Issues - Affordable Housing and an Affordable City
When the people who make our neighborhoods work and bring life and diversity to our city—firefighters, teachers, small business owners, artists—can no longer afford to live in Seattle, the fabric of our city starts to unravel.
I strongly believe that anyone who works in Seattle should be able to afford to live here. But today, the high cost of housing has made it nearly impossible for middle class families who didn’t buy a home five or ten years ago to buy one now, or even to afford the cost of renting an apartment.
This is one of the most pressing issues we face in this city. The Puget Sound Regional Council projects that Seattle’s population is expected to increase by more than 130,000 people by 2040. If we don’t act now, the problem of affordable housing will only get worse as demand further outpaces supply.
Simply put, Seattle needs to create significantly more affordable housing. As a member of Seattle City Council, one of my most important priorities will be to focus on developing and implementing smart, creative, and effective land use policies that will increase the supply of housing for city residents at all income levels.
To begin to tackle the issue of affordable housing, here are a few of the approaches and policy recommendations that I believe are essential:
- A citywide goal that for every job that is created in Seattle, a new unit of income-appropriate housing is created. This must begin with a rigorous assessment of population and job growth in Seattle, followed by the implementation of a strategic plan with clear annual metrics to ensure we are building enough of the right type of housing.
- Creative and flexible zoning policies that promote smart, neighborhood-friendly density by encouraging the development of more small units and that allow accessory dwellings and mother-in-law units throughout the city.
- Policies that make it smart business for developers to build housing that is affordable for all income levels. Options worth exploring include alternatives to minimum parking requirements; auctioning up-zone rights to allow larger structures or more units on a site; and land use approaches that focus on outcomes like the creation of housing in a specific neighborhood in a defined price range rather than rigid zoning requirements like distance between a building and the property line.
- The adoption of a transit-oriented housing development strategy that emphasizes the creation of housing near light rail stations and major bus corridors.
- A spirit of experimentation, measurement, refinement, and implementation in housing policies. I favor rapid implementation of pilot programs to test innovative new approaches. If we carefully measure the results, we can adopt those that truly work quickly without committing to expensive approaches that are not effective.
Creating enough affordable housing so that everyone who works in Seattle can afford to live here is critical, but it’s only part of the solution. There are other steps we can take to make our city more affordable for all our citizens.
For example, a comprehensive public transportation system that enables people to get where they need to go in this city with just a bus pass or a bicycle would save families thousands of dollars every year by making possible to get by with one car instead of two, or without a car at all. Read more about my approach to transportation.
And by building new homes that are energy efficient and by retrofitting old homes to reduce energy consumption, we can cut every family’s monthly expenses. I strongly support efforts to develop creative financing plans that make it easy for anyone to afford to make their home energy efficient. Read about my ideas on sustainability and energy efficiency.
Of course, we have to be smart and cautious about the tax burden we place on Seattle residents. The deep-bore tunnel will require the largest tax or fee increase in city history. I strongly oppose this flawed plan. Find out why I oppose the deep-bore tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
