2007/03/07 Council Agenda Packet

EVERETT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 3 10 5. Provide home repair assistance for low-income homeowners so they might continue to live safely and comfortably in their homes. 6. Support increased homeownership for low-income, first-time homebuyers. 7. Promote housing choice by encouraging the dispersion of low- and moderate income housing throughout the City. III. Inventory and Analysis of Existing and Projected Housing Needs The Growth Management Act requires that the Housing Element analyze existing and projected housing needs. The following two sections summarize these needs as identified in the Consolidated Plan, census data, Snohomish County growth monitoring/evaluation reports, and the Washington State Official of Financial Management forecasts. (See the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement prepared for the 10-Year Comprehensive Plan Update for more background information/statistics on households, housing stock, housing affordability and need.) A. Existing Housing Needs 1. Except for four small rural cities, Everett home sales for 1998 - 2000 were the most affordable in Snohomish County, with 50.4%within reach of low-moderate income households. The county average was 26.1%. The median home sale price in 2000 was $156,000 compared to a countywide median sale price of$188,000. (Snohomish County Tomorrow 2002 Housing Evaluation Report) 2. Everett has more non-single family detached housing as a proportion of its housing stock, 54.6%than any other Snohomish County city. Non-single family detached owner housing, mostly condominiums, grew from 6.1%of the housing stock in 1990 to 8.9% in 2000, a gain of 1,481 units. 3. The proportion of owner occupied housing units in the city of Everett decreased from 55% in 1980 to 45.5% in 1990. It increased slightly to 46% in 2000. This is significantly lower than in Snohomish County(67.8%). (Census data) 4. As many as 11,900 households within the city of Everett have incomes below what is necessary(assuming one pays no more than 30% of income for rent) to afford the 1999 median rent. Approximately 7,980 households actually paid more than 30%of their income for housing. (2000 Census data) 5. Nearly all households earning less than 30% of median income will pay more than 50% of their monthly income on non-assisted housing in Everett. In 2000, 3,394 Everett households earning less than 30% of median income paid more than 50% of their income for housing. [State of the Cities Data Systems, US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development(HUD) 2000 Census- based data] 6. Between 2000 and 2004, vacancy rates in Everett increased, especially in the Paine Field and Silver Lake areas, and housing became somewhat more affordable. Even in a soft rental HOUSING ELEMENT 8