King county holds regional housing meeting in Shoreline

Photo by Rod Dembowski

A meeting of the King County Regional Affordable Housing Task Force was held at Shoreline Community College on Wednesday, September 5, 2018.

Technically, a meeting of the King County Council, our councilmember Rod Dembowski was there as well as Mayor Will Hall of Shoreline and Ed Sterner who served 11 years on the LFP city council.

Dembowski commented "Pleased to welcome folks to the first community meeting of the Regional Affordable Housing Task Force tonight in Shoreline. Good turnout by folks committed to addressing this challenge."

Residents in every community in the county are facing an unprecedented challenge in finding and keeping a home they can afford. Affordable housing is a critical component of our region’s infrastructure, and we must act together, across all levels of government and all sectors, to address this crisis and ensure the health and livability of our communities and the economic vitality of our region.

The Regional Affordable Housing Task Force will make recommendations that are actionable, sustainable, and regional in nature and that will make a meaningful difference toward meeting the projected need for households with incomes at 80 percent or less of Area Median Income by building, preserving, or subsidizing 244,000 net new healthy homes countywide by 2040.

The Task Force will identify strategies which:

• Support affordable homes in close proximity to jobs, transit and key services;
• Reduce the disproportional impacts of housing affordability challenges, including displacement, on communities of color, older adults, and others with fixed or limited-incomes;
• Address affordability and accessibility needs of large households, individuals with mobility or behavioral health challenges, and to allow people to age in place if they desire.

Further, the Task Force will prioritize strategies that can be implemented at the regional level or through jurisdictional collaboration by 2024.