As we approach the upcoming mayoral election, we invite the Friday Harbor community and residents of San Juan Island to join us in wishing the two candidates luck in the final days of the campaign and advocating for a new approach to how the new administration of the Town of Friday Harbor supports the development of affordable housing.
1) Record the Binding Site Plan for the HolliWalk neighborhood. We believe we have provided the proper, logical and legal justification for resolving this project immediately. It has already been two years since the project’s completion and the move-in of the eventual homeowners. Those two years have been characterized by a long, drawn-out negotiation process that has led to our drafting of a Settlement Agreement in which we have agreed to do additional work at additional expense and delay just to try and get the Town to move forward. And we’re still not there! A mayor who is supportive of affordable housing can record the HolliWalk Binding Site Plan on day one.
2) Recent Town action on our Argyle Project is promising. After a two-year process of drafting and negotiating a Development Agreement with Town staff, the Town Council adopted the Draft D.A., which provides the density bonus described in the County’s RFQ for developing the property, which was created in collaboration with the Town. Still, the Town is insisting on a drawn-out process to incorporate and consider proposed changes to the D.A. by the County. On top of that, even though the D.A. lays out key aspects of the process and timeline for applicable codes and Town approvals, there’s no guarantee that this will go smoothly, given our history of working with the Town through the permitting and development processes. A mayor who is supportive of affordable housing can ask staff for frequent updates, troubleshoot staff delays and keep the project “top of mind” for the Town Council and in the public realm by keeping it on Town Council meeting agendas as it moves through the permitting process.
3) The Home Trust needs to decommission the failing Large Onsite Sewer System that serves our Sun Rise community (phases 1 and 2), and hook up to the Town Sewer. What we need from the Town is a letter of support to accept state funding for the hookup. We have identified and are working closely with multiple state agencies on the work needed, in addition to partnering with the Port. A letter of support for funding from the Town would not only address the failing system that serves our Sun Rise neighborhoods immediately, but it would also allow us to develop Sun Rise 3 and install infrastructure that would serve additional affordable housing development opportunities on Turn Point properties we already own. A mayor who is supportive of affordable housing can take action on this on day one.
4) The Town should have an official Town Council representative on the San Juan County Housing Advisory Committee. According to members of the HAC, the committee has suffered from not having a direct connection to the Town, so that the Town’s actions on affordable housing are part of the larger context. A mayor who is supportive of affordable housing can take action on this on day one.
5) The Town should adopt a permanently affordable housing ordinance to establish the Town’s related policies. This now common practice had been promised by the Town of Friday Harbor until they changed their minds and we were forced to draft and negotiate a D.A. on Argyle. By extension, each affordable housing project must theoretically beg, plead, negotiate and endure delay in hopes of finding a way to build affordable housing in the Town.
Another problem with not having an official policy is that the Town can “play favorites.” One example is the Griffin Bay D.A. recently brought by Town staff to the Town Council. This was rushed to the Council for approval less than 48 hours after an application was filed. Worse, the policy is wrong-headed. A 100% density bonus is being given to this project, with only eight of 40 (20%) of the units being affordable. The approach to affordability, another major policy implication, is also wrong-headed. The Griffin Bay D.A. requires that rent on those eight units “cannot exceed 30% of the monthly income of a household whose annual income is 80% median household income for Friday.” That’s it. Since the proposed project is not publicly funded, neither the D.A. nor the developer requires any kind of compliance. It is unclear that any units built as part of this development will actually be affordable, and if they are affordable according to the D.A., there’s no expectation or assurance that they will remain affordable for any period of time.
A true affordable housing policy, adopted by ordinance, would specify income levels, define affordability, establish the length of commitment, and require compliance structures. A mayor who is supportive of affordable housing would not play favorites with for-profit developers and allow this type of phony support of affordable housing. Rather, a mayor who is supportive of affordable housing would lead a process of adopting a clear, strong affordable housing policy based on best practices around the state.
The five actions outlined above are really about removing barriers that appear to have been intentionally placed in the Home Trust’s way of developing affordable housing. Imagine what is possible if the Town were supportive and collaborative? The Town of Friday Harbor, San Juan County and numerous state departments have Comprehensive Plans, policies, funding and technical support programs, and laws that are supportive of affordable housing.
The infrastructure exists to be much more proactive in providing support for affordable housing in the Town of Friday Harbor. There are also numerous examples of this from small, rural communities across the state and the nation. The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy recently completed a 92-page report called “Preserving Affordable Homeownership, Municipal Partnerships with Community Land Trusts.” To save you from having to read it all, pages 50 and 51 in the study cover the topic of “Regulatory Support for Project Development” and would be a great start..
Amanda Lynn, executive director
Paul Fischburg, board president
San Juan Community Home Trust
