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4. Affordability and Displacement Everett Housing Action Plan 48 <br /> <br />BACKGROUND AND FINDINGS <br />Overview <br />Understanding the economic and social landscape of housing affordability and potential displacement <br />of residents can be a complex task. While households overall are facing increased housing burdens <br />over time, different communities may be more vulnerable to increases in housing costs that provide <br />barriers to accessing safe, appropriate, and healthy housing. <br />Certain socioeconomic characteristics may highlight potential disparities in both access to housing and <br />long-term housing security. Lower-income households, people of color, recent immigrants, and seniors <br />may face challenges in finding and keeping the housing they need. Understanding both the risk factors <br />and potential challenges to housing access in the community can be essential in appreciating the <br />magnitude of concerns about affordability and displacement and guiding appropriate policy responses. <br />Housing Needs Assessment <br />Everett’s allocation of regional growth would be 165,000 people by 2035, requiring approximately <br />23,000 housing units to be added to the city’s housing supply over the 20-year period. <br />If the distribution of household income remains similar to previous years, housing serving households <br />that earn 50% AMI or less most often require some subsidized housing or may be faced with <br />substandard housing or being cost burdened. These projections indicate that almost 13,000 of the new <br />housing units would need to serve low-income households. These units would need to cater to <br />Everett’s largest demographic indicator, nonfamily households looking to rent with limited incomes. <br />Summary of Feedback from Public Engagement <br />The feedback received from stakeholders and members of the public included several notes related to <br />housing affordability and displacement. The community surveys and chat sessions included the <br />following input: <br /> A significant focus of feedback was on housing affordability. Many participants recognized that <br />there was a crisis with finding affordable housing options, and that increasing rents were <br />contributing to displacement and financial burdens, especially for low-income households. <br /> Respondents and participants also indicated that more affordable options for homeownership <br />were an important housing. The potential for a down-payment assistance program was discussed <br />by some as a potential focus for a city program. <br /> Comments noted that development seemed to focus more on larger, expensive homes than were <br />vacant, rather than addressing the need for affordable single-family homes and apartments. Tiny <br />homes, ADUs, SRO units, and other affordable housing types were suggested as solutions. <br /> Incentives for affordable housing were generally highlighted, although some were concerned <br />about developers and owners taking advantage of these incentives and providing lower quality <br />development or merely providing fewer benefits than expected from the public investment.