Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutConsolidated Housing Recommendations - rev 11 04 2020HOUSING INTRODUCTION As six community groups looked at how citizens, businesses, non-profits and governments of Jefferson County and Port Townsend can exercise self-empowerment to recover from COVID and strengthen our community’s resiliency, three of the groups identified increasing the supply of affordable housing and reducing homelessness as a key challenge and opportunity. This Housing Chapter weaves together the housing ideas from those three groups: Economy & Jobs, Children & Families, and Human Services. LEAD SECTOR & SUPPORTING/OVERLAPPING SECTOR(S) Economy & Jobs, Children & Families, and Human Services COMMUNITY GROUP MEMBERS The three community groups have a combined total of 56 people who participated. Please see each group’s section for a list of their members. PROBLEM/OPPORTUNITY STATEMENTS Jefferson County has an affordable housing crisis, made worse by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, creating unemployment, impacting families and family incomes, and demands on human services. Reduced incomes or unemployment during the pandemic contributes to substandard living situations and homelessness. Many local workers already must find housing in neighboring counties and commute here, and local businesses are facing a labor shortage. Rising rents and housing costs, coupled with reduced incomes during COVID, are impacting families and children. A number of our schools are seeing declining enrollment, because families with children can no longer afford to live here, and COVID exacerbates this problem. If this trend continues without intervention, it threatens the very identity and fabric of our community. We should engage the whole community to find solutions to community problems such as affordable workforce housing and childcare. We should strive to sustain, strengthen and diversify our local economy while recognizing that our environment is evolving (COVID). The issues raised here are not new. As a rural county with very outstanding natural features and a well-known tourist destination, Jefferson County has long been attractive as a place to retire. This report is focused on the businesses and workforce that Jefferson County needs to be a well-rounded and resilient community. Current trends are making Jefferson County less affordable for local workers. The COVID crisis is accelerating these trends in many ways. If we wish Jefferson County to be composed of real communities, where the businesses are locally owned and the workforce is housed and lives locally, then immediate steps must be taken to address the affordability of workforce housing, the availability of affordable childcare, the provision of additional financial and technical assistance to businesses, increase the economic activity in the marine trades sector which provides some of the best living wage jobs in the County, and provide affordable and available high speed broad band to every home and business in Jefferson County. Lack of affordable workforce housing, childcare, and lack of high-speed broadband county-wide are barriers to achieving a diverse resilient economy. Our County was facing a crisis on all these fronts prior to COVID, and this pandemic is making it much worse. The scarcity and cost of workforce housing permeates every sector of our economy and our community social fabric every day. Our economy cannot thrive without people to staff our businesses and they need a place to live, one that is affordable at local wages. Businesses with open positions, whether current staffing or growth roles, may have skilled needs not found in our current local job pool. There are generally many qualified candidates from outside Jefferson County who would be ready, willing, and able to relocate, at their own expense, to take on a given job opportunity. Unfortunately, even if they could find housing, there are few jobs with salaries that can support over $2000 per month for a small ADU, at best. Businesses are forced to hire geographically. When they need to fill a role in their operation, they often must hire the best person who already lives in Jefferson County, and that is not always possible. Business attraction is virtually impossible without housing for a workforce that meets the scale and scope of the operation. Here, almost no housing is available and what little there is does not approach what prospective employees/residents can afford, or if affordable, are unacceptable in quality. We need to engage all the sectors of our economy and engage our residents to address the problems we face (such as workforce housing, child care, broadband, etc.). The issues facing our community in the Human Services arena pre-date the COVID-19 pandemic. The addition of a global pandemic has served to exacerbate already difficult issues in our community. Issues like housing, poverty and lack of services have been at the root of the disparity plaguing Jefferson County for years. Vulnerable members of our community struggle to meet their basic needs. COVID presents unique challenges to the delivery of human services for our