*If you have resources to suggest for this page, please email housingsolutions@jcfgives.org*
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Click image to hear HSN + KPTZ’s March 2023 local employer panel discussion on housing.
STRATEGIES
Building on Church Land
- New policies in Seattle, WA
- Article: “Why it’s so Hard to Build Affordable Housing on Church Land and how to do it Anyway”
Housing Trust + Community Land Trust models
- Overview of community land trusts, with links to various supporting resources
- Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition
- Grounded Solutions Network
- Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County
- Our local H4H has pivoted recently to a community land trust model to ensure permanent affordability for the houses they build. We are excited to witness and support them on this mission.
- H4H Coming projects
- OPAL Community Land Trust (Orcas Island)
- Methow Housing Trust (WA)
- Housing Resources Bainbridge (FAQ’s)
- Olympic Housing Trust (local)
- Dundee Hill Project (Port Townsend)
- Article: “Affordable Housing Forever” (New York Times, 2021)
Dedicated Revenue Sources
- Revenue sources including R.E. transfer fees with examples of Cambridge, Mass. and Fairfax co. Virginia
- Dedicated Real Estate Transfer Fees (Every sale over a certain amount is taxed at a rate of between 1.5%-3% and is dedicated to affordable housing. The tax is paid by either the seller or buyer or both.)
Deed Restrictions
- This detailed article links to examples of six towns that have deed restrictions
- Another good article with examples and links to further resources
- Crested Butte (CO)
- Mountain Village – use of fee waivers to incentivize deed restricted units
- Teton Valley (WY) Workforce Deed Restriction Template
Inclusionary Zoning
- Paper: “Separating Fact from Fiction to Design Effective Inclusionary Housing Programs” (Center for Housing Policy, 2016)
- Article: “Inclusionary Zoning: The most promising – or counter-productive – of all housing policies” (Sightline Institute, 2016)
ROC’s (Resident-Owned Communities)
A ROC is a member-owned manufactured housing cooperative.
- ROC Northwest
- Manufactured Housing Resource Guide (NCLC)
- WA State law on loans for mobile home park conversion loans
Short-term rental restrictions
- City of Port Townsend’s rules around short-term rentals
Tax incentives/tax credits
- Washington Post article: “A model for neighborhood renewal: Two lawyers have helped build thousands of affordable houses in 30 cities using an obscure federal tax incentive”
Tiny Homes
- 20 examples of tiny home villages for the homeless
TOOLS
- Port Hadlock/Irondale Housing Market (Redfin)
- Port Townsend Housing Market (Redfin)
- Reports and Resources (from Washington Center for Real Estate Research)
- Affordable Housing Glossary (from HUD)
- “Housing Ready Checklist” by Housing North
Can be used in collaboration with local government entities and non-profits.
“Designed to help communities evaluate their own standards, strategies, plans, and ordinances to ensure they are designed in a way that meets local needs for workforce housing.” - Community Land Trust Technical Manual
- Teton Valley (WY) Workforce Deed Restriction Template
- “How to Tear Down the Invisible Walls in Your City’s Zoning Code: 10 Tips from Zoning Reformers in a Town that Legalized Housing” (2021 Article from Sightline Institute)
- Community Benefits Agreement Toolkit (from LISC.org)
- Short courses + videos on local planning, from the WA State Department of Commerce
- AARP’s “Handbook for Improved Neighborhoods“
- Grounded Solutions Resource Library
CASE STUDIES
- Mountain resort towns (CO):
- Breckenridge, CO
- View our conversation notes from our March 2022 meeting with Town of Breckenridge
- Mountain Village, CO
- “Mountain resort towns work to solve affordable housing crisis by adding housing stock through creative ideas” (CO)
- Breckenridge, CO
- Bellingham, WA
- City of Bellingham’s page detailing their various affordable housing efforts
- “What can a City Do to Address Housing Costs?” (City of Bellingham)
- Methow Valley, WA
- Read this January 2022 economic report on the enormous wealth disparities in the vacation town of Twisp, WA
- Anacortes (WA) – converting old motel into affordable housing (as of August 2022)
- Chapel Hill, NC – City/County affordable housing efforts
- “Growing Rural Shared Equity Housing” – recording of Rural LISC seminar from 2021.
Podcasts:
- “Blister” Podcast: Part 1 — Mountain Town Economics and Affordable Housing Dr. Jenny Stuber talks about some of the policies that the town of Aspen has employed, and which of them might be applicable to other towns trying to navigate the needs of full-time residents, part-time residents, local workers, and the visitors that many of these towns rely on.
- “Blister” Podcast: Part 2 — Mountain Town Economics and Affordable Housing
With Troy Russ, the community development director of Crested Butte. - “Blister” Podcast: Part 3 — Mountain Town Economics. Developing Housing, Addressing Climate Change, & Mitigating Megafires Interview with affordable housing developer. Includes how community planning can become an excuse for inaction: Developing to actually solve affordable housing and The sordid history of development, regulations, & building code
OTHER PROJECTS + ORGANIZATIONS WORKING ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING
- See our Local Housing Projects + Organizations page
- ARCH – a housing coalition focused on East King County
- Burien’s Affordable Housing Demonstration Program is a pilot program of sorts, where they have allowed adaptations to ordinances to allow for up to five affordable housing projects. May be useful to watch over the next few years.
- Casita Coalition
- Localhousingsolutions.org
- Rural LISC
- Sightline
- Terner Center for Housing Innovation
- Washington State Housing Finance Commission
- Washington State Housing Trust Fund
- Whatcom Housing Alliance
- WA Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI)
- National Low Income Housing Coalition
- Rural Community Assistance Corporation
- National Rural Housing Coalition
Awards:
LEGAL (LOCAL LAWS, CODES, & POLICIES)
Jefferson County
City of Port Townsend
- City plans (including Comprehensive and 3-Year)
- Zoning change planning + upcoming dates
- Land use and planning
- Building
Washington State
- Upcoming proposed legislative changes on missing middle housing
- State building codes
- State planning and zoning laws
Growth Management Act
- Growth Management Act overview
- Learning from Washington’s Growth Management Act: Do state growth and planning laws result in better regional planning?
- “Beginners Guide to GMA”
- GMA mission
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & NETWORKING
Approaches to Community Development
- Asset-Based Community Development
- Community Capitals
- Mapping Assets
- Democratic Praxis at Myles Horton’s Highlander Folk School
- Resource on the “Communication Ecosystem”
- TEDx video: Sustainable community development: from what’s wrong to what’s strong
Networks & Network Weaving
FURTHER EDUCATION
- Rural LISC 2021 conference seminar channel
- GMA Short Course on Local Planning
- Winter 2023 Virtual Training Institute (Neighborworks)
- Professional Certifications (Neighborworks)
- Affordable Housing Professional Certificate Program
More resources:
- “The Homeowner Society was a Mistake.” (The Atlantic)
- Six Innovative Solutions for the Housing Crisis (Stanford Social Innovation Review)
- Unlocking the Potential for Missing Middle Housing (Brief from The Terner Center, 12/22)
- “The Eight Deaths of Portland’s Residential Infill Project” (Sightline Institute)
- Re-examining single-family zoning
- “Single-family zoning: can history be reversed?” (Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University, 2021)
- “Is there Racism in the Deed to Your Home?” New York Times, 2021
- “After a low appraisal, Black Seattle family ‘whitewashes’ home, gets higher price.” King 5, 2022
- Action item: University of Washington’s Racially Restrictive Covenants Project: help flag documents for racially-restrictive terms
