La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

Gov. Jay Inslee visited Anacortes last week to listen to locals discuss housing supply challenges. He left saying, “I got some good ideas here today,” while also noting, “We have more work to do.”

The Tenant’s Housing Roundtable, in Anacortes on Sept.26, included about a dozen community members and elected officials from Skagit, Whatcom and Island counties. Inslee heard stories of high rent increases and frustrating regulatory and permitting processes. His questions emphasized efforts the state can take to best address the housing crisis.

Fortieth District State Rep. Alex Ramel (D-Bellingham) suggested the roundtable topic and, with the governor’s team invited a representative group. Guiding the conversation, Ramel emphasized U.S Census Bureau survey data that suggests 73,000 people in Washington have experienced rent increases of more than $500 in the last year. The trend nationally finds raising rent by $100 increases homelessness by nine percent, he said. That is the case for more than 400,000 Washingtonians in 2023.

The governor focused on big, statewide numbers: A million new residents have arrived in the state in the last decade. Roughly 300,000 new housing units have been built. He asked the legislature for $4 billion last session to help address the challenge. The $1 billion allocated “is a start,” said Inslee.

Those around the table related immediate issues.

Anne Sadler of the Association of Manufactured Home Owners read testimonies from people who faced rent increases of 45%-185% and others who balanced paying for medications, food or heat. Rapid rent increases have displaced maintenance issues as the leading reason people leave their residences, increasing homelessness, said Kerri Burnside, of the Bellingham Tenants Union. These and other examples personalized the housing crisis in northwest Washington.

The governor noted “These are the same stories all over the state of Washington.” The short-term picture, he acknowledged, is not cheery.

The limited housing supply is a significant problem. Representatives from the construction industry and property management shared their experiences, too.

Josh Baldwin, of Quantum Construction in Anacortes, emphasized the need to reduce risk for builders, especially for multifamily projects that can take several years longer than a single-family residence. Costs add up during that period without returns on the investment.

“The best way to increase that supply,” said Baldwin, “is to minimize our risk, to speed up time to market, to lower regulatory hurdles and otherwise find carrots for people who want to build.”

Different jurisdictions and offices interpret zoning and permitting rules inconsistently, delaying or stymieing construction, Baldwin and others noted.

“One of the things we can do is get enough personnel in these agencies to do the work that’s necessary,” said Inslee, insisting we must “have people to do this work.”

The governor wondered if there was a way to distinguish between those who are trying to solve the housing problems and those who are simply trying to maximize profits. Ramel told the Weekly News that he was “really pleased” to hear Inslee separate “problematic landlords from the good ones who are … doing their best to provide good, stable housing to people.”

The state purchasing properties was offered as an alternative to predatory investors, to prevent drastic rent increases and to grow the options for low-cost housing. Whatever the legislature proposes in the next term for rent stabilization, Ramel told the Weekly News, needs to be well thought out for tenants, builders and landlords.

For next steps, Ramel intends to be “part of the team that’s moving forward with legislation to try to find a way to stabilize rent for as many people in Washington as we can.”