisis is to focus on land & other long-term resources Speaker Chopp told the Capitol Hill Community Council last week.
• Eight finalists have been selected for Kent’s vacant council position.
• “Generational Friction” and other tensions in Seattle’s zoning debate got national spotlight in Politico last week.
• Redmond City councilmembers aren’t overlooking Overlake development, urging staff and one another to explore ways to lead on both housing and commercial affordability.
• Seattle Advocates: Three more public hearings on MHA remain! D2, you’re up next. Show up to ensure new growth in Seattle includes affordable homes.
• Join Rep. Macri and Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna at our Affordable Housing Week KICK OFF Rally May 14th! Register here.

 New Affordable Housing Week events: Parking Panel and a discussion with Attorney General Bob Ferguson!

The Official Affordable Housing Week 2018 Calendar went live last week, and we’ve already added some new events! Check out these two new opportunities:

• 50 Years of the Fair Housing Act: A Conversation with Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson 
  Tuesday, May 15th 1-2:30 pm at Seattle Central Library
  A discussion with Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson on the successes, challenges, and future of the Fair Housing Act in its 50th anniversary year. Moderated by Emily Alvarado, Manager of Policy & Equity in the City of Seattle’s Office of Housing.
• Panel: Right Sizing Parking around King County
  Friday, May 18th 12- 1:30 pm at Smart Buildings Center
  How do local parking requirements impact affordable housing development? Join Daniel Rowe from King County and staff from cities around the County for a panel discussion about parking requirements and how they are changing locally.​

No matter where you live in the county, there’s something to do near you- with more still yet to come! Which events catch your eye? Let us know using #AHW2018 on Facebook & Twitter.

You and your organization can join #AHW2018 on social media! View our Social Media Guide for details.

  #AHW2018 Theme Song Contest! 

If the thought of safe, healthy, affordable homes for all makes your heart sing, let the world know!Send us a video of you or your team breaking it down for affordable homes by Thursday, May 10th. We’ll announce the winner at our kick off rally on May 14th.

For inspiration, check out last year’s winner Weber Thompson performing their instant classic “Rad Row House.”

Other developments…

• HDC Members: Learn at Lunch with JLARC this Thursday, April 26th. Hear from JLARC about their ongoing housing development cost comparison study and share your experience in affordable housing development. Register here.
• Join us for our upcoming Implementing Equity symposium: staff at any level is invited to join HDC’s Recruiting Diversity Task Force on Thursday, May 3 from 9am-12pm at the Centilia Cultural Center for the Implementing Equity in Staff, Self, and Sector to share in a facilitated dialogue and to be in a gracious space. Event is open to  Register here.

• HDC is treating the Administrative Professional in your life to Happy Hour this Wednesday. Join us from 5-6:30 PM at Elephant & Castle, especially if the administrative professional in your life is you. RSVP requested.
• If you’re curious how many avocado toasts you’d need to give up to become a homeowner here, the answer is 33 per day.​ The Seattle Time’s Mike Rosenberg, who brought us that cutting-edge analysis, brought it back to basics last week; asking the question “why are Seattle-area home prices so high?”
• This year the state legislature voted to #voidSOID by expanding source of income discrimination protections to the whole state. Now King County and local cities are making sure their SOID policies align.
• Residents of an affordable multi-family development in Issaquah protested actions of their new management company.
• We’re going to hear a lot about property taxes this election year. Mona Das came out swinging on them as she announced her challenge to Senator Joe Fain (R-47th) for state senate.
• We’re one public hearing closer to $29 million for affordable housing in Seattle. 
• Sammamish will host an open house this Wednesday, April 25th on the city’s nascent housing strategy plan. More information is available here.
• “Fragmented” efforts on homelessness in King County frame conversations at All Home. The county’s coordinating body considers streamlining over two-day discussion.
• Reports from Seattle City Council staff estimate the employee hours tax could fund 2,000 new affordable homes in five years; the Downtown Seattle Association isn’t on board. Tangenitally related: An affordable housing tax on recreational marijuana might be more than a pipe dream in Denver, the Seattle of Colorado.
• West Seattle residents expressed interest in community land trust models for permanently affordable housing in the Morgan Junction Urban Village.
  