community. The COVID crisis could also significantly decrease the funding available for these essential services. The housing crisis that predated COVID is only growing worse as housing stock dwindles, while the need for supportive and affordable housing increases. But this crisis may represent an opportunity for local agencies to emerge more resilient, agile and interconnected. BACKGROUND In 2017, Jefferson County declared a State of Emergency regarding the Availability of Affordable Housing for Low and Very Low-Income Households. Since then housing prices in Jefferson County have continued to rise much faster than inflation, and the availability of rental units has remained at historic lows, and appears only to have gotten worse. The declaration in 2017 was based in part upon reports from HUD indicating more than half the renters in Jefferson County (1,680 of 3,425) are cost burdened, paying more than 30% of their household income for housing costs, and one in four ( 895 of 3,425) are severely cost-burdened, paying more than 50% of their income for housing costs. According to OlyCAP, there were less than 600 units of subsidized housing and the waiting list to rent one exceeded 2 years. There is a severe lack of multifamily dwellings in Jefferson County when compared to the demand. According to the US Census 12.7% of Jefferson County lives in poverty, as does 16.6 % of the City of Port Townsend compared to 11.8% for the entire United States. An Assessment by E.D. Hovee listed the median home price in Jefferson County as $311,000 in 2015. According to a current (October, 2020) posting on an on-line real estate site www.realtor.com, “Recently Sold Homes in Jefferson County, WA have a median listing price of $415,000.” No new apartments have been built in Jefferson County since 2010. Additionally, 40 apartment units have been converted to condominiums since 2005. While a small number of condominium units have been built since 2010, their price has escalated sharply – a 100% price increase between 2015 and 2020, according to the County Assessor. Despite the current resources and ongoing local efforts, there is a demonstrated need for additional funding for affordable housing as well as for facilities, services and programs benefitting vulnerable and low-income populations. Housing in Jefferson County represents a continuum, from homeless encampments, to homeless shelters, to transitional housing, subsidized apartments and affordable rentals, entry and affordable home ownership, on through the full range of market rate housing we see in real estate listings today. / / Housing options at the bottom of the continuum require full support subsidies by non-profits and government programs, which decreases as you move up through the continuum. Typically, you like to see people move through and up the continuum stepwise, as people’s financial stability and well-being improves. A major problem in Jefferson County today, is the staircase is broken. While upper end market rate housing is being built, mostly, that is all that’s being built. It tends to be homeowners hiring contractors to build their dream, or developers building speculation homes targeted to the upper end listing market rather than creating inventory that is open to all levels of potential home buyers. Hence, there is a shortage of entry- and mid-range homes, and home price increases are reflecting the shortage. The table to the right shows median home prices for Washington State. The Jefferson County Assessor states it also accurately reflects home price trends in Jefferson County. As previously noted, no apartments have been built in Jefferson County in the past decade. Additionally, rental housing is being converted into owner-occupied condominiums, and Air B&Bs. Washington Office of Financial Management Housing options in Jefferson County are scarce and costly. We see families who are trying to live here, needing to resort to actively marketing themselves on bulletin boards and on-line, trying to encourage a potential landlord or seller to pick them over others, to rent or buy. The broken housing continuum has its greatest impact on vulnerable populations. In 2017, OlyCAP changed its homeless shelter model from a Winter Shelter model to a Year-Round Shelter, using the summer months to do case management to move people out of homelessness, into transitional or permanent housing. The first summer was very successful, and they were able to move eight individuals out of homelessness. As the inventory of affordable housing has gotten worse, there is no housing into which to move Shelter residents out of homelessness. Consequently, the Shelter is full, and continues to serve the same individuals year over year, and there is very little opportunity for new people to come in out of the cold. Bayside Housing Services provides transitional housing for people who have been homeless or are facing homelessness. Of the last 100 people Bayside transitioned from its facility in Hadlock to permanent housing, all but 5 had to be placed outside Jefferson County. In addition, there is a backlog of vulnerable people waiting to get into Bayside’s facility, but