The Herald Editorial Board weighs in on regional solutions to Snohomish County’s housing affordability crisis.
There isn’t anyone in Snohomish County who doesn’t deal with some aspect of the affordable housing crisis in their daily lives.
Certainly this includes those who are homeless or live with insecure housing. And even for those who do have stable housing, a full third of those in the county are having to spend more than 30 percent of their incomes on rent or mortgage and utilities.
Yet even those who have a home and sufficient income still live with the effects of the crisis.
With a growing population and a tighter housing supply, home values have increased, which has contributed to rising payments for property taxes, which in turn has fueled anti-tax sentiment that has made it difficult for school and other districts to pass the bonds and levies they need to serve their communities.
That same tight housing market also is driving many to seek homes and apartments farther from their jobs, adding to the crush of traffic on interstates, highways and transit that increases the demand for spending on transportation infrastructure and its costs to taxpayers.
The encouraging news is that there are solutions.
Read more here.
