Ordinance 4101-25 - Laserfiche WebLink

Page 13 Everett 2044 Housing Element Appendix Category 2: Sensitfve informatfon burdened households. Renters of color, in partfcular, face higher rates of burden than white renters, reflectfng the intersectfon of income inequality and systemic housing barriers. Overcrowding and housing instability oflen go hand in hand with cost burden. As rents increase, more households resort to doubling up or rentfng smaller units than they need. The number of severely overcrowded units—those with more than 1.5 occupants per room—rose from 245 in 2010 to 928 in 2023, with much of this increase concentrated among renters. These conditfons are not just uncomfortable—they’re linked to negatfve health outcomes, higher stress, and reduced educatfonal performance for children. At its core, the rise in cost burden is a reflectfon of a housing market that is increasingly misaligned with residents' incomes. Despite increases in median earnings and household income, these gains have not kept pace with escalatfng home prices, rising rents, and utflity and maintenance costs. This disconnect has lefl thousands of Everett residents facing difficult trade-offs and increasing vulnerability to displacement. Addressing cost burden will require more than simply adding housing units. It demands targeted interventfons—such as expanding rental assistance, increasing the productfon of deeply affordable housing, and preserving naturally occurring affordable units. Strategies like inclusionary zoning, tax abatements for income-restricted housing, and strengthened tenant protectfons must all be part of a broader toolkit aimed at easing the strain on households teetering on the edge. Everett’s housing market cannot be called healthy if the majority of renters and a growing share of homeowners are struggling to afford the very homes they live in. Tackling the city’s cost burden crisis is essentfal not only for housing stability, but for the overall wellbeing and economic resilience of its residents. Homelessness and Housing Instability Are Growing Concerns Despite efforts at the local and regional level, contfnuing homelessness remains a key indicator of a troubled housing sector. In 2023 1,285 individuals lacked housing. These numbers appear to have declined slightly compared to 2012, but collectfng data on homelessness is challenging and less reliable than other housing indicators. The populatfon of individuals without children remains consistently high, and the number of families with children experiencing homelessness has remained troublingly stable, hovering around 100 households in recent years. Chronic homelessness and visible encampments across the city is linked not only to poverty and behavioral health challenges, but to a housing system that fails to meet the needs of the lowest-income residents. As of 2020, only 6.4% of Everett’s total housing stock was affordable to households earning under 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI)—far short of what is needed to provide stable optfons for those most at risk. This shortage leaves many residents one crisis away from losing their housing, partfcularly those on fixed incomes, working minimum-wage jobs, or experiencing disabilitfes. Everett has made strides in expanding its inventory of permanent supportfve housing (PSH), which combines affordable units with wraparound services. Between 2012 and 2024, the number of PSH beds more than tripled—from 934 to 2,925. This growth reflects both increased investment and growing recognitfon that supportfve housing is essentfal for ending chronic homelessness. However, even with these gains, demand contfnues to outstrip supply. The city’s projected housing need includes more than 2,700 additfonal PSH units by 2044, alongside nearly 6,000 non-PSH units affordable to extremely low- income households. Emergency and transitfonal shelter capacity, on the other hand, has declined. In 2012, Everett and the broader Snohomish County region had 1,541 year-round shelter beds. By 2024, that number had