can’t, because Bayside cannot find homes for their current clients to move to. Economic displacement of individuals and families resulting from the COVID pandemic makes these issues more acute. RECOMMENDED ACTIONS Top housing recommendations from the three groups are briefly described below. For more information, and for additional proposals by the community groups, please see the full recommendations of the Economy & Jobs, Children & Families, and Human Services groups in APPENDIX 1. PROJECT/INITIATIVE #1 – “HOUSING CONNECTIONS PROGRAM” FOR RAPID CREATION OF RENTAL UNITS AS AFFORDABLE WORKFORCE HOUSING Recommended by the Economy & Jobs community group. Brief Description: Increase the supply of affordable rental housing units by helping local homeowners become landlords by: Leasing empty bedrooms in their homes to individuals or couples/single parents; or Creating attached or detached Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on their property for lease to individuals, couples or families. Proposed Lead Organization: Jefferson Community Foundation Housing Solutions Network. Partner Organizations: Peninsula Housing Authority, Habitat for Humanity, OlyCAP, Bayside Housing Services, DOVE House, Homeward Bound. Technical Expertise/Permit review: City Development Services Department, County Department of Community Development Additional Details: Create a Housing Connections service center serving both tenants and landlords with resources and technical assistance to help homeowners create and rent units in/on their properties, and to help renters find and lease those rooms and ADUs. Objectives & Target Outcomes: Provide affordable workforce housing; Help local businesses attract and retain workers by providing housing; Help homeowners afford to keep their homes, by creating a new revenue stream from rents; Goal of creating 25 or more affordable rental units per year for households of 1-3 people. Program will grow in range of services and resources, over time, such as a Permit Navigator to help property owners through the building permit process if constructing ADUs or making home modifications for the rental units. See Figure 1. Resource Needs/Constraints: Funding for staff & Housing Connections operations FIGURE 1 / ASSESSMENT: Tangible, Fundable, Legal, Able to Implement, Address COVID-19 Project meets these guidelines based on findings from a solid year of work conducted by various Housing Action Teams Tangible: Substantial interest level demonstrated through focus groups, offered trainings, project proposals – all with limited advertising (e.g. 80+ people attended HSN’s free How to be a Good Landlord training) Fundable: One or two paid staff, initially grant funded and later through sliding scale fees, memberships and consulting fees Legal: No barriers discovered to date Able to Implement: Demonstrated success in other communities and our own local community response indicate viable approach https://housingsolutionsnetwork.org/rural-models-that-work/ Addresses COVID-19 due to the increased pressure on housing, both by anticipated rental evictions and demonstrated increased demand for housing by those moving here to work remotely PROJECT/INITIATIVE #2 – FUNDING TO CONTINUE HOUSING SERVICE ENHANCEMENTS DURING COVID Recommended by the Human Services community group. The following projects were originally proposed by the Human Services group for CARES funding. Our group recommends that additional funding be obtained for the following projects. Originally funded in 2020 (made possibly by CARES CRF funding), but needing new funding when the original funding runs out. American Legion Shelter Open 24/7, Cost per month: $12,600.00 For the Shelter to be open 24/7 (rather than just evenings) it requires additional paid staffing shifts per day. This sheltered homeless population is able to comply with rules and regulations pertaining to congregate sheltering and would benefit significantly from having a safe place to stay during the day that is warm and secure, since most places where unsheltered people might congregate during the day are currently closed or have limited capacity because of COVID. It also would provide other unsheltered community members accessible shower and laundry facilities to maintain personal hygiene needs. Weekend Meals Available at Shelter, Cost per month: $2,520.00 Due to COVID, COAST is not able to provide regular and weekend meals at the Shelter. Similarly, other faith partners providing meals are low on funding due to not holding regular services. The Shelter buys meals from the hospital at $7.00 a meal. Other projects. Continued Emergency Housing for Families, Cost per month $4,500 OlyCap is renting three kitchenette rooms from a local hotel that are for use by families as a result of COVID’s effect on the household. The cost per room is $50.00 a night, 30 nights per month, and three rooms adds to $4,500.00 per month. OlyCap is handling case management, unless another partner is coordinating placement and already handling the case management. Continued Evening Monitoring at Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Cost per month $6,300 OlyCap staff will monitor the