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Home My WebLink AboutPublic Hearing Comments as of 0930am on 120825From:Tonia Burkett To:Tonia Burkett Subject:Homeless and Affordable Housing Plan Date:Sunday, December 7, 2025 5:12:06 PM ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them. Good evening Commissioners and Councilmembers, Thank you for the significant work that has gone into the Homeless and Affordable Housing Services Plan. I appreciate that this plan clearly names homelessness and housing instability as the result of displacement, health system gaps, and a severe lack of deeply affordable housing, not personal failure. I strongly support the commitment to a year-round day center, a lived, expert-guided encampment response, and strong prevention tools such as tenant protections, mediation, and recognition of informal housing residents’ rights. These are essential for stabilizing people before they fall deeper into crisis. As both the City and County move forward with rezoning and development decisions, I would like you to ensure that any increase in density is tied to mandatory, permanent affordability. Voluntary incentives like the Multi-Family Tax Exemption are helpful, but they do not reach the people currently unhoused without deeper affordability requirements. I also respectfully ask you to adopt a clear “no displacement without housing” standard, so no one is removed from an encampment or informal housing situation without first being offered a safe, voluntary, and supported housing option. Finally, compensating lived experts is a strong step, but equity requires shared decision-making power, not just consultation. People with lived experience are experts in how housing, homelessness, health, and safety systems actually function in real life. Without their leadership and decision-making power, policies risk being well-intentioned but ineffective, harmful, and disconnected from the realities they aim to address. This plan has strong values, but values alone will not keep people housed or safe. We need enforceable protections, mandatory affordability, and housing-first implementation so these commitments result in tangible outcomes for those bearing the heaviest burden of this crisis. Thank you for your leadership. Best regards, Tonia Burkett (She/Her/They) Dreamer, Facilitator, & Consultant https://usawaconsulting.com (503) 395-8262 From:Jamie Maciejewski To:cityclerk@cityofpt.us Subject:Public Testimony Date:Friday, December 5, 2025 5:09:58 PM Attachments:Outlook-53wez13b.png Habitat EJC Public Comment Homeless Housing Plan.pdf CAUTION: External Email Hello, This is for Monday's hearing on the 2025-2030 Jefferson County Homeless & Affordable Housing Services Plan. Jamie Maciejewski Executive Director Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County P.O. Box 658 • Port Townsend, WA 98368 office: (360) 379-2827 director@habitatejc.org • habitatejc.org 1 To: Port Townsend City Council, Jefferson County Board of Commissioners, Housing Task Force, and the Joint City-County Housing Fund Board From: Jamie Maciejewski, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County Date: December 5, 2025 Subj.: Public Comment on 2025–2030 Jefferson County Homeless & Affordable Housing Services Plan Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Draft Homeless & Affordable Housing Plan. We appreciate the tremendous effort invested in creating a roadmap to increase housing access in Jefferson County. We wish to comment on aspects which we believe underestimate the critical role of homeownership in addressing Port Townsend’s and Jefferson County’s affordable housing crisis. Our comments aim to strengthen the plan by ensuring permanently affordable homeownership is recognized as a critical part of the solution. 1. Serving Seniors The plan rightly identifies the significant needs of seniors, particularly those over 75, noting the paucity of programs addressing their needs. It further rightly emphasizes preventing episodes of homelessness. Our experience shows that many senior homeowners risk homelessness due to their inability to afford or contract essential repairs. For example, failing septic systems can lead to homes being red tagged, forcing abandonment. Single source wood heat risks health and safety and is difficult for many senior and disabled homeowners to maintain. Failed roofs, siding, and windows allow water to penetrate, resulting in mildew, mold and rot, and endangering vulnerable residents. Given that a significant proportion of senior homeowners have incomes ranging from 10- 50% of Area Median Income, major repairs are out of reach of many or most. It’s important to note that preservation of an existing home prevents both the risk of homelessness for the owner and eliminates the need to create a new housing unit. Recommendations: • Add a new strategy under Objective 4 (“Prevent episodes of homelessness whenever possible”): 2 • Actively assist low-income homeowners to remain in their homes by funding critical repair programs, including septic repair and replacement, and by providing compassionate code compliance staffing. • Update Appendix D (Prioritization Criteria for Homeless Housing Capital Projects) to add an additional capital project type as demonstrating serving the greatest need: • Critical repairs for older and disabled homeowners. 2. Affordable Homeownership for Underserved Groups Affordable homeownership is essential, especially for historically underserved groups. The Plan notes that only 10% of Black households own homes, and that there is a significant intersection of race with unequal access to housing and homeownership (page 5). Access to affordable homeownership allows low-income individuals (including first generation homeowners, many of whom are PGM/BIPOC) to build wealth. Habitat’s record demonstrates low-income individuals make successful homeowners; over 28 years, more than 85 local households (40–80% AMI) have become homeowners through Habitat’s program, with zero foreclosures. It’s important to recognize that homeownership reduces the amount of long-term subsidy needed. While the costs of construction for rental and ownership units are similar, the long-term subsidies differ starkly. Rental units demand not only upfront construction subsidies but also ongoing monthly subsidies indefinitely; permanently affordable homeownership only requires subsidy once, at the time of construction, and does not require ongoing subsidy. Recommendations: • Avoid predetermining rental as the preferred option. • Determine the cost effectiveness of proposed solutions by considering the full subsidy required (both up-front and ongoing). • Expect HSPs to document the rationale for proposing a particular housing type as appropriate to meet the needs of the Plan’s prioritized underserved populations in Jefferson County (see Appendix D). • Update the bullets in Appendix D under ‘Need’ to include: • Emergency, Transitional, and Permanent Supportive Housing, and Permanently Affordable Homeownership for Families with Minor Children. • Affordable Rentals and Homeownership Units for All Demographics, particularly People of Global Majority (PGM). 3 • Add the following Action to Objective 4.B: • Connect renters with opportunities to become homeowners—freeing rental units for those exiting transitional housing—by supporting homebuyer education, credit counseling, and housing counseling programs. We urge the City Council and Board of County Commissioners to fully integrate affordable homeownership strategies into the Plan. Doing so will create lasting stability, reduce long- term public costs, and ensure equitable access to housing for all residents. Thank you for considering these recommendations. Habitat for Humanity stands ready to partner in implementing solutions that house local families and build a stronger Jefferson County.