Housing Justice
I’ve outlined my plan to provide emergency housing and immediately reduce homelessness. However, it is only a temporary solution. We must also significantly expand Seattle’s affordable housing stock to permanently end homelessness.
In 1865, the first Seattle City Council passed Ordinance #5 banning Native Americans from entering the City. This marked the beginning of a long legacy of racism and segregation in Seattle. Today, regressive zoning continues to impose de-facto redlining policies that exclude people of color from select Seattle neighborhoods, concentrating wealth and opportunity among a select few. We know that safe, affordable housing is the critical foundation for well being and that home ownership is the number one way Americans accumulate savings and generational wealth. Do we want Seattle to be a City where only the wealthy live or do we want Seattle to be a place where everyone can thrive?
Essential workers, teachers, and retirees are not immune to the affordable housing crisis that plagues our City. Through my work at the Chief Seattle Club, I have seen the systemic inequities and long-term barriers that this perpetuates. I served on the All Home Board for 6 years, and have participated on the standing advisory panel for the Regional Affordable Housing Task Force, which produced a with affordable housing recommendations for King County in 2018, demonstrating how we must think holistically and engage with stakeholders across the County to drive change. If we wish to make Seattle an inclusive City where everybody has the opportunity to reach their full potential, then we have to act now. This will require us to work closely with all neighbors, but particularly those most vulnerable. I was recently appointed to the board of the National Low Income Housing Coalition and look forward to working with leading experts across the country in developing innovative policies for true housing reform.
new housing units have been added on average per year in King County. However, the majority of these units are not affordable and are a far cry from the estimated affordable homes that need to be built by 2040. With the median price of a home being and a single-family housing supply that would be exhausted in if no other listings were to come on the market, leaders must acknowledge that Seattle faces an unprecedented housing crisis. Housing is a human right. Kids who grow up in Seattle and want to stay in their communities should not be priced out because City leaders have failed to act. Many of the apartments woven throughout Seattle’s neighborhoods were built before exclusionary zoning ordinances, racist land covenants, and discriminatory lending practices came into effect. By working with the City Council to reverse these laws, we will not only increase the stock of housing, but finally relegalize housing for all.
Create Missing Middle Housing
of Seattle is single-family zoned, meaning that the vast majority of our City’s zoning code only allows for individual homes, limiting the development of apartments, townhouses, and multi-family projects. This is startling considering that of Seattle’s housing stock is multi-family homes, on just the land of single-family properties. Missing middle housing allows us to address this reality. Accessory Dwelling Units (detached units on properties), cottage clusters, multiplexes, and basement apartments can fill the gaps between buildings. allows up to 4 homes on any lot and between 4 to 6 homes if at least half of them are considered affordable, something Seattle should likewise implement. I will work with the City Council to repeal exclusionary zoning laws and allow for duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes in every neighborhood.
Single-family homes possess an abundance of available land. It is estimated that the front and backyard land parcels on these lots could build an extra 80,000 homes at 1,500 square feet each. I am not saying that we should develop every available plot of land, but we must think creatively about land use and ways we can incentivize sustainable infill. Scalable solutions make infill geometrically possible and preferable to preexisting options.
Additionally, removing unnecessary parking mandates is another step Seattle must pursue. There aremore than built for every household in Seattle, representing a surplus of land that could be used for residential housing in a way that maintains the vibrancy and culture of each neighborhood.
Co-ops can better form in denser spaces, providing residents with the opportunity to jointly come together to organize their housing. We can foster community in the built environment, with shared spaces being integrated in the design of these developments.
Mandatory Housing Affordability
We must follow the lead of the (MHA) zoning changes and continue to make requirements for affordable housing. I support the of Seattle’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda Committee (HALA), particularly the mandate that new projects must meet a specified affordability threshold, or be forced to contribute to the Seattle Office of Housing Fund. Upzoning apartment districts with these clear stipulations for affordable development must continue. This will allow for the homes built or preserved through MHA to continue to provide long-term affordable housing for up to 75 years or longer.
MHA was designed to slow the displacement caused by Seattle growth. 6,300 new units will be produced by these zoning changes alone. However, we must ensure that MHA fees and upzoning provisions do not serve as barriers for the Black, Indigenous, People of Color communities that have been impacted most by Seattle’s housing crisis. Many long-term residents of color do not have the ability to develop on their own properties due to these restrictions. To remove this inequitable barrier, I will add an amendment to MHA where if one of these residents has lived in the Chinatown-International District or Central District for over 10 years and wants to develop on their own property, they will be exempted from MHA fees if still living on the property after a specified time frame. This places these residents in positions to build wealth from their own properties, but not gentrify the area in the process. This is not to mention that they would likely remain in the neighborhood and build community.
