News

King County neighborhoods impacting life expectancy up to 18 years

“It’s not the fact that you’re living at a certain latitude or longitude, it’s all the other things associated with that neighborhood, like socioeconomic conditions, quality of housing, maybe education levels.” Huge disparities in life expectancies across Seattle neighborhoods are visualized in this new Seattle Times piece. For more on how housing conditions drive health outcomes in your city, check out HDC’s Housing & Health infographic series.

Other Developments…

• HDC Members: Applications for Leadership Development Survey Course are open now through September 18th.  The seven-month course gives participants a broad overview of leadership principles and exposes participants to the varied roles of leaders in mission and value-driven organizations.

• Proposed legislation could limit the number of short term rentals such as AirBnBs in Seattle.

• The Yes on Prop 1 Campaign to renew the Vets, Seniors, and Human Services levy kicked off last week! Your organization can help by endorsing! Click here for an endorsement form and return it to our Government Relations & Policy Director by the end of the month.

• Tenants in the new Cubix microhousing had to move out just a few days after moving in after the city building inspectors issued a stop order having not yet issued the appropriate permits.

• Now that Fair Chance Housing is in effect, SCC Insight has a deepdive into the details and rationale of the policy.

• Early move-out fees are hurting even higher income tech workers renting on the Eastside.

• Average homevalues statewide are being driven up by soaring local King County markets.

• Seattle Mayoral Candidate Forum: See the two candidates for Seattle mayor discuss growth, housing, and homelessess at a September 12th forum hosted by Solid Ground and the Seattle U Project on Family Homelessness and sponsored by HDC, SKCCH, and WLIHA Action Fund.

• Weeks ago, the Stranger highlighed cost-burden among millennial renters, but as it turns out every generation of renters is cost-burdened.

• Early bird registration is now open for our first ever Advocacy Intensive! This two-day training will build your capacity for systems change work by helping you understand mobilization and organizing, housing policy and the political process, and how to engage with electeds. Save $30 on registration now through September 18th.

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Early bird registration is now open for our first ever Advocacy Intensive! This two-day training will build your capacity for systems change work by helping you understand mobilization and organizing, housing policy and the political process, and how to engage with electeds. Save $30 on registration now through September 18th.

Other Developments…

• There’s little reason to hope the state legislature will produce a capital budget before the year ends, and local projects are feeling the impact. 

• King County Accountable Community of Health (ACH) is seeking input on draft project plans for Medicaid Transformation. This survey is open through 5 pm on Friday, Sept 1.

• HDC Members: Join us for a Learn @ Lunch with the Seattle Office of Housing this Wednesday 8/30. 

• A lack of trust in housing services helps drive disproportionately high rates of homelessness among Native Americans, according to Colleen Echohawk, ED of the Chief Seattle Club.

• A debate about investment homes has the Seattle mayoral candidates trading barbs like “Trumpian.” You can see the debate live and in person next month.

• Seattle Mayoral Candidate Forum: See the two candidates for Seattle mayor discuss growth, housing, and homelessess at a September 12th forum hosted by Solid Ground and the Seattle U Project on Family Homelessness. Cosponsored by HDC, SKCCH, and WLIHA Action Fund.

• A recent round of testing resulted in 16 property management companies paying fines for source of income discrimination. 

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This morning the contiguous US will be treated to our first total solar eclipse in almost 40 years. Here in King County, we’ll get a 92.2% eclipse, which is still an A as far as eclipses go. NASA will livestream the event for anyone who missed the boat on eclipse glasses, and at least you won’t need them to read this email.

Other Developments…

• Don’t let your systems-change work be eclipsed by the day-to-day grind. Join us in October for a two-day advocacy intensive. Early bird registration is open now!

• The Seattle City Council says criminal history should not overshadow access to housing. The Fair Chance Housing ordinance prohibits landlords from screening applicants based on their criminal history without a legitimate business reason.

• A two-word change in Seattle’s building code could lead the sun to rise again for some housing developments in need of parking exemptions.

• Issaquah’s development moratorium will continue to black out affordable housing development in the city through 2017. Meanwhile the city hopes to complete its Housing Strategy Plan in the fall.

• East African Community members who have called Seattle home are moving to lower cost of living cities in South King County. A planned development aims to fight displacement and keep the community within the local orbit.

• Will Cary Moon eclipse Jenny Durk-sun? See the two candidates for Seattle mayor discuss growth, housing, and homelessess at a September 12th forum hosted by Solid Ground and sponsored by HDC, Seattle U Project on Family Homelessness, and WLIHA Action Fund.

• The Stranger didn’t mince words about the astronomical cost burden felt by local households.

• More than 99% of homes in these Seattle-area zip code are worth more than a million.   Hint: One is home to the two richest people on the planet.

• Upzone for Uptown? The neighborhood also known as Lower Queen Anne is next up for MHA consideration. City, Sound Transit, and Seattle Public Schools projects mean a cosmic shift for the area with or without the upzone.

• HDC members: today is the last day to sign up for a Policy Advisory Group task force!  Don’t throw away your moon-shot to guide and implement our collective advocacy work.

• Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101 Workshop on 8/22: SKCCH is hosting this stellar free workshop featuring national expert Dr. Lenore Rubin and presenters from Columbia Legal Services and Schoolhouse WA. Register here.

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… stay tuned for more details. We won’t be able to keep them under wraps for very long.

Other Developments…

• The Seattle City Council will vote on Fair Chance Housing today. The ordinance passed out of committee 6-0 last week, meaning it will almost certainly pass full Council.

