Monroe council to address creating affordable housing

Within the next year Monroe residents will have opportunities to weigh in on the city’s approach to creating more affordable housing in the community.

Community development director Ben Swanson walked through what code is in place to incentivize constructing low-cost residences at the request of a community advocate during a recent Monroe City Council meeting.

“We will be working with the community, we will be holding community workshops to make certain the development regulations we are coming up with have input from the community — we want to make sure we are listening to what community concerns are,” said Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas. “We will also be working with different stakeholders that understand these particular topics from their profession.”

The city is about to start an overhaul of code that implements the goals and policies outlined in Monroe’s 2015-2035 Comprehensive Plan, which was finalized and approved more than two years ago. Councilmembers unanimously agreed that Thomas sign on with Seattle-based BHC Consultants, LLC, to carry out the revisions.

The contract will cost the city no more than $120,000, according to council documents. About $140,000 is budgeted in the 2017 for what is being called the Unified Development Regulations project. The leftover $20,000 is planned for publication, legal review and any other unexpected payments.

“That is going to be a major undertaking, because we are essentially starting from scratch,” Swanson said. “There are a few chapters that have been recently updated that we may be able to salvage...”

It should take between eight months to a year to finish, Swanson said.

It has been more than 15 years since some sections have been updated, Thomas said. Areas rewritten more recently were done sporadically, he said, and no exhaustive replacement has been completed since the mid-1990s, if ever, he said.

Thomas and Swanson said the goal is to align all sections.

“This is exciting, and it will give us an opportunity to look at the affordable housing portions of our development regulations,” Thomas said. “What we have in our development regulations today may have worked when they were adopted, but there may be new ways to approach bringing more affordable housing to our community than existed five or 10 years ago, when different sections of the code were adopted or amended.”

Affordable housing is only one short chapter in the code, but it’s an important one, Swanson said. The comprehensive plan spells out the city’s plan to promote options in an “outstanding, very clear, short statement,” he said.

The city is to provide a range of housing types for residents with varying incomes, according to the plan. The city is also to coordinate with nonprofits and other organizations to bring in low- to moderate-income options, and permit high-density housing where possible.

Thomas said it is important to note there are two ways to discuss affordable housing. One refers to the market-rate value, and the other is the legal definition. Monroe needs both, he said.

Fee breaks and density bonuses are available to companies building both kinds of developments, Swanson said. The highest density bonus is available if housing is intended for very low-income families. Also, companies willing and able to develop on smaller lots can build more units to sell at market value, Swanson said.

Thomas said the latter could mean the difference of up to a couple hundred thousand dollars for homeowners. He pointed to the Eaglemont neighborhood in northeast Monroe, which has larger lots and bigger homes, and a higher asking price versus the more compact development at Columbia south of downtown.

The challenges to offering very low-income affordable housing can be significant, Swanson said. In cities like Monroe, which does not have a housing authority, it is necessary to have an organization or agency stick around to manage the units once built.

“The unfortunate thing with whether you are building affordable housing or market-rate affordable housing, is the majority of the time the land still costs the same and construction materials still cost the same,” he said. “So, that is the hard one to get around.”

Thomas said partners like Housing Hope are able to make up those differences in many ways. Staff can identify land, fundraise or secure grants. They also build the homes and manage them, he said.

Housing Hope has operated in Snohomish County since 1987. The program was formed to provide different routes to connect local families with housing. Thomas said Housing Hope also offers supports to help its clients gain skills that can prevent homelessness.

“It is more just than a roof over your head, but it is also providing the support and the assistance to help people get back on their feet, and help them learn the tools that will help them succeed,” Thomas said.

Swanson said city staff, as well as the council and planning commission, will gauge public opinion throughout the rewrite process.

When it comes to specific sections like affordable housing, interest groups and stakeholders who are part of that industry will be contacted for their input, he said.

To participate in the code update, contact Shana Restall with the city at 360-863-4608 or srestall@monroe.wa.gov.