Mayor Durkan Announces Plan for More Affordable Housing in Seattle

In an effort to curb rising home prices, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Tuesday plans to create affordable housing in Seattle.  In her second State of the city address, Mayor Durkan focused on helping the low to moderate income residents of Seattle.  Talking points included free transit passes (ORCA cards) for low income residents, electric vehicle charging stations for all new buildings, and access to free community college tuition, which was one of the ideas the helped influence her vote.  The biggest news from the address is Durkan’s pledge to invest $50 million for housing for the homeless. 

Funding for the $50 million would come from local sales tax, thanks to a new state law.  House Bill 1406 allows for a portion of the sales tax towards housing.  Funds will be available in 2020 instead of going to the state capitol.  The money would go towards building over 700 new apartment buildings.  Once built, the remaining funds will go towards operations of the buildings and maintenance. 

The second facet of Durkan’s commitment is extend and renew an existing program, the Multifamily Tax Exemption Program or MFTE.  The MFTE provides a tax break for developers and owners of multifamily units who reserve 20-25% of the units for those with low to moderate income levels.  This is done by restricting the rent from increases.  By extending the program, it would create more than 1,200 new homes and keep more than 4,400 homes affordable. 

There is also space in South Lake Union that is owned by the city.  This space is about three city blocks and encompasses over 2.8 acres.  Sale of the property is a possibility.  If sold, the proceeds would be used as low interest loans for residents who want to build a backyard cottage.  As I wrote about previously, new legislation has passed that eases restrictions on accessory dwelling units.  This would add more affordable housing units.