News - Local News

POSTED: Sunday, Aug. 03, 2008

Who should get affordable housing?

Is getting a homeless person into a cheap apartment worth as much to society as getting a young, working couple into their own home?

The answer won't be found in a new report by the Countywide Housing Affordability Taskforce, and some members of the task force say it should be.

The report, approved after a year and a half and 40 task force work sessions, recommends local governments immediately implement six strategies to help create more affordable homes, ranging from offering incentives to preserving mobile homes to creating a housing trust fund.

Some members say it should prioritize who needs help the most.

"Who's the target population?" asked Hart Hodges, an assistant professor of economics at Western Washington University and a task force member. "I don't think we can fix everything, so I'm wondering, what are the priorities?"

Bellingham-based developer and task force member Ted Mischaikov said that while he wished the task force would have addressed that, forming a trust fund would allow local leaders to spend money on their priorities. Personally, he'd like to see money focused first on people making 50 percent or less of the area's median income.

"That's a legitimate criticism," said Seth Fleetwood, Whatcom County Council member and task force co-chairman. The report recommends making the task force permanent, and he expects the prioritizing of needs to be discussed by that group, as well as by the existing Whatcom County Housing Advisory Committee. It's also something elected leaders will decide when they allocate resources, he said.

"Those specifics are going to be pondered another day," he said.