Resolution 7700 - Laserfiche WebLink

4. Affordability and Displacement Everett Housing Action Plan 46 No community will ever be without change, and even in cases where displacement is not a major issue, neighborhoods and communities in the city are continuously growing and evolving. However, addressing the negative impacts of housing displacement can help to protect communities across the city, and support current and future residents in accessing affordable, appropriate housing options for them. Equity in Housing While affordability and displacement can be applicable to a broad range of low- and moderate-income households, it is often of particular concern with respect to marginalized populations and can be linked to their historical exclusion from the housing market. Redlining and covenants restricting ownership by race were common decades ago, and while they are no longer legal, many of these impacts are still felt in our neighborhoods. The variations in housing and investment in neighborhoods that have been a consequence of these policies resulted in different outcomes for different people over time, with many groups facing challenges with accessing safe and healthy housing options and opportunities for homeownership. As growth pressures across the city increase, another challenge is that areas that have received less investment in recent years are less expensive but zoned to allow for denser redevelopment. Sites in these areas are often identified as opportunities for redevelopment, which can help support overall goals for building more housing but can also result in existing residents being physically and economically displaced from their communities. This displacement may disproportionately affect communities of color and other disadvantaged populations that may experience greater rates of poverty. This can affect individual households as well as broader communities. As noted previously, the sustainability of different cultural and social groups can be strongly affected by displacement. As members of the community are displaced, social connections may be strained, and local businesses and services oriented to specific communities may struggle with declining numbers. Removing community support can exacerbate many of the challenges these households face, and can threaten the diversity of the city overall. To this end, anti-displacement policies that address issues of affordable housing and equitable access should focus on efforts to increase the stability of the local community, housing security and economic mobility for residents, and opportunities for new investment without uprooting the existing community. Identifying these challenges through an equity lens can help to mitigate the harm that increased growth pressures and more rapid housing development may pose to marginalized people in our city. Homeless Housing The city has implemented homeless initiates to improve access to housing for the unsheltered population through a number of strategies. Additional permanent and temporary housing are needed to more comprehensively and adequately address the housing solutions for homelessness individuals and families. The solutions will require innovation, resources and coordination with community partners in an effort to provide housing stability to the homeless community members.