Our challenges are the result of some very positive changes. We have a strong local economy, we're a desirable place to live and so people are choosing to move here. Our community has benefited from attracting active retirees, small business owners and cyber-commuters. This does increase the demand for housing. It's also more profitable to build high-end homes than it is to build affordable housing and our current development code and standards make it difficult or, in some cases impossible, to build affordable housing.

We need some kind of flexible zoning that, at a minimum, rewards developers and builders for building affordable housing and we need to create a local housing trust fund that can target otherwise unmet income brackets in need of affordable housing. I will continue to support a community land trust that provides perpetual affordable housing and I will be sure to seek out and make use of community block grants.

In the past 5 years, the average home price in Bellingham has increased 65% and as of mid-2007 now stands at nearly $300,000. At the same time, real wages have fallen in Bellingham by about five percent. Trailer parks, of which Bellingham has a good number, are one of the last forms of affordable purchased housing for low-income and elderly residents. As land values soar, the large tracts of land under trailer parks become prime candidates for lucrative redevelopment, which can displace lots of folks with modest means. While buying into the housing market is one significant challenge for our community, staying in housing is another. As property values increase rapidly, the uniform property tax rates applied to that increasing value put low-income and many seniors at risk of not being able to afford the homes they've been in for years. Renting is another challenge: according to the "Out of Reach" national update put out by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, renters in Bellingham need to make at least $14.00/hour to avoid having the average fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment exceed the recommended 30% of income for housing threshold. In addition, there are other factors at play for specific population segments. For example, families with three or more children often compete with higher education students for rental homes that are large enough to meet their needs. Homelessness is on the rise, and getting out of homelessness is daunting. According to the January 2007 annual "Point-in-Time" count of the homeless, 1,298 persons met the definition in Whatcom County, and 42% of those persons were children under age 18. The 'Housing First' approach is promising, but needs consistent support among elected officials and staff. I am aware of the critical importance of the affordable housing issue, and will be a strong, consistent advocate for housing issues as mayor.

Yes. It's important that we ensure a supply of affordable homes close to work and services. Commuting has significant environmental impacts and the financial and time costs associated with commuting offsets whatever savings may have been gained.

There is an unfortunate tendency to pigeonhole issues; in the end such an approach is almost always counterproductive. Housing affordability versus the environment is a good example of this. There are many connections between affordability and environmental issues. For example, a central environmental issue for me is sprawl. Sprawl occurs in large measure because some the full costs of development are transferred from the developer and buyer to the City and society at large. By charging appropriate fees, and by having in place appropriate regulations to assess costs at the development level, infill development becomes more attractive compared to the current pattern of wanting to develop the next cow pasture north of Bellingham. The challenge is to assess appropriate development charges, while also investing developers and the community with the tools needed to provide a full range of housing cost options, so that the costs of not sprawling are not left on the shoulders of those who are on the cusp of affording a home of their own--and who therefore frequently 'drive to qualify.' In the end, such an approach is more humane, better for the environment, and better for our collective pocketbook, as development occurs in a manner which does not penalize current taxpayers, while providing affordable choices for new homebuyers and creating greater efficiencies in our existing infrastructure. This pattern also enables transportation choices--making some trips by transit, walking, or biking--which have considerable environmental benefits. A more compact development pattern also addresses the aesthetic issue of not wanting another Lynnwood here in Bellingham, avoiding the ongoing encroachment into more and more undeveloped areas.

The Whatcom County Health Department's Housing First Project is a huge step in addressing this problem. This project will ultimately not only make life better for the targeted homeless, it will also be a less expensive way of serving this population. That is, it's been demonstrated time and time again that it's cheaper to provide housing and stability than it is to cycle people through the jail, emergency rooms and mental health services.