• If you missed last week’s public hearing on MHA, Capitol Hill blog has this very thorough recap. Tip of the cap to every advocate who showed up to ensure new growth in Seattle includes affordable homes- see if your picture made the article! D2, you’re up next.

It’s here! The Official Affordable Housing Week 2018 Calendar is live today. No matter where you live in the county, there’s something to do near you- with more still yet to come! Which events catch your eye? Let us know using #AHW2018 on Facebook & Twitter.

Thank you to the many organizations who are sponsoring or hosting an event this year. It would be Affordable Housing Week without you!

More #AHW2018 events are yet to come! Check out our Affordable Housing Week website for updates.

You and your organization can join #AHW2018 on social media! View our Social Media Guide for details. Download PDF Social Media Guide

#AHW2018 Theme Song Contest! 

If the thought of safe, healthy, affordable homes for all makes your heart sing, let the world know! Send us a video of you or your team breaking it down for affordable homes by Thursday, May 10th. We’ll announce the winner at our kick off rally on May 14th.

For inspiration, check out last year’s winner Weber Thompson performing their instant classic “Rad Row House.”

Other developments…

• HDC Members: Learn at Lunch with JLARC next Thursday, April 26th. Hear from JLARC about their ongoing cost comparison study and share your experience in affordable housing development. Register here.
• Join us for our upcoming Implementing Equity symposium: staff at any level is invitied to join HDC’s Recruiting Diversity Task Force on Thursday, May 3 from 9am-12pm at the Centilia Cultural Center for the Implementing Equity in Staff, Self, and Sector to share in a facilitated dialogue and to be in a gracious space. Event is open to  Register here.
• Lessons for Amazon’s second headquarters city. Most critical? The region’s ability to accommodate new growth.
• As new apartments come online around Seattle, is relief in sight for renters? 
• Kent Advocates: how about running for city council? Apply by this Friday April 20th to keep housing issues moving in the city.
• One Table’s draft recommendations underwhelmed critics, who wanted more homes and revenue sources.
• King County Housing Authority is selling $162.5 million in bonds, in case you’re looking to invest. 
• Bellevue’s upcoming Neighborhood Conference has some interesting-looking sessions on affordable housing, the eastside rail corridor, and more. It’s next Saturday, April 21st. Register here.
• Sammamish will host an open house next Wednesday, April 25th on the city’s nascent housing strategy plan. More information is available here.
• Mercer Island City Councilmember Wendy Weiker is running for state legislature Weiker’s aiming for the 41st LD representative spot open after Rep. Judy Clibborn retired..
• Ignite Project Homeless wants to hear your homelessness story, especially if you can tell it in twenty fifteen-second slides.
• Public Benefits 101 Training for Case Managers: The Coalition on Homelessness is offering this training next Tuesday, April 24th. More details and registration are available here.
• Tonight! Seattle’s public hearings on mandatory housing affordability continue with a public hearing for districts 3 and 7. Planning on attending? Would you like talking points? Contact [email protected].

Save the date for our third annual Affordable Housing Week, beginning one month from tomorrow. The official event calendar and more exciting news are coming next week. 

