Bellingham mayor takes steps to advance range of new housing, including new tiny home village
Bellingham’s mayor is proposing several measures to increase housing affordability and availability across the city, including another tiny home village, under an executive order issued Thursday afternoon.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Mayor Kim Lund said she is taking the step “to increase housing opportunities, with a focus on creating more — and more affordable — housing choices” as the city copes with its housing crisis.
Some of the measures would require City Council approval, and they have been discussed at the council level.
“We have a critical shortage of housing in Bellingham,” Lund said in the statement. “We have yet to catch up from the deficit of housing that resulted from the 2008-2012 economic recession, and we aren’t adding enough new housing today. We need more housing overall, and more options that are within reach for everyone.”
“What’s at stake is the vibrancy and resiliency of our community, the opportunities for people to make this place their home,” Lund said. “We need sufficient, affordable housing because it’s foundational for health and well-being, fostering stability and prosperity for all community members. We need it to promote economic growth and viability. We need it to attract and retain qualified workers for a variety of jobs at all income levels. We need it to maintain our city as a desirable, equitable and attainable place to live.”
The order, which takes effect immediately, directs city officials to act in three areas:
- Diversify and expand housing options in all neighborhoods.
- Streamline the city’s permitting process.
Incentivize, fund or create partnerships to develop more permanently affordable or transitional housing options like tiny home villages.
In her executive order, Lund said that:
- 56 percent of renters and 24 percent of homeowners are cost-burdened, spending over 30 percent of their income on housing.
- Through Nov. 15, the has city issued permits this year for 413 units of housing, or about half the city’s annual target.
- 75 percent of land zoned as residential in Bellingham is currently developed with single-family housing;
- 28,000 to 41,000 new housing units are needed countywide over the next 20 years, and 18,000 of those should be for people who earn less than 80 percent of the area median income.
Lund ordered city staff to identify a location for a new tiny home village and continue to seek partnerships for affordable housing developments.
She said her staff will be bringing several proposals to the City Council over the next several months to promote more housing opportunities, including remove parking minimums for housing developments.
A second measure would adopt the city’s existing rules for middle housing “across the city, not just in select neighborhoods, a change that aligns with pending state requirements,” Lund said.
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
