The Olympia City Council will consider whether to establish a $500,000 grant program to help offset permitting fees for affordable housing developers, a step in implementing the city's Affordable Housing Emergency ordinance.
The council is expected to vote on Tuesday, May 20, on the Finance Committee's recommendation to fund the Permit Fee Grant Program with an allocation from the city's Economic Development fund.
The Affordable Housing Emergency ordinance, which was approved in December 2024, introduced six initiatives, one of which is the grant program. The program is designed to reduce development expenses and speed up housing construction for lower-income residents. The program specifically targets housing for people earning 80% or less of the area median income.
Under this plan, housing projects serving households at or below 50% of the median income would qualify for the complete waiver of permit fees.
The effort was developed in response to calls from nonprofit developers, like South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity and Homes First, who testified before the city council last year about the costs associated with construction of housing.
Representatives of the nonprofits said housing projects are being stalled due to mounting infrastructure and permitting costs.
Several developers cited rising design and infrastructure costs as major barriers to building affordable housing.
For example, South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity hopes to build a 12-unit cottage community at 2502 8th Ave. SE on land donated by a private owner.
However, required off-site improvements, including sewer and road infrastructure, bring total infrastructure costs to $740,000. The hard costs have stalled the project.
The city has implemented multiple strategies to address affordability challenges, including the Home Fund, impact fee exemptions for affordable housing projects, and zoning reforms through the Missing Middle initiative.
City staff recommend that the Permit Fee Grant program maintain a minimum balance of $500,000 and a maximum balance of $700,000. The amount is expected to support approximately two larger projects of 50-plus units per year in addition to a mix of medium and smaller middle-housing type projects.
Future funding may come from city property sales, with 10% of proceeds going to the program when the fund falls below $700,000. The funding strategy will be reassessed after two years.
The grant program is designed to support housing that remains affordable for at least 25 years through a restrictive covenant.
If the council approves the initiative on Tuesday, the grant fund will roll out this year as a two-year pilot program.
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longtimeresident
$740,000 for infrastructure costs? That is crazy.........
Friday, May 16 Report this
JW
Olympia has become the welfare city of the county. Drive through Lacey and it is nonstop commercial and economic development. Drive through Olympia and it's transient camps and dormitory "affordable" housing projects.
Saturday, May 17 Report this
Southsoundguy
https://youtu.be/ozYfet3BuN4
Here is a link to a video with a clear explanation of why cities must perpetually inflate and why these fees are party of what is essentially a ponzi.
Saturday, May 17 Report this
HappyOlympian
booooooo as JW says, Lacey killing us at this. Olympia city council stinks
Saturday, May 17 Report this
Mugwump
Why does it seem that there's never enough Olympia can do for real estate developers and nothing they can do for regular citizens? Sidewalks are crumbling. Streets are crumbling. All we ever hear about is how the city doesn't have the money for maintenance while at the same time the city council is shoveling money at real estate developers.
Saturday, May 17 Report this
Larry Dzieza
I'm am reposting the JOLT article about an Olympia/Council of Neighborhoods Community Forum related to the topic of this article: https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/public-invited-to-housing-affordability-forum-in-olympia,19839?
(I know the links do not work in the comments section, so you will have to copy and paste it in your browser).
Also, here is the article in case using the link is difficult for you.
By The JOLT News Staff - Posted Tuesday, May 6, 2025 3:49 pm
The City of Olympia and Council of Neighborhood Associations are inviting members of the community to learn and talk about housing affordability.
A conversation about the issue is scheduled to take place from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, at Olympia City Hall Council Chambers, 601 4th Ave. E in Olympia.
"Attendees will learn about the issue of housing affordability in our community and the actions the (city) and its partners are taking to address that challenge," the City of Olympia said in announcing the event.
"You’ll be invited to talk with others in small groups about how neighborhoods and community members are impacted, and explore how the (city) and broader Olympia community can further address housing affordability.
"City staff will collect your input to inform what solutions move forward for further analysis and possible consideration by the (Olympia) City Council."
Anyone who would benefit from a special accommodation is advised to contact the city at least two days in advance of the meeting. Caregivers are welcome to bring children.
To participate through Zoom, click here. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/l6axOD9lQF6vACoyr8YHRw#/registration
To stay up-to-date on housing information, sign up for "Housing" e-news notices here. http://www.olympiawa.gov/news
Saturday, May 17 Report this
BobJacobs
One good thing about this proposal is that it pays the costs with budgeted funds rather than waiving fees. This is an important tenet of public finance -- all costs should be part of an annual budget process, so that they get reviewed and weighed against other programs.
Unfortunately, we have many, many programs that are funded by waiving fees and taxes. All of them are completely opaque. There is no annual review to determine whether to keep them, terminate them, or alter them. There isn't even an annual report to the public on most of them.
Bob Jacobs
Sunday, May 18 Report this
Yeti1981
Expand to all building. We need all economic levels of housing.
Tuesday, May 20 Report this