Fairgrounds in the evenings 7pm-7am and work with clients to keep the areas clean and in compliance with health code rules. When existing funding for night monitors runs out, and if the campers are still at the Fairgrounds and still require monitoring at the same level of service, new funding will be necessary to continue the service. $6,300.00 a month. Utility Cost Supports for a Wooden Tent Structure Location, Estimated cost per month $3,000.00 Wooden tents are being constructed (four so far, could be upwards of 12 made.) If the tent structures are able to be sited either temporarily or permanently, consistent with zoning, and with access to appropriate kitchen, bathroom and shower services, they would need to have paid utility services such as electric, water, sewer, and trash. ASSESSMENT: Tangible, Fundable, Legal, Able to Implement, Address COVID-19 Tangible: Items 1-4 would continue existing services. Item 5 is speculative at this time. Fundable: Funding sources have not been identified. Human Services group, non-profits and local governments should keep an eye out for future funding opportunities. Legal: Items 1-4 have no barriers. Item 5 will need to clear zoning and health code challenges. Able to Implement: Items 1-4 are easily implementable if there is funding. At this date, Item 5 is not yet fully-enough developed to know how implementable it will be. THE FUTURE The Children & Families community group identified the next five years as critical to creating secure and stable conditions to support children and families in Jefferson County. They stated, there are three essential needs that must be addressed to ensure a future for families here: Affordable housing, living wage jobs and mental health supports. They are inexorably intersectional. Achieving functional mental health is often not possible if housing is insecure. And finding a safe home is often out of reach without a living wage job. These three legs of the stool must be addressed strategically and intersectionally. While some people would attribute the livability challenges that families here face to “market forces”, there are demonstrated, structural changes that could be implemented to reverse this trajectory. To this end, the Children& Families group identified three housing-related needs for the mid-term future: The Housing Solutions Network (HSN) is calling out creative solutions to our housing availability and affordability crisis. Whether through home sharing, co-ownership or changes to building codes, there is a local non-profit and membership base committed to finding creative solutions to the disparities in housing here. With 25% of our housing stock being vacant part-time/ vacation rental/ second homes while nearly half of renters are “cost-burdened”, there is a clear need to narrow the housing gap. HSN serves an important role in motivating all people- individuals, organizations and governments- to be part of the myriad solutions we need to consider for housing. The need for a Community Land Trust (CLT). CLT’s provide affordable entry into home ownership, often a critical aspect to retaining young professionals in a community. Homeward Bound Community Land Trust, which owns property in Clallam County, is currently working to get established in Jefferson County as a provider of permanently affordable home ownership. CLTs will need support in the form of land donations and subsidy in order to get established in communities like ours with high land values. Multifamily, Affordable Housing: Jefferson County has been unable, in the past 15 years, to attract investors and developers of multifamily housing, which is the most affordable way to produce much-needed inventory of units. High land prices, lack of infrastructure and strict environmental regulation are all factors contributing to this problem. Identifying lands that are buildable LEGISLATION/ADVOCACY required at State, Federal or Local levels Anticipate occasional review and adjustment for local permitting to create units that cannot meet existing regulations PRIORITY PROJECTS/USES for any Future Federal Funding in 2021 Unmet funding needs previously identified in this Housing Section. The Human Services community group identified the following list of priority housing projects, if there is Future Federal Funding in 2021. Project Activity  New and creative solutions around safe, affordable, and quality housing that include emergency and longer term affordable housing American Legion open 24/7 after December   Single daily meal for clients sheltered at American Legion after December   Household Utility Assistance in 2021   Development of more housing at all levels from transitional housing to housing for working families   Once appropriate site(s) has been identified, create a formal proposal to bring to County administrator and/or County Commission for re-purposing this property to serve homeless population.   ICG Human Services Work Group commissions/generates an exhaustive list of county real estate (e.g. county campgrounds, parks, etc.) with an eye for where to shelter JeffCo's most vulnerable homeless population during and in the aftermath of the COVID crisis.