New Washington State Law Lets Cities Give Social Housing Developers City-owned Land

A new Washington state bill, House Bill 1687, allows the state and local governments to assist social housing public development authorities, reports Doug Trumm in The Urbanist.

This means cities can offer land for construction sites, a key strategy for helping agencies such as the Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD) build more affordable housing at a lower cost. “Newly sanctioned cooperation could also take the form of planning and logistical help, which social housing booster Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has pledged.”

SSHD interim CEO Tiffani McCoy said, “Allowing social housing public development authorities to benefit from the Housing Cooperation Law will grant us the ability to legally sidestep restrictive zoning and building regulations, which will lower costs overall and create more permanently affordable housing for Seattle residents across our city.” 

Trumm points out that the law, in its current form, only applies to Seattle, and only expands the toolkit, but doesn’t obligate any city funds or actions. “Time will tell whether governmental cooperation made by possible by HB 1687 will be a key ingredient in rolling out some of the Seattle Social Housing Developer's first projects.”