More Public Dollars for Affordable Housing
For years, City leaders have enacted policies to increase the supply of housing. Seattle’s skyline is filled with cranes, but it’s mostly to construct luxury, high-cost housing units. Low-to-middle-income households are largely underrepresented and communities of color have faced significant displacement in light of these new developments. Bulldozing tight knit communities and replacing them with expensive housing drives historically marginalized neighbors farther away from the City center, disrupting their lives, alienating them from their support networks, and degrading cultural centers. Redlining policies that once segregated neighborhoods have since been replaced with exclusionary zoning ordinances that reinforce these discriminatory practices. It is impossible to produce affordable housing with the current systems in place.
There is a bottleneck of affordable housing construction due to the severe shortage of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. In February, 390 units of new affordable housing were approved by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, but another 1,096 units of shovel-ready projects were wait-listed. I will work with our congressional delegation to advocate for increases to the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
I support the City’s property tax levy for low-income housing. However, this levy makes up just a very small portion of the City’s total property tax base. I will explore ways to grow the percentage of property taxes that go towards affordable housing by potentially reallocating other levy and general fund spending. Additionally, requiring property owners of the most valuable land in Seattle to pay their fair share of taxes will allow us to maintain a steady stream of dollars for affordable housing development.
Collaborate With New Partners
There is an untapped market of private owners who are willing to contribute their land for the development of affordable housing. They recognize the importance in providing stability and economic mobility to those who cannot afford to live in Seattle, while also promoting a more inclusive and vibrant community. Much like how many residents donate to their favorite charitable organizations, these private owners want to do their part to maintain a healthy range of homeowners and renters in Seattle. A City-supported program that allows for owners to transfer property to a registered nonprofit, while remaining involved in the planning and determination of the property, would be widely supported. For example, a property owner could retain the ownership of commercial space in a building’s main floor, and transfer ownership of the upper levels of offices to be converted into affordable housing. A regulatory period of at least 30 years should be the minimum for this City-supported housing affordability program. This would be run through the Office of Housing, with earmarked funds in the form of tax deductions to support these charitable contributions.
Expedite Housing Development
The sheer amount of time, money, and resources it takes for housing projects to be approved by the City is a disincentive for developers to pursue affordable housing options. We need to do better and create a more predictable and efficient process. As Mayor, here are just some of the initiatives I plan to pursue in this area:
Support Office of Housing in matching landowners who are willing to partner or donate their land to the nonprofits best suited to lead the development
Streamline the Request for Proposal (RFP) for funding
Expedite permit approval processes
Hire dedicated permit approvers in the Seattle Department of Construction
Coordinate inspections, hearings, and board meetings
Support virtual approvals when appropriate
Create building code flexibility by reducing extraneous requirements
Launch online payments and electronic referral forms and signatures
Real estate tax exemptions
Reduced development fees (Permit, City Light, Water Utility, etc.)
Partner with Seattle City Light, Seattle Department of Transportation, Parks Seattle Public Utilities etc.
Establish case processing units to provide housing developers with a single point of contact throughout the inspection, permit, and review stages
Support Generational Ownership
Many residents have owned their land for decades and would be interested in retaining ownership for their family’s next generation. Affordable housing is one way of achieving this. The Office of Housing further recognizes the importance of keeping long-time owners invested in the community. A formula should be created that allows private owners to sell property at below market value to nonprofits if there is an opportunity to repurchase the property after a specified period of time. Essentially, in exchange for developing affordable property, the family’s next generation will be able to repurchase the property for a discounted amount decades later. In some cases, the family can agree to even own and operate a portion of the ground floor commercial space, keeping them active in their neighborhoods. On properties with commercial space, this reduces the nonprofit’s commercial leasing risk while at the same time allowing the property owner to retain the option to buy the residential development at a discount down the road.
Available property may also be acquired by a City-sponsored land bank that can hold property for development of affordable housing until an appropriate non-profit is able to develop the housing.
Another opportunity for generational ownership is the utilization of long-term land leases. Working with the Office of Housing, I will find ways to work through the actual and perceived roadblocks for this strategy. The long-term lease allows a family to continue to own the underlying property while a community non-profit owns and builds the affordable housing and associated non-residential spaces for the term of the lease. The Chinatown-International District neighborhood has utilized this strategy successfully on several affordable housing projects and I will support a City-wide expansion.
