A new consortium is hoping to help reduce homelessness in Washington state, or at least give more folks the opportunity to have their own homes.
The Unlock the Door Coalition is comprised of both for-profit and non-profit groups that have several specific goals they are presenting lawmakers in Olympia this session to help reduce the lack of housing opportunities in the state.
The coalition has been working to raise its visability with a recent television ad that includes Rep. Denny Heck (D-Washington).
Nathan Gorton, the government affairs director with the Washington Association of Realtors, says the general lack of inventory of homes is hurting everyone at all income levels.
“It’s hurting people who want to be first time homeowners, those who are looking for an affordable rental right now," Gorton said. "We’ve seen a number of instances where properties are becoming so valuable in this state that an outside business has bought an apartment that was providing affordable rents, and put in some money to clean up the apartment, and doubled the rent, and suddenly those people had nowhere to go."
It’s not just realtors who are involved in the consortium and making the case that lawmakers in Olympia can help make more housing available.
Michone Preston is with Habitat for Humanity Washington State, an organization that helps people get their own housing through “sweat equity.” They have to help build their own houses, and buy them at cost.
Preston explains one of the specific ideas the consortium is proposing to the legislature deals with zoning issues.
“One of the initiatives is to evaluate the urban and suburban housing supplies, and evaluate whether there is room to allow the boundary to move to allow for more housing in those urban areas,” Preston said.
There are several other proposals being crafted to put before the legislature. They include a reform of liability laws for condo developers, something the Habitat organization also supports. Preston says Habitat has built condos for lower income folks in Spokane, and the rules governing them could be changed to allow for more to be built, without compromising building code requirements.
