EVERETT, Wash., December 14, 2023—The Snohomish County Council unanimously approved on December 14 the Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Fund, an investment plan to preserve and build affordable housing and behavioral health facilities.

The Capital Fund will earmark a substantial investment of approximately $114 million over five years and create 550 new affordable housing and permanent supportive housing units along with 150 units of emergency bridge housing. This investment plan will also expand local behavioral health resources. It was developed by Executive Dave Somers in collaboration with the County Council and community leaders. This strategic plan will preserve and construct emergency housing, permanent supportive housing, and affordable housing, alongside investments in behavioral health facilities.

“I am grateful for the partnership with the Snohomish County Council and their work to make a positive impact on our housing crisis,” said Executive Somers. “We know that there are hard-working people at risk of homelessness who will be able to have stable housing because of this plan. We are making progress.”

“We know the housing crisis is something that impacts our families’ bottom lines and the quality of life of all our residents,” said Snohomish County Council Chair Jared Mead. “This plan is a major commitment from our taxpayers to make a difference and ensure we are keeping people in homes. We know that having more affordable housing options will make our economy stronger, ease burdens for many families, and keep Snohomish County a great place to live.”

The plan aligns with Snohomish County’s effort to limit the number of households spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. More than 32 percent of households in the county are currently cost-burdened by housing, including a significant number of renters. It has been estimated that Snohomish County will need 143,182 additional affordable housing units by 2044 to meet demand.

The $134 million Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Fund Plan has been developed for use of HB-1406 and HB-1590 funds to include:

• $92,728,750 over the first five years will be expended on acquisition, rehabilitation, construction, and operations and maintenance of newly acquired and created affordable, emergency bridge, and permanent supportive housing.
• $8,511,750 will be used for the delivery of housing-related services.
• $10,000,000 to create a local reserve fund earmarked for the construction of behavioral health facilities.
• $3,583,940 for administration of the fund and evaluation of the Investment Plan
• Creation of an unassigned fund balance of $20,326,681 over the five-year period to be assigned as needed to ensure that land acquisition, preservation, and construction activities and the creation of units can continue while assuring that operations and maintenance costs can be absorbed over time.

In compliance with State regulations, these new units will be for households and individuals earning below 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The intended beneficiaries include families with children, those with behavioral health challenges and/or disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, unaccompanied homeless youth, veterans, and seniors.

Snohomish County Human Services engaged with the public to design the plan, including with community members who have lived experience with homelessness, service providers, affordable housing developers, local officials, and others.

For those interested, the complete Housing and Behavior Health Capital Fund is available for review.

SOURCE: Snohomish County Government