• You already knew Weber Thompson for their great affordable housing week video, but did you know they are architects, too?

• Burien advocates are urging their City Council to adopt source of income discrimination protections. Meanwhile, network news struggled to pronounce the city’s name.

• Developers in downtown Seattle may have the option to receive greater height for smaller floor plates. 

• 70 new affordable homes are coming to Lake City! LIHI will host a groundbreaking ceremony for Lake City Family Housing on August 15th.

• Our own Grace Kim was featured in Seattle Neighbors last week.

• A change by Seattle City Council will make it easier for the public to engage with- or challenge- development in their neighborhood.

• Shelter developers/operators in Bellevue will have to apply for a conditional use permit due to an emergency ordinance adopted last week.

• There’s historic preserveration, and then there is the Trueblood house in Kirkland. 

• Fear of a housing bubble is stronger in Washington than in any other state. Those hoping the Canadian smoke blanket might depress home values appear to be out of luck. 

• The Washington State Convention Center expansion project still needs money and land.

• Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101 Workshop on 8/22: SKCCH is hosting this free workshop featuring national expert Dr. Lenore Rubin and presenters from Columbia Legal Services and Schoolhouse WA. Register here.

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It’s time to #voidSOID in Burien!

Email Council now and urge them to adopt source of income discrimination (SOID) protections.

Tonight the Burien City Council will hear a presentation on source of income discrimination (SOID) and explore drafting an ordinance that would protect Burien renters from experiencing this type of discrimination. We want Burien to join its South King County neighbors Auburn, Kent, Renton, and Tukwila in recognizing that SOID is a problem they can- and should- take action to stop.

Please join us in urging countil to act quickly to protect Burien renters and implement SOID protections without delay! Send an email now.

Other Developments…

• Fair Chance Housing is on the agenda for tomorrow’s City of Seattle Civil Rights, Economic Development, and Arts Committee. Folks interested in learning more about Fair Chance Housing should know about this webinar on Wednesday hosted by WLIHA with The City of Seattle and SOCR.

• Kirkland City Council voted to do some more research before they vote on increasing density at the Houghton- Everest Neighborhood Center.

• Senator Cantwell is working on a “bi-partisan fix to the housing crisis.” Or at least part of the housing crisis.

• VSHSL Transition Plan Input: If approved by voters in November, half of the dollars generated in the first year of Vets, Seniors, and Human Services levy will go to housing stability. What the heck is housing stability? Spend 5-10 minutes on this survey to help the County inform their definition.

• A five percent increase in rent would push nearly 300 people into homelessness, a new Zillow report found.

• Another Zillow report analyzed housing vouchers in 364 markets across the country and found that many, including our own, could make some improvements.

• Bellevue is a tougher place to build than Seattle, according to a new list.

• Sound Transit & The Seattle Office of Housing have published joint RFPs for ETOD at Roosevelt Station.

• A recall effort of a city councilmember in Black Diamond is moving forward. The recall effort is taking place in light of contentious development in the city.

• Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101 Workshop on 8/22: SKCCH is hosting this free workshop featuring national expert Dr. Lenore Rubin and presenters from Columbia Legal Services and Schoolhouse WA. Register here.

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They say greatness can’t be rushed but with only 1 day left before the primary, it’s time the 90ish% of us who haven’t voted make an effort. Luckily, everything you need to submit the ballot of your dreams is right here in this email. You have until tomorrow at 8 pm, so get to voting!

As a 501(c)3, we wouldn’t dare tell you. Here are some tools to help you decide:

King County Candidate Profiles for every candidate in every race from city council to state rep.

Voter’s Guide to Housing & Homelessness: Seattle Mayoral Race HDC and our partners Seattle U, Solid Ground, and SKCCH asked the questions, most of the candidates answered

However you do it it, do it by 8 pm tomorrow- Tuesday, 8/1. 

Drop your ballot off at any of these locations 

Vote by mail by having your ballot postmarked by 8/1

Vote in-person at an accessible voting center if you need assistance completing your ballot

Other resources for the 11th-hour.

I didn’t receive a ballot. Am I even registered to vote?

I want to make sure my ballot gets counted because in an off-year primary, my vote is extra important!

I’m a Seattle resident with Democracy Vouchers and I don’t know what they are or how to use them

When you’re all done, treat yo self and watch the results come in live. We hear there are some primary election night parties going on around the county if you’re looking to make everyone on social media jealous.
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Other Developments…

• The Seattle City Council will vote today on the CID rezone and companion resolution. This follows a PLUZ committee meeting in the neighborhood and the passage of the Central District rezone last week.. 

• The regional housing market isn’t keeping pace with job growth. If you don’t know, now you know.

• New affordable apartments in north Seattle are literally being stacked one on top of the other.

• An eastside state senator wants East King County to secede from King County.

• Allegedly it’s too expensive to build anything other than market rate housing here, but somehow, some way, some private market developers are doing it.

• A proposed TOD site with 130 homes is one of 6 comp plan amendment requests to be reviewed by the Federal Way City Council.

• Seattle City Council will consider developer impact fees. 

• Washington state ‘s homeless student population has increased 30% over the last three years. In the same window, federal funding increased only 8%.

• Housing Affordability Work Party Thursday, August 3rd: learn about the draft EIS for Mandatory Housing Affordability city-wide, share ideas for public comment, and leave your comments for the city. Food, childcare, and kid-friendly activities provided.

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