Lt. Governor Denny Heck & Senator Yasmin Trudeau Convene Roundtable Discussion on Housing Policy
On Tuesday November 1st WMFHA ‘s Director of Government Affairs, Ryan Makinster and Lobbyist Krystelle Purkey attended a housing roundtable in Olympia hosted by Lt. Governor Denny Heck & Senator Yasmin Trudeau.
After opening remarks by Lt. Governor Heck and Senator Trudeau, Dr. Mike Wilkerson of ECONorthwest gave an overview of the supply and price crisis affecting the state. After brief introductions stakeholders were encouraged to answer two questions to lay the groundwork for continued engagement:
- Where is the greatest overlap of agreement that provides the biggest opportunity in this session to make a difference?
- What is necessary for there to be effective collaboration going forward?
Although the stakeholders present represent broad and often conflicting or contentious viewpoints, the discussion centered around a few key points that most seemed to agree on:
- We have a supply issue that must be addressed if we want pricing stability
- Current zoning laws and past discriminatory practices have contributed to the current crisis
- Local permitting and land use processes, and the added time associated with them, are adding to the cost and supply issues
- We need more of all types of housing, from single-family to middle housing, through multi-family
- State needs to support local jurisdictions with funding for housing programs, revamping permitting, and staffing
Lead by Lt. Governor Heck and Senator Trudeau, the group intends to meet for further discussions on solutions and solidifying the current alignments already discussed.