inslee ahab letter 01172017

SMARTGROWTHGROWTHSEATTLEDirectorRogerValdezSmartGrowthSeattlePOBox2912Seattle,WA98111-2912206.427.7707www.smartgrowthseattle.orgroger@smartgrowthseattle.org

January17,2017

DearGovernorInslee,WeverymuchappreciatetheletteryousenttotheAffordableHousingAdvisoryBoard(AHAB)yesterday.Weverymuchagreethatweneed,“amorethoroughanalysisoftherootcausesaffectingthelackofaffordablehousinginourstate.”Partoftheanswerissimple:wedon’tlackaffordablehousingwelackhousing,period.Scarcitybecauseproductionisn’tkeepingupwithdemandputsmarketrateandsubsidizedhousingoutofreachformanyhouseholds.I’veattachedthreedocumentsthatIrecommendthatstaffabsorb.Eachofthempointsout,asdoesyourletter,toissuesrelatedto“zoningandplanning,permitting,development,andfinancingandconstructionprocesses”thatarecostlyandraisebarriersforhousingproductionforbothmarketrateandsubsidizedhousing.Californiahasfounditsproblemislackofsupplyinthefaceofrisingdemand,overregulation,andextraordinarycostsassociatedwithbuildinghousingthatusesstateandlocalsubsidiesandtaxcredits(seestoryonGovernorBrown).Weneedstrongandappropriatelyfundedlegislationthissessionto,

• Understandandquantifytheself-imposedregulatoryburdensthatincreasethecostsofhousingproduction;

• Commissionanobjectivestudyandcomparisonofthecoststoproducemarketratehousingwiththecoststoproducesubsidizedhousing;and

• Getarecommendationabouthowthesecostscanbereducedforallhousingproductionsothatpeoplewhoneedhousingandtaxpayerscanbenefitfromthesavings.

Wearefacinglimitstoourabilitiesasastatetofullyfundeducationandahostofotherneeds.Changestofederaltaxlawsmayresultinfewertaxcredits.NowmorethaneverWashingtonmustfindeverypossibletooltoreduceandlimitthecostsofproducinghousing,notsimplyseekmoreandmoreadditionalfundingforexpensivesubsidizedhousing.Westronglyurgeyoutosupportresourcesforthiseffortandthatitbenon-partisananddrivenbydataandthebasicpremisethatwefacehousingscarcitybecausewearen’tproducingenoughhousingofalltypes,everywhereinourstateforalllevelsofincome.Sincerely,

RogerValdezDirector