Other developments…

• “Jurisdictions have to have a plan for affordable housing, because the market won’t take care of it.” said one participant at an affordable housing round table hosted by Rep. DelBene in Kirkland last week.
• NLIHC Day of Thanks tomorrow, April 10th: Use social media to thank Congressional champions who rejected federal budget cuts, instead increasing investment in affordable housing and community development.
• “If we wait and try for a perfect solution, we’ll never make progress,” one neighbor says as new tiny homes for women go up in Whittier Heights. The village, operated by LIHI, will shelter about 20 women experiencing homelessness. Some tiny homes are coming from the faith community on Mercer Island.
• Seattle has a new website to help people with low incomes navigate the services available to them. So far, seven of the site’s 103 resources are dedicated to housing, with a new one launching later this month. 
• Speaking of resource guides, have you seen this new, comprehensive, 132-pager from Real Change? The Emerald City Resource Guide is designed for people who  are experiencing homelessness or are close to it. 
• Kent Advocates: how about running for city council? Apply by April 20th to keep housing issues (and other developments) moving in the city by filling a spot to be vacated by Councilmember Budell, who has accepted a new job out of state. 
• Mixed-income housing for older adults in a new mixed-used building in Auburn is coming… one day. The author may be editorializing when he uses the word “labyrinthine,” to describe the development process, but what a great word it is.
• U-District’s M goes before DRB: The first post-rezone high rise in the University District will go before the design review board today. 
• The CD will likely get its own DRB, pending today’s council vote. The Central Area Design Review District and Board will aim to “support equitable and inclusive community engagement and process, specific for those most impacted by displacement.” 
• For their 30th birthday, SHAG debuts a new meaning for their familiar acronym. 
• Last week, Seattle got some major parking reform that exempts new affordable developments in certain areas from parking requirements. Curbed brings you this explainer of the reforms, and FYI Guy Gene Balk has all the data you need to impress your friends.
• Sammamish is collecting input to update the city’s housing strategy plan. Good people of Sammamish, your feedback is requested here by tomorrow, April 10th.
• Changes in store for Issaquah Highlands & Talus areas? The city’s Planning Policy Commission will consider FAR & structured parking.
• “A pressure cooker situation” is one way to describe the $43k jump in median home price Seattle experienced last month. Home prices have risen fastest in south Seattle, where a man called Moose has some insight into what’s going on.
• What impact, if any, does the Rental Assistance Demonstration have on children living in public housing? Yumiko Aratani of Columbia University explores this question at the West Coast Poverty Center’s seminar Monday, April 16th. 
• Ignite Project Homeless wants to hear your homelessness story, especially if you can tell it in twenty fifteen-second slides. 
• Matthew Desmond, the author of a true must-read for housing advocates Evicted, & Princeton today launched a new mapping tool to understand eviction. 
• Next Monday: Seattle’s public hearings on mandatory housing affordability continue with a public hearing for districts 3 and 7. Planning on attending? Would you like talking points? Contact [email protected].

Seattle City Council Might End Mandatory Parking Minimums for Affordable Housing Today

ICYMI at our Learn at Lunch last Friday, Seattle City Council may vote as soon as today on off-street parking reforms with a big impact on housing affordability in the city. The proposed legislation includes some notable changes for local housers, including:

• Landlords of certain new developments must unbundle parking from rent, so that tenants who don’t have a car aren’t required to pay to store one.
• No mandatory parking minimums on housing affordable to households earning 80% AMI or below.
• Increased requirements for bike parking.

Seattle’s current off-street parking policy is out of line with demand in a time of unparalleled need for urban space, say reform advocates. They note that current requirements are higher than actual demand, leaving about a third of private parking spots in the city unused according to a recent study conducted by the city. At about $50k a piece, those are some expensive vacant stalls. The proposed legislation would allow those spots to be available to the public.

Today’s public hearing begins at 2. If you can’t be there and would like to support the bill, you can send an email.

Other developments…

• HDC Members: This Friday is the deadline to submit an event for Affordable Housing Week! Check out the website for ideas from last year and use this form to submit yours.
• Do you know who ‘Kenny’ is? A man who called the streets of the U-District home for over 25 years needs help getting medical services and housing, but can’t access those services because he doesn’t know his name. Do you?
• King County felt the brunt of property tax increases at the state level, and some homeowners say ‘enough is enough.’ 
• A judge struck down Seattle’s first-in-time law, but the city is likely to appeal. 
• Rep. Joan McBride of the 48th Legislative District announced herretirement. Current Kirkland Mayor Amy Walen will campaign for the spot. HDC thanks Rep. McBride for being a champion for housing during not only her time in the legislature, but throughout her entire career.
• No decision yet in Firs Mobile Home Park appeal. Residents continue to wait as a judge works through the case’s “voluminous record.”
• “The Central District is a place whose geography is familiar, but whose people and features are increasingly strange and unrelated to who I am.” Artist and CD homeowner Inye Wokoma’s story brings into sharp relief the impact of systemic racism on housing and wealth building for families of color to this day.
• Sammamish has begun collecting input to update the city’s housing strategy plan. Good people of Sammamish, your feedback is requested here by April 10th.
• The Washington State Convention Center expansion comes with a lot of community benefits- including $29 million for affordable housing. One council member wants more, but the negotiators aren’t so sure. 
• Your next Seattle apartment is being built in Boise. 
• Seattle’s public hearings on mandatory housing affordability continue with a public hearing for districts 3 and 7 is on April 16th.