The Eastside Housing Trust Fund
Member Cities Grow Eastside Housing Trust Fund Nearly 30%!
January 17th, 2017
Affordable housing advocates hit the ground running in October- making an appearance at all 15 ARCH member cities urging them to increase their contributions to the Eastside Housing Trust Fund (EHTF.) Budgets have now been adopted and the EHTF is 28.5% bigger than last cycle!
Every contribution is a step closer to affordable homes for all eastsiders, and we sincerely thank each member city for their support of the EHTF. Special accolades are due to the following cities:
- Bothell: First time EHTF contributor! Total: $100k for the 2017-18 biennium
- Kirkland: Increased their contribution by $200k, taking the first-place-by-volume spot! Total: $830k for the 2017-18 biennium
- Mercer Island: Quadrupled their EHTF contribution! Total: $160k for the 2017-18 biennium
- Sammamish: Achieved their parity goal for the first time! Total: $200k for the 2017-2018 biennium
A full-break down is below:
Further thanks are due to our tireless advocates, who fearlessly gave testimony in every member city! Thank you: Hester Winn, Mike Schwartz, Judy Faast, Angela Murray, David Johns Bowling, Chris Jowell, Kathryn Jacoby, Brynnen Bailey-Lewis, Jeff Churchill, Doug Huxtable, Karina O’Malley, Christy Becker, Claudia Alvarado, Clare Moe, Jeanne Large, Gina Yarwood, Michael Schneider, Thomas Stagg, DASH, Kathleen Banks, Amanda Sherry, Mitra Mohandessi, and any who we may have missed!
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Eastside Advocates Urge Tripling of the ARCH Eastside Housing Trust Fund
October 27th, 2016
When the eastside cities created the ARCH Eastside Housing Trust Fund, they did so with the goal of working collaboratively in order to ensure that their communities would be places where seniors, people with special needs, and families of all incomes could live affordably. This vision resulted in a unique partnership which over the last 25 years has created thousands of affordable homes- homes that otherwise would not exist.
However, in order to respond to the vastly increased need for affordable homes in our region, eastside nonprofits, services providers, and advocates are urging a tripling of the Eastside Housing Trust Fund for the 2017-2018 budget cycle.
We have submitted letters to the ARCH executive board and to each of the ARCH member cities. Now we’re preparing to provide testimony at the cities’ budget hearings. Will you join us?
Check out our calendar below to see when your city will be discussing its budget and email Nicki Olivier Hellenkamp at [email protected] to let us know which hearings you plan to attend. We’ve prepared talking points and tips for first-time advocates to make testimony easier and you can find additional resources about ARCH and the Eastside Housing Trust Fund below. Can’t make it to a budget hearing? Email your councilmembers – we’ve got templates ready for each city, so making your (electronic) voice heard should be a snap.
Housing advocates on the eastside are calling for a significant increase in the amount that cities contribute to the Eastside Housing Trust Fund. Sign our petition to take the first step in calling on elected officials to step up their city’s contribution.
East King County has a unique approach to creating affordable homes: eastside cities contribute to the ARCH (A Regional Coalition for Housing) Housing Trust Fund in order to fund affordable housing projects across their communities. Since its creation in 1993, the Housing Trust Fund has assisted in the development of over 3,000 affordable homes in east King County, leveraging $9 of external funding for every $1 of local contribution. However, in recent years, the need for affordable housing on the eastside has increased, while cities’ contributions to the trust fund have flat-lined or even decreased. As a result, we need to push eastside cities to include a substantial increase in contributions to the Eastside Housing Trust Fund in their budgets for next year.
Kirkland Mayor Amy Walen recently said that the Kirkland City Council will work to include increases in affordable housing in the next budget – let’s make sure that message spreads across the eastside. Click here to learn more about our campaign for more affordable homes on the eastside. As eastside cities begin their budgeting processes, we’ll keep you informed about additional opportunities to make your voice heard when it comes to funding affordable housing. You can start now by signing the petition!
Additional Eastside Resources
Tips for first-time advocates
ARCH one-pager
List of Eastside Housing Trust-funded projects (through 2013)
History and organizational info about ARCH
ARCH cities map
Understanding the Local Budget Process
In the News
“Council retreat yields progress on biennial budget talks for city”
“Affordable housing vanishes as Eastside grows richer”
“Low, moderate income residents feeling housing squeeze in east King”
“Living where you work isn’t easy for Eastside teachers”
For more information, contact Sara at [email protected].