Rising homelessness and a rising percentage of income needed for housing costs show that we are falling further behind in affordable housing issues, despite some great individual examples of success. Rising housing prices, coupled with falling incomes and limited low-cost housing options, are resulting in rising numbers of area residents being priced out of the purchased housing market, forced to share smaller accommodations, and to a distressing degree, being left homeless altogether for periods of time. We can do better. We need to assess the tools at our disposal, including appropriate, targeted revenue streams, regulatory changes, and policy options, to comprehensively examine the roots of the issue locally, and to address these to the extent we can as a community. We also must more fully educate our state and federal legislators regarding the importance of this issue, and how this issue ties into other issues in a very direct way--and through that effort, obtain increased investment in affordability; an investment that demonstrably provides a great return economically and socially over time.

I have always concentrated very hard on protecting the revenues that can be applied to social services and affordable housing. For example, using general fund dollars for infrastructure costs is, in my mind, a direct transfer from social services to subsidies for development. I would be a strong advocate for local governments to be able to choose to use part of their real estate excise tax to create a housing trust fund to be used for a variety of affordable housing needs.

A common budgeting mistake pits one program against another in a prioritized process. A better approach is to identify programs where governmental involvement yields positive outcomes, and then determine a range of budgeting alternatives and outcomes for all programs making this cut. For example, at a recent forum I was asked whether human services should be prioritized above libraries and museums. I responded that it is a false choice, one that fails to recognize that both types of programs are important, not just on a city-wide basis, but on the basis of the specific population in question. If libraries are not funded, the poor are more effectively cut off from self-advancement than are those who can purchase books and educational materials. Similarly, closing public museums cuts off those with less money form cultural enrichment to a far, far greater extent than it affects the better off. I recognize that affordable housing is intrinsically an area where government can have a significant, positive effect, and one where I would argue we have some level of obligation. However, we must examine the needs, the opportunities, and the resources with an eye towards an effective investment of our assets, and investing them in a manner which yields the greatest ongoing return. An example of this is the Housing First program, which recognizes that funds put toward alleviating housing crises for the homeless result in additional improvements across a spectrum of issues--joblessness, drug/alcohol issues, mental and physical health challenges--much more effectively than trying to address those other issues prior to tackling the housing issue would.

Yes.

Yes. I believe that the creation of a housing trust fund is a critical element necessary to fully address the challenges of home ownership and housing affordability in Bellingham. By raising funds locally, under local control, we will increase opportunities to leverage funds to get more state and federal funding to further tackle this problem.

Yes I do as long as it's a flexible program that allows the developer a variety of options to pursue and as long as the incentives are strong enough that the developer will make a substantial profit. Without the opportunity for profit the affordable housing we need as a community will not be built.

We all benefit from a diverse society and from a community where people of all income levels can live. I believe we have a responsibility to include all in our community.

Mandatory inclusionary zoning is another tool we must consider in ensuring the range of housing choices and costs needed for the long term health of our community. While I generally believe the inclusionary zoning needs to be mandatory, some cities' experiences--positive and negative--suggest that voluntary standards can better meet our needs, by providing greater opportunities to creatively examine the issue with an eye towards outcomes, rather than relying overly on a one-size-fits-all approach. In either case, developer offsets and incentives are key in developing and implementing an effective program. I intend to pursue whatever approaches and tools are most effective in addressing the underlying problem within the contexts and constraints provided by Bellingham's resources and the willingness of the Council to address these issues from the perspective of policy.

Yes. I plan to speed up the permitting process for all projects and make permitting more fair. I don't think our drawn-out permitting system works for anyone and the time lag costs the community in many ways. I'll work to put in place clear, predictable and easily interpreted development codes and standards for all housing.

First of all, I support a complete overhaul of our current permitting process, as the status quo is untenable. Within the general context of permitting, however, I also favor making some allowances for pursuing specific policy goals--such as providing for affordable housing, or for assisting targeted business expansion or investment--through expedited permitting processes. However, it is critical that such expedited processes are transparent, and that they still have an identified process, rather than operating on an ad hoc basis which results in differential treatment among applicants within the same class of application.

