Opinion | The Olympian Newspaper: We all must get behind the growing coalition clamoring for more housing

Homelessness is the most catastrophic consequence of a statewide shortage of housing in general, and affordable housing in particular. That shortage makes whole communities suffer. Renters burdened by paying half or more of their income to stay housed feel homelessness as a lurking threat. The sight of growing homelessness makes the comfortably housed feel civic shame and sorrow, and a loss of pride in their towns and cities.

Washington state is fifth in the nation for under-production of housing, according to the governor’s policy brief. According to Inslee’s reckoning, we are somewhere between 80,000 and 140,000 housing units short today, and we will need a million new housing units in the next 20 years to catch up and keep up with population growth. A big influx of climate refugees from the desiccated Southwest could upend that estimate.

Inslee’s marquee proposal is a referendum that, if passed by the legislature, would ask voters to increase the state’s bonding capacity to invest $4 billion in housing over the next decade — 2,200 units by 2025, and 19,000 in the following three biennia.

Some of that housing will be permanent supportive housing, which is an essential part of the community-based mental health system that was supposed to replace the large mental hospitals that were largely emptied out decades ago. It also includes a range of other investments in homeownership opportunities to reduce racial disparities, preservation of existing housing, and policy changes aimed at streamlining permitting and other pre-construction costs.

Inslee is far from alone in thinking that it’s time to go big on housing. Lt. Gov. Denny Heck and state Senator Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma. crafted a letter that drew many signatures and echoes many of Inslee’s proposals. It calls for:

Enactment of zoning reforms that will enable increased production of homes, and especially more home choices in proximity to jobs, schools, transit, and services – such as Middle Housing, ADUs, and transit-oriented development.

Enactment of equity-based measures designed to increase all forms of homeownership, with a focus on BIPOC family homeownership to help close the racial wealth gap, which is largely a consequence of the housing gap.

Enactment of measures designed to lower the costs of construction such as permitting reform and condominium liability reform.

A significant increase in public sector investment in affordable housing and other housing stability programs.

The letter is signed by a surprising collection of supporters. Among them are Amazon, the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, the American Farmland Trust, AARP, Washington Realtors, the Building Industry Association of Washington, Climate Solutions, the Sierra Club, the Washington Build Back Black Alliance, and the state Labor Council.

Heck says that others have called to sign on. “It’s an amazing convergence and alliance,” he says. “There is huge disagreement about certain things, like rent control, but we all agree on the need for a dramatic increase in housing supply — especially affordable housing.”

The letter represents what Heck calls “a grand bargain” that addresses concerns of people from across the political spectrum — people who are united in their recognition that the state’s shortage of housing is an emergency that’s been growing since the great recession over a decade ago.

Gov. Inslee should be emboldened by this overwhelming recognition of urgency, and so should the legislature.

Our job as citizens will be to push and prod. We should be impatient for the legislature to act. We should be impatient to vote in favor of Inslee’s bond measure next fall.

Then — and this will be the hardest part — we will need to be patient to see the results, because building enough housing to climb out of the hole we are in will take years.