Tenants Rights
Tenants are too often taken advantage of by landlords and property owners. I will stand up for tenants and ensure that their rights are protected. Some measures I will pursue and support include:
Activate rent abatement immediately after the property owner has not made the required repairs as stipulated by the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections
Ensure that tenants are protected from landlord retaliation
Will set up interventions if property owners have repeat violations of City ordinances
Allow tenants to terminate a lease before the expiration date written in the lease if approved by the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections and/or recommended by the Seattle Renters’ Commission
Not require tenants to renew leases until at least four months have passed since the tenant occupied if the original lease is for a period of at least ten months
Require landlords to change locks after a specified timeframe
Provide support to tenants having trouble receiving back their security deposits
Require rent that is paid for the final month to be prorated at the average daily rate for that month so that the tenant only pays for the actual number of days that occupancy is allowed
State that the written lease must specify which unit the tenant will occupy
Maintain that all leases include a force majeure clause, which allow for delay or suspension of payment in the act of an emergency or unspecified natural event
Tenants have guaranteed right to counsel in legal proceedings
Facilitate Land Trusts
The City of San Francisco recently passed the , which gives qualified non-profit organizations the right of first offer, and/or the right of first refusal to purchase certain properties offered for sale in the City. In Seattle, we could apply a similar provision to vacant properties and buildings with a certain number of units. This would ensure that we give the first opportunity for any development to be affordable.
Community land trusts represent another solution to our housing crisis. These entities purchase land and maintain it long-term. Facilitating land trusts through either the Office of Housing or separate nonprofits are important due to the shortage of land we have in the Puget Sound region. They will make transactions not only happen sooner, but allow for the land to be held until something positive can come from it. For nonprofits, they could think about ways to make this land available at low market rates, then use the difference as a tax benefit to the property owner. Community organizations could come together and create land trusts specifically for this purpose as well. Local gardens, playgrounds, and other neighborhood spaces can better be developed through the land trust structure, since every square foot is not commodified for profit. Instead, community wellbeing is the real winner.
Additionally, land banking is another tool the City of Seattle can use to create affordability. This is a progressive land-use application I will explore as Mayor. For developable parcels of land on city-owned parking lots and industrial areas, as well as land in which a development plan exists (but is for sale at below market price due to the financial conditions of the developer), the City will sell or transfer the property for affordable housing development. Strict rules and preconditions can be developed in consultation with the appropriate City departments to ensure that these developments are and remain affordable.
Eviction Moratorium
of Seattle households are rent burdened, meaning they are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Further, of housing units are renter occupied, with of them being rent burdened. Residents making the City’s $15 minimum wage can afford a maximum $780 per month on rent. But it costs an average of to rent an apartment in Seattle, more than two times what many low-income residents can afford. The pandemic has just exacerbated these already concerning statistics.
A massive wave of evictions will not benefit anybody - the tenant becomes homeless and suffers, and the current economy won’t yield enough tenants for landlords. New apartment buildings opening during Covid-19 continue to increase incentives to appeal to new renters, as there are quite a few vacancies. It is highly problematic and immoral that members of our community are unhoused while landlords are willingly holding units simply to make a profit. As Mayor, I will extend the Eviction Moratorium until our communities actually start healing from COVID-19. I will aggressively pursue federal and state dollars, as well as leverage City resources for rent relief. By partnering with Black, Indigenous, People of Color and neighborhood focused organizations, we can ensure that rental assistance is delineated with an equity lens. I support the cost reductions in Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities bills for income eligible residents. However, I believe this program can be expanded to cover a greater portion of these essential needs and expand access to those currently without.
Holistic Neighborhoods
I am a firm believer that the best way to address issues within our neighborhoods is through the residents that live within them. Well travelled, properly lit, and continuously occupied streets will ensure that all streets remain safe after sunset. If there were to be an incident, neighbors would be there to offer assistance. Further, living among diverse community members that are not segregated by race, income, or socioeconomic status will create a truly intersectional environment where everyone is valued. Community gardens, farmers markets, neighborhood centers, and street fairs represent other local options that ground resources in the places they serve.
Your zip code should not define your job status, access to education, income potential, or health outcome. This is why we must incorporate sustainable solutions into comprehensive long-term planning at the municipal level. From workforce housing policies that allow for neighbors to affordably live near where they work to transit-oriented development that integrates housing along transportation routes, community development can positively enhance Seattle. And if we truly strive to combat climate change through our own carbon emissions as a city, then increased density will allow for car-free, pedestrian friendly, and ADA accessible neighborhoods where we can live near where we work.