It’s harder than ever for people in the region to find and keep a home they can afford.
The complexity of addressing the full range of housing needs and challenges requires a coordinated approach and action from cities, counties, residents, businesses, and other agencies and stakeholders.
On February 24, the Executive Board unanimously adopted PSRC’s first Regional Housing Strategy.
“Adopting the Regional Housing Strategy is an important first step for PSRC. We have our work cut out for us if we are going to maintain our economic competitiveness, if we are going to be a humane place where people can afford to live and succeed and be close their jobs, their schools, and their families, and if we’re going to be a desirable place to live,” said Councilmember Claudia Balducci, PSRC President.
The Regional Housing Strategy lays out regional and local actions to preserve, improve, and expand housing availability in the region and help guide and support upcoming local comprehensive plan updates.
The Regional Housing Strategy seeks to engage all 86 jurisdictions in the region to address housing in a more coordinated and collaborative way, while also recognizing local circumstances.
“We’ve got to get serious about our housing crisis… it’s time for all of us to get tough on this issue and look at our own jurisdictions and make the changes necessary so we can build housing,” said Mayor Becky Erickson, PSRC Vice President.
The goal of VISION 2050 is to make a range of affordable, accessible, healthy, and safe housing choices available to every resident and to promote fair and equal access to housing for all people. The Regional Housing Strategy focuses on three areas for action:
Supply – Build more housing of different types
Stability – Provide opportunities for residents to live in housing that meets their needs
Subsidy – Create and sustain long-term funding sources to create and preserve housing for very low-income households and unhoused residents
Future steps to implement the strategy include:
- Monitoring -- Track progress and identify trends, challenges or barriers, with a focus on moving towards more equitable outcomes
- Typologies – Identify different sets of housing strategies, tools, and actions that have the most potential to make an impact in different types of places.
- Plan Review – PSRC will work to develop resources and guidance and convene stakeholders to support the implementation of VISION 2050 and the Growth Management Act during the comprehensive plan updates due in 2024
Explore the Regional Housing Strategy here.