2014/04/23 Council Agenda Packet

futurewise Building communities AUDUBON SOCIETY Protecting the land the Emironatem Everett City Council May 23, 2014 2930 Wetmore Avenue Everett, WA 98201 Re: Pilot Project for Code Amendments for Student Housing in B-3 Zone Dear Everett City Council: Futurewise is working throughout Washington State to create livable communities, protect our working farmlands, forests, and waterways, and ensure a better quality of life for present and future generations,working with communities to implement effective land use planning and policies that prevent waste and stop sprawl, provide efficient transportation choices, create affordable housing and strong local businesses, and ensure healthy natural systems. The mission of the Pilchuck Audubon Society is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems focusing on birds and other wildlife for the benefit of the earth's biological diversity. We have many members of both organizations living in Everett. We support the unanimous recommendation of your Planning Commission to adopt the proposal by Footprint Investments, LLC for the pilot project referenced above. This pilot project will not only help to house many of the students at Trinity Lutheran College that resides in downtown Everett, but will also be a clear example for Snohomish County and its cities for allowing similar types of affordable housing units in the future. Affordable housing in Everett is lacking, and is needed, especially for students who do not have the income for apartments that are more expensive. In the February 13, 2014 Seattle Times article "Denver leads Seattle (in rent hikes)" it states: "In King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, the average one-bedroom rent was $1,051, while two-bedrooms were $1,255, the research firm said." The article can be found at http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2022797998 sundaybuzz02xml.h tml Clearly these rents are way too burdensome of many people in Snohomish County, especially students. The housing that Footprint is proposing for the college, could also house non-student housing if at some point in the future the college were to relocate. Footprint LLC is committed to providing a quality product that is Green Built, and will help reduce the carbon footprint for the City of Everett. In a recent interview in High Country News, Arthur Nelson, Presidential Professor of city and metropolitan planning at the University of Utah's Metropolitan Research Center,who has spent over 20 years teaching urban planning, public policy and urban finances, states that most of America will live in megalopolitan areas by 2040, and that the hundreds of