Washington’s 21st District legislators — Sen. Marko Liias and Reps. Lillian Ortiz-Self and Strom Peterson — took the podium for two hours at a Saturday morning town hall meeting at the Edmonds Waterfront Center. The event attracted an estimated 250 attendees. While many came with questions on a range of topics, housing and zoning took center…
A bill aimed at allowing more housing near transit centers passed the Washington State Senate on a bipartisan 40-8 vote Wednesday. Senate Bill 5466, sponsored by 21st District State Sen. Marko Liias, provides development targets near light rail and bus rapid transit stations. According to a press release from the Washington State Senate Democrats, the…
A call to action for both the City of Edmonds and its residents to address climate change and an update on state legislation — including a bevy of housing-related bills — dominated discussion at the Edmonds City Council’s Tuesday night business meeting. Edmonds Planning and Development Director Susan McLaughlin presented a draft of the city’s…
Edmonds City Council President Tibbott provided this report following his trip to Olympia last week with Councilmembers Will Chen and Jenna Nand. Gov. Inslee declared at the Association of Washington Cities conference last week, “It’s time to go big, or go home.” Then he revised his slogan for Washington State, “It time to go…
In a strongly worded letter to state legislators who represent Edmonds, Mayor Mike Nelson and City Council President Neil Tibbott asked lawmakers Tuesday to “abandon” proposed housing bills now under consideration. Local officials, the letter said, are in the best position to make housing decisions for their own communities. (Read more about this issue in…
The word from a supporter of a new housing bill making its way through the state Senate put it this way: “We are asking the Legislature to go big on housing.” An opponent argued that a number of the housing bills in Olympia are “extreme and draconian.” For Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace, this bill…
I’ve written it before, and it is still true: Nothing sparks more reaction in South Snohomish County than the phrase “single-family zoning.” What drives that reaction is equal parts growth, change, fear, the economy and history. The Washington State Legislature is again debating a bill that could change single-family zoning and housing statewide. That fuels…
Housing and homelessness topped a list of 12 issues in a new survey that asked Washington state residents to rank their top two problems facing the state. The Department of Commerce partnered with the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) to conduct the 12-county survey in late 2022. Other issues on the list included crime and…
When was the last time you put two Republicans and two Democrats in the same room, and they all got along? Well, it happened Thursday morning in Everett, at a session of the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County. The topics – your taxes, housing development, transportation and job creation. They all got along; that doesn’t…
The sign is a shock and a warning. It hangs on the fence surrounding what used to be America’s Best Value Inn at 221st and Highway 99. This fall, Snohomish County bought this property and another motel in Everett, to remodel and reopen as bridge housing — a first step to help the chronically homeless. The county…
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Senior housing and care expert Mary Cordova will lead a panel discussion at the Edmonds Waterfront Center at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10 on preparing to transition into senior housing. This discussion is relevant for seniors who want to plan ahead or adult children seeking more information on how to best support their aging parents. Speakers…
The South Snohomish County apartment boom and thousands of new residents will not only change Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and unincorporated areas – with more than 8,000 new units under construction or planned – it may put the squeeze on the Edmonds School District. County planners estimate that in the next 20 years, Lynnwood will…
Fred Safstrom has announced his retirement as CEO of Housing Hope, which owns and operates 541 affordable housing units at 23 locations throughout Snohomish County. Two more projects for families are planned for South Snohomish County — one next to Edmonds Lutheran Church in Edmonds and the other next to Cedar Valley Community School in…
We think we have heard all the arguments about housing and homelessness: “Poverty, drugs, mental illness, job loss, divorce cause homelessness” “Left-leaning politicians and permissive policies bring in more homeless.” “We don’t want multi-family housing in our community” But what we have heard about housing and homelessness may not be “all the arguments.” – Detroit…
Bigger is better; that’s been an American mantra for a century. Atlantic Magazine writer Joe Pinsker nailed it: “America is a place defined by bigness. It is infamous, both within its borders and abroad, for the size of its cars, its portions, its defense budget—and its houses.” …
Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers Thursdayreleased his proposal for the county’s remaining $85 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which are federal dollars designed to address the public health, social, and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a county news release, the proposal reflects community pandemic recovery priorities identified during a four-month…
Economic Alliance Snohomish County and the Common Cause Partner Campaign are teaming up to present a panel discussion on homelessness and housing.The conversation will take place during a Tuesday, Sept. 27 livestream of EASC’s online series Coffee Chats entitled Homelessness is a Housing Problem. The goal, organizers said, is to educate the public on the needs…
Housing Hope has received a $750,000 grant from the Hazel Miller Foundation to go toward construction of affordable family apartments in Edmonds Highway 99 neighborhood. This plan is to build 52 apartments for low-income families on land adjacent to Edmonds Lutheran Church on 236th Street Southwest and across from the Edmonds Safeway store. The multifamily development will…
There was a fire — an arson that burned her rented house down– and just like that, Kristina Morris and her son found themselves homeless. “It’s often thought that a homeless person is unemployed, but in truth, many, like me, are employed,” said Morris. “But once a person becomes homeless, it’s not as easy to…
When you answer one question, others always follow. That’s what happened when we reported that Snohomish County is buying two hotels to help bring stable housing to peope who are homeless. One of the properties the Snohomish County Council agreed to buy is in Edmonds — the America’s Best Value Inn, on Highway 99. The…
The Boeing Company has awarded a $130,000 grant to Housing Hope’s Education, Employment and Training Program. The Housing Hope program provides employment and education services to people experiencing homelessness, poverty and other adversities in Snohomish County. According to a news release announcing the grant, the program positions people to earn a GED, high school diploma, degree…
The Snohomish County Council voted to approve County Executive Dave Somers’s proposal to convert two hotels into bridge housing with support services. Combined, the Days Inn in Everett and the America’s Best Value Inn in Edmonds will create 129 new units of time-limited housing for residents without shelter. The county is using its American Rescue…
Related to the news that Snohomish County plans to buy a Highway 99 motel in Edmonds to provide transitional housing for those experiencing homelessness, County Councilmember Nate Nehring has introduced an ordinance requiring that tenants who have been diagnosed with substance use disorder participate in a drug treatment program. Nehring has requested that the county council…
A major change to help those experiencing homelessness is coming to Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace. Snohomish County plans to buy the America’s Best Value Inn on Highway 99 in Edmonds, which will provide 55 units of what’s called “bridge housing.” Assuming approval by the Snohomish County Council, the purchase will mark the first time this…
The one issue that generates the most intense discussion in Edmonds is housing. Residents and city officials have debated for years the issues related to how and where people should live — from housing density to homelessness to affordable housing — and how much the city should help those who struggle to afford to live…