I think we can look to areas with rapid growth, such as the Seattle area, or California's urban areas, to see that it's not a question of too little supply. Rapid growth made those areas less, not more affordable.

Unfortunately, the affordable housing shortage is more complex than a simple supply-demand equation. We don't have a housing shortage in Bellingham and Whatcom County. We have an AFFORDABLE housing shortage. The causes of this are complex, and effective solutions will be multifaceted. We must make full use of the tools that the City of Bellingham has at its disposal to make a difference in the housing market. These are a few that a Pike administration will push to make happen: - Utilizing recently passed tools by the state legislature and advocating for more, I will take steps to protect the well maintained trailer parks within the city limits so we don't face the prospects of hundreds of our fellow residents being faced with homelessness when their park gets sold and redeveloped. - I will expand the City's partnership with the Kulshan Community Land Trust to increase the local volume of Trust-maintained properties that allow first-time home buyers to access the market, and build equity in the structure on the property, while the Trust holds the land in perpetuity for other low to moderate-income households of the future. - I will negotiate and push for more tax credit properties in private developments, so that housing being produced by developers has a reasonable portion of the units available to individuals and families with limited financial means. - I will lead appropriate city officials, and both nonprofit and for-profit community partners to examine, and where feasible, replicate successful affordable housing development strategies from around the nation and Canada. - I will travel to Washington, DC and work extensively with our congressional delegation to see that the federal government steps up to the plate adequately with HUD Section 8 rental vouchers for low-income people in our community. Vouchers not only create access to the housing market; they help private landlords keep their inventory full during periods when home buying reduces the rental census. - I support the well-developed "Housing First" model being championed by our dedicated agencies who fight homelessness. I want Bellingham to be a leader in this philosophy of getting people out of shelters and off the streets. - And, finally, I believe that any housing developed in the proposed waterfront development must include mixed housing , not just $750,000 condos. I will work to make sure that happens.

No. In fact, large numbers of higher wage jobs will in all likelihood create an even larger affordability gap. It's critical that we provide housing that is affordable and available for all sectors of our economy.

Bringing higher wage jobs into the community certainly has benefits. But it will do nothing to resolve the affordability gap for those who will not have those higher wage jobs. As we benefit from successful economic development we need to pay attention to the very significant portion of the population that may find the price of homes out of reach.

Every election year politicians promise to bring family wage jobs to town. This year the twist is that it will make houses more affordable. While it is true that higher wage jobs enable those workers to afford a more expensive home, other communities have seen that recruiting businesses to relocate to their area from elsewhere has made housing less, not more affordable. Housing demands and prices rise and we then have a larger pool of people in service jobs, unable to afford the increasingly expensive homes. It's important to remember that a significant portion of the population, including critical workers like public school teachers, will not be able to afford housing as prices rise.

I experienced this firsthand in the 1980's as a full-time math and science teacher working in a community with a serious affordable housing problem. Home ownership for my family was completely out of the question. So we moved back to Bellingham for me to attend graduate school and, as a graduate student, bought the house we live in today. I don't want to see Bellingham lose teachers and other critical professionals to more affordable communities.

Housing affordability is a complex issue. With wages moving backwards in real dollar terms for Bellingham residents since the year 2000--while home prices have been skyrocketing--clearly higher wages, while an important component of affordability, are only part of the solution. There is also a need to encourage a broader range of housing types to be brought to market, so that meaningful entry-level opportunities exist. Some of these solutions are of necessity regulatory. Under the status quo, developers get the highest return on higher end homes, so if we want more affordable housing, part of the solution requires that we provide incentives--which are not necessarily financial--to ensure the appropriate mix of housing is developed. We also need ongoing, dedicated revenue streams to help address the problem. I will make this a priority of my administration. For more of my thinking on these issues, please go to : http://www.pikeformayor.com/pages/housing.aspx