Is Microhousing back on the table in Seattle?

For many years now I've been writing about Seattle Microhousing. I began modestly (and unsuccessfully) by trying to influence the 2014 legislation that ended up largely killing off congregate housing. Later efforts focused on documenting the harm done the legislation and by the administrative decisions that came in its wake. More recently I wrote on the strange disconnect between our need for simple low-cost housing to address homelessness and the lack of any urgency on the part of the city or non-profits to use microhousing as part of the toolkit. And last year I asked the question "When is Seattle Going to Fix Microhousing", providing a look back at years of data that confirm the trends that were seen immediately following the 2014 legislation. To be honest, I thought of the question posed by that last article to be largely rhetorical.  However...

The big news last week was that Mayor Bruce Harrell is interested in putting microhousing back on the table. The announcement came as part of an interview with the Puget Sound Business Journal on March 4th. Harrell was non-specific as to what he had in mind, and its a little early in the process to get too excited, but nevertheless this is really big news. This is the first time since 2014 that a powerful Seattle politician has signaled that they both care about the issue and (more significantly) that they are willing to spend political capital on fixing microhousing.

For a quick dive, The Urbanist did a good refresher on the issue here:  https://www.theurbanist.org/2022/03/09/harrell-micro-housing/

Looking to study up? Here's a digest:

Wonkery: There are three articles in Sightline that cover the issue fairly comprehensively. How Seattle Killed Micro-Housing is the history of how the council kneecapped micro-housing in the first place.  How Seattle Killed Micro-housing, Again covers how the SDCI and CCAB made administrative rules that have made the situation significantly worse. When Is Seattle Going to Fix Microhousing? is a 2021 update looking at years of data & trends:  https://www.sightline.org/author/davidneiman/

Homelessness: Low-Cost Housing: Here’s the way to do it is an article that discusses the link between the lack of basic housing and the epidemic of homelessness in our cities. The article also contains four concrete recommendations for how policy changes can help micro-housing to be part of our strategy for combatting homelessness.

Inspiration: A ten minute talk I gave about the development of The Roost, including some discussion about the moral case and the political barriers.

Talking points: Top Ten Reasons to re-legalize congregate housing 

• Provides plentiful 40%-60% AMI affordable housing w/ no subsidies.
• Is affordable to minimum wage workers.
• Provides opportunities for people to live in the city core who would otherwise be priced out.
• Provides people individual units w/ greater security & privacy than house/apartment shares.
• Promotes community, wellness, and social capital through shared spaces and experiences.
• Uses ~1/3 of the energy per unit compared to conventional housing.
• Promotes dense, livable, walkable communities and car-free lifestyles.
• Women and BIPOC individuals are disproportionally the people who live in congregate housing. Women for reasons of improved security, safety, and community, and BIPOC individuals because of the wealth gap.
• A city policy that actively suppresses the development of housing options used disproportionality by women and BIPOC individuals is a glaring equity issue.
• A city policy that actively suppresses the development of housing options for poor people is morally indefensible.

Don't take my word for it! Take advantage of the expert advice already sitting on our (virtual) bookshelf. The HALA, AMIHAC, and The Path Forward reports are three commissions convened in the last five years that all support the advice I am offering.

HALA Report: See recommendation MF8 on page 24

AMIHAC Report: See recommendation 3.01 on page 42 and 3.04 on page 45

The Path Forward: See page 9 discussion of rooming houses/shared housing.