Housing Action Plan

The City Council adopted a Housing Action Plan on May 24, 2021.

Housing Action Plan

The Housing Action Plan strives to achieve the following goals:

  • Understand how much, what types, and where housing is needed;

  • Understand what housing types the market will provide;

  • Understand what households are experiencing housing challenges;

  • Understand where and how additional housing can fit in the City;

  • Review existing housing strategies to see how well they are working, identify gaps, and find opportunities for improvement; and

  • Identify new ideas to meet Shoreline’s specific needs, including working with community partners.

The plan was developed with support from the Washington State Department of Commerce. Washington State House Bill 1923 enacted one-time planning grants for cities to change codes and policies to support housing affordability.

The Housing Action Plan and housing priorities it identifies will provide a starting point for future City actions related to housing.

Why develop a Housing Action Plan?

We know that many people have a hard time finding a home that is the right size for their family, is near where they work or go to school, and is affordable on their budget. While the City of Shoreline only has a small role in the overall housing market, we want to make sure that our codes and requirements focus on areas that are most important to our residents.

No one strategy will serve all people and all housing challenges. The Action Plan identifies appropriate tools to address Shoreline’s specific set of needs and provide guidance on how to implement these tools.

What types of changes will be considered in the plan?

The City does not build housing itself but can influence the type of housing that is built by developers. The types of tools considered for this plan include:

  • Streamlining development regulations to ensure the market provides enough high-quality housing to meet demand
  • Changing zoning regulations to allow more types and sizes of housing, such as groups of cottages
  • Encouraging the development of more dedicated affordable housing, including improving existing incentives and partnering with non-profit developers
  • Strategies to avoid displacement of lower income residents

Public Outreach

The outreach approach for developing the Plan had to pivot due to COVID-19 restrictions on in-person meetings. As a result, the outreach effort shifted to virtual meetings and relied on a web-based survey and online open house.

Outreach also included a Technical Advisory group consisting of architects, affordable and market rate housing developers, a supportive housing provider, and a housing public agency. The Technical Advisory Group provided policy direction for a range of housing strategies incorporated into the Plan.

Timeline

May 24, 2021: City Council adopted the Housing Action Plan

April 19, 2021: Council discussed revised Plan

March 22, 2021: Planning Commission recommendation presented to Council

March 4, 2021: Planning Commission held a public hearing and issued their recommendation

January 21, 2021: Planning Commission prioritized toolkit actions

December 17, 2020: Planning Commission study session

November 5, 2020: Planning Commission discussed draft Housing Toolkit

July 16, 2020: Planning Commission study session to discuss the Plan