Community comments on housing plan

In 2002, the state of Washington passed legislation to create more affordable housing in communities all over the state. Counties were requested to collect fees on real estate transactions, commonly called recording fees.

In 2005, hoping to reduce homelessness by 50 percent in a 10 year period, the state expanded this legislation, directing counties to collect a second recording fee. Forty percent of the monies received go to the state and 60 percent remain in the county. Averaging collections of $20,000-$24,000 a year in the county, two funds in Wahkiakum County now hold approximately $145,000.

The current mandate is to provide affordable, accessible housing in the county and the collected funds must be used or they will be lost. The county commissioners appointed the County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)to take the lead on this project. HHS agreed and have now presented the information to the community in four meetings, hoping to ascertain the public’s response and report back to the commissioners.

The project has been in the works for some time.

With a grant, HHS was able to invite Common Ground, an organization that specializes in developing affordable and supportive housing to communities, here a few years ago.

According to Project Coordinator Chris Holmes, they “helped facilitate a two part community meeting, and brought together a broad cross section of people to talk about housing issues in the community. They talked about the types of housing needed to be seen here.”

The group came to the conclusion that local housing should not target a particular group, but to meet current and coming needs, be it the aging population or young families, to support people in need of safe affordable housing.

“The goal is not to develop this all in one fell swoop, but to adapt to the changing needs of our community,” said Holmes.

County commissioners then designated a group of people to advise them on the use of the accumulating funds. This housing advisory committee met monthly for years, said Holmes. They looked at every property that was presented to them.

According to Suzanne Holmes, chair of the housing advisory committee, there is a big need for housing.

“The waiting list for affordable, accessible housing is growing,” she said. “It is harder to qualify for loans, and homes are becoming less accessible as our population ages.”

She mentioned the difficulty with two story homes, stand alone heating like pellet and wood stoves, or housing that is remote; all increasingly problematic for older citizens.

“This is an opportunity to build a housing model that can help meet the transitional needs of an aging population. It makes it affordable for families that live here. If we can’t attract families with children, our schools are at risk.“

She went on to say, “70 percent of the people in our county are employed outside the county. We haven’t been successful in building an alternative economic base. When you get to 42 percent are retired and not employed, nor looking for employment, as we will, you want to keep them here to support the local economy. If not here, they will be somewhere else. Small rural counties all over the state are facing the same issues.”

The group feels they have found a good site, near the school and shopping, accessible for transit. They have agreed on a price with the landowner and await the results of a feasibility study in order to move forward. The proposed site is a piece of undeveloped land located behind homes along Columbia Street, Jacobsen Road and Douglas Street.

If the land is purchased, then goals will shift to development of property. They are currently open to ideas on how to move forward. The present thought is to put in 12-15 rental apartments, and have several sites set up for people who want to get involved with Lower Columbia Community Action Program’s Self Help Housing.

Juanita Burnham of CAP presented the Self Help Housing program to the people who attended the meetings. A group of qualifying individuals or families commit to building their own homes, much like Habitat for Humanity.

However, Self Help Housing has more stringent standards for qualification than the other program. Participators agree to work at least 30 hours a week until the project is completed. This “sweat equity” is equal to the down payment of their home.

The US Department of Agriculture has a long history of providing loans at very low rates, and are actively involved with this program. Burnham spoke of the pride that comes to each participant in the program. They take better care of themselves and their environment and tend to stay in their homes.

Some residents voiced their concerns. Some worried that the development would lower home values, or that it would be built and sit empty. Others worried about the culture that low income housing might invite.