Hmm, did the citizens ever vote on the idea that the government should
furnish housing to all?

Snohomish County releases housing and behavioral health capital fund to
create 700 units of new housing
Posted: September 21, 2023

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Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers on Thursday released the county’s
Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Fund, which is a plan for
investments to preserve and build affordable housing and behavioral
health facilities.

This new revenue source will allow the county to invest approximately
$114 million over five years to create 550 new units of affordable
housing plus an additional 150 units of emergency bridge and permanent
supportive housing. Funding will also be available to help expand the
number and type of locally available behavioral health facilities.

“One of the foremost challenges we face as a state — and nation — is the
housing crisis. Across our region, housing costs have risen
astronomically over the last two decades, resulting in displacement and
— in the worst circumstances — individuals and families entering street
homelessness,” Somers said. “A crisis of this scale and human impact
requires urgent, bold action. That’s why we are using our one-time
federal pandemic recovery funding and this new revenue to make
significant capital investments to increase our affordable housing and
behavioral health capacity.”

For no household to spend more than 30% of their income toward housing,
Snohomish County will need 143,182 additional affordable housing units
by 2044 to accommodate pent up demand and this projected growth.
Additionally, 32.4% of Snohomish County households are housing
cost-burdened with a substantially larger percentage of renters being
cost-burdened than homeowners.

“These new investments will allow us to make significant progress to
increase the availability of affordable housing across our county,” said
County Council Chair Jared Mead (District 4). “By increasing affordable
housing and behavioral health options for our most vulnerable residents,
we can create a safe, healthy, and thriving community for all.”

In the Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Fund, the county plans to
invest nearly $93 million over five years in the acquisition,
rehabilitation, construction, and operations and maintenance of
affordable, emergency bridge, and permanent supportive housing. These
investments will create approximately 550 new units of affordable
housing, and 150 additional units of emergency bridge and permanent
supportive housing.

In compliance with state law, these new units will serve individuals and
households with incomes below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) who
are living with mental illness and/or disabilities, families with
children, unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness, survivors of
domestic violence, veterans, and seniors.

“We are so pleased and grateful to see this plan come to fruition. So
many people are really struggling right now. Having a home they can
afford will provide a huge boost to thousands of people in the county,”
said Mark Smith, Executive Director, Housing Consortium of Everett and
Snohomish County.

Additionally, the county plans to invest $10 million for the
construction of behavioral health facilities and match this investment
with more than $3 million from the Chemical Dependency/Mental Health
sales tax to leverage existing funding sources to broaden and sustain
efforts.

A reserve fund will be maintained for unanticipated costs including
potential cost increases caused by inflation and other broader economic
factors.

After proposing a draft version of the plan in December 2021, Snohomish
County Human Services conducted community engagement to further refine
the plan based on the public’s priorities. The department engaged with
service providers, affordable housing developers, people with lived
experience, local elected officials and constituents as part of that
engagement.

The full Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Fund report can be viewed
here.

The council will consider the Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Fund
as part of the county’s 2024 budget, which Somers will transmit to the
council next week.

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