Mosqueda, Dembowski celebrate housing supports in impact fee legislation

County Councilmembers Mosqueda and Dembowski

King County Councilmembers Teresa Mosqueda and Rod Dembowski on Wednesday partnered on amendments to King County school impact fees legislation passed Tuesday to support multi-family housing and starter homes. 

Impact fees are state-authorized charges many jurisdictions in Washington impose on new residential development, with the funds (collected by King County here) used by school districts to pay for capital projects like the construction of new school buildings.

With construction costs soaring, housing production is already lagging across the region. 

Joe Mizrahi, Seattle School Board member stated:

 “There is a direct impact between affordable housing and school enrollment, and when families are pushed out of our region by the lack of affordable homes, school enrollment falls and operating dollars for teachers, counselors, and special education fall with it.

"But when workers can afford to live near their kids’ schools, families stay rooted and students thrive. The approach to impact fees led by CM Mosqueda keeps this capital revenue stream in place while prioritizing the housing that actually brings and keeps students in our schools.”

Mosqueda and Dembowski teamed up on amendments designed to ensure the impact fees legislation does not pose a barrier to the housing needed across King County. 

Combined, their amendments cap fees on family units, exempt affordable housing, and ensure analysis and consideration of housing impacts.

King County is facing a severe shortage of affordable housing, first-time homeownership options, and family-sized units. As outlined on the Regional Affordable Housing Dashboard, many families in King County are cost-burdened or experiencing displacement from our region, often moving out of the state altogether. This is driving declining school enrollment and hurting communities.

"The high cost of housing is driven in part by the high cost to build it. Excessive impact fees, many approaching $20,000 per unit, unreasonably increase housing costs and reduce access.

"I have raised these concerns for years, and so was happy to join with Councilmember Mosqueda to address this issue by revising the impact fee formula," Dembowski said.

"The new formula strikes a reasonable balance that ensures new development helps cover the cost of new schools, while recognizing that fees cannot be so burdensome that housing is not accessible and affordable.

"This bold action sends a strong signal that King County is serious about taking action to implement the recommendations in the Regional Affordable Housing Task Force Report and cut the cost to build new homes."

The amendments include:

1. A fee cap on family-sized units

1. Mitigates impacts to housing feasibility by capping fees on multifamily units at $5000 per unit, creating predictability for these projects and avoiding large spikes in fees that may render needed projects infeasible
2. Allows for annual amendments to lower the school impact fees
3. Sets expectation that the fee cap will be a part of future renewals, beginning in 2026
4. Maximum school impact fee amount applies to middle housing and apartment units
5. Allows for fee cap to be recalibrated every 4 years to align with capital facilities planning and allow time for data collection

2. Affordable housing exemption

1. Sets forth County’s intent to implement the state-authorized affordable housing exemption for all qualifying housing projects

3. Housing impacts analysis

1. Adds staff from the housing, homelessness, and community development division to the school technical review committee
2. Requires school districts to work with the King County Executive to analyze the impact of a proposed school impact fee on housing production, including feasibility of projects of various types based on various school impact fee amounts
3. Requires a report to the Council that accompanies each school impact fee ordinance with evaluation of housing impacts