MEMO TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Carol Helland, Director of Planning and Community Development
SUBJECT:
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Housing Action Plan - Housing Needs Assessment
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
This update is for information only in advance of a Council Study Session on July 28, 2020.
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II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Carol Helland, Director 425-556-2107
Beverly Mesa-Zendt, AICP, Interim Deputy Director 425-556-2423
Brooke Buckingham, Senior Human Services Planner 425-556-2416
Sarah Stiteler, AICP, Senior Human Services Planner 425-556-2469
Ian Lefcourte, AICP, Long Range Planning Planner 425-556-2438
Planning and Community Development Department
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
The Housing Action Plan (HAP) project is well underway and remains on schedule, with a set of key deliverables informing the development and adoption of actionable strategies by spring of next year.
The City’s consultant, ECONorthwest, has completed the first project deliverable needed to advance the HAP. Refer to Attachment A. The Housing Needs Assessment report includes:
• An inventory of existing conditions (e.g. cost burden data, housing production trends, and community demographics);
• Forecast and analysis of housing needs and a housing needs gap analysis; and
• Scenarios for meeting the gap and policy implications.
Quantifying the housing shortage that exists in Redmond needs to take into account both the current demand for housing as well as the expected demand based on anticipated population growth. To date, various targets have been set to accommodate growth and associated housing demand, as is required by the state’s Growth Management Act (GMA) and Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs).
ECONorthwest is using a ratio method to assess the gap. The proposed methodology uses population data, average household size, and a national housing ratio while taking into account underproduction and expected demand to calculate the gap. More details are included in Attachment B. Policy and regulatory options for addressing the expected gap will be explored further during the policy analysis phase of this project. Staff will be presenting an overview of the methodology used to calculate the current and future gap in Redmond’s housing inventory at the July 21 Regular Business meeting.
This scheduled staff report is intended to provide Council with a useful foundation for the detailed presentation of the draft Housing Needs Assessment report from ECONorthwest that is scheduled for July 28.
IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
July 14, 2020, Planning and Public Works Committee of the Whole
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
Strategies for addressing the identified housing gaps will be presented as part of the overall housing action plan later this year.
B. Fiscal Note:
Funding for this project has been provided by the Washington State Department of Commerce HB 1923 grant ($100,000) awarded in 2019.
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
None at this time.
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
To comply with the Department of Commerce grant guidelines, the Housing Action Plan must be adopted by Council no later than April 2021. To adhere to grant schedule guidelines, the following engagements have been scheduled with the City Council.
Council Engagement Schedule
• July 21: Council Regular Business Meeting for a Staff Report on the Housing Needs Assessment Methodology.
• July 28: Study Session with ECONorthwest consultants and staff for an in-depth discussion of the draft Housing Needs Assessment Report.
• August 25: Study Session with Broadview Planning consultants and staff to provide an overview of the results from the first round of public engagement.
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Housing Needs Assessment Report
Attachment B: Housing Needs Assessment Methodology Powerpoint