By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – Tuesday’s news that billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has given a $1 million grant to Clallam County’s Habitat For Humanity affiliate has created a renewed enthusiasm behind the organization’s effort to develop 40 affordable housing units on the 4.5 acre property they own in Sequim.
CEO Colleen Robinson says there’s still a long way to go to make that dream a reality, but she appreciates the odds they beat in obtaining the funds.
“There’s roughly 25 habitat affiliates in Washington state. Only four were awarded funding, and the other three are Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and then us out here on the peninsula. So what a great blessing for our community out here and for the Habitat team, for the board. For all the work we’ve been doing, to be recognized is so wonderful.”
But Robinson points out that, while a million dollars is a lot of money, it’s going to take about three times that to get started on building 40 workforce level homes on their property on Miller Road.
“If you take roughly $80,000 for infrastructure, building permits, impact fees, times 40, that’s 3.2 million dollars in development, before we put a shovel in the ground to build a house.”
The model for building the homes won’t change from the one that’s been working so well so far. It’s all based on sweat equity on the part of those who will live there.
“Yes, so there’s three criteria. They have to have a need. That means they’re in substandard housing, doubling up with another family, or cost burdened because they’re paying more than 30% of their income on housing. They have to have an ability to pay an affordable mortgage, and they have to be willing to partner. Each adult in the home has to do 250 hours of sweat equity on the construction site, because our whole goal is to empower them and set them up for success to be a homeowner.”
But continued fundraising alone isn’t going to get that many homes built on that piece of property. The City of Sequim zoning in that area is for detached single family homes only, and doesn’t allow for the kind of density Habitat would require to meet their goal.
That said, the City Council has made it clear that they want to see more affordable housing in their town, and Community Development Director Barry Berezowsky says staff has been working on ways to achieve that goal.
“Increasing the density is one way that a local jurisdiction could try to add more tools to the to chest, so to speak. We’re not proposing that at this moment, but what staff is proposing is that the council consider allowing multiplexes. So what I mean by that is, duplexes, triplexes, and four-plexes to be built in that single family residential zoning district.”
But Berezowsky points out that, even if nothing was done to change the zoning at the Miller property, Habitat could still build 25 to 35 single family homes on that 4.5 acres.
With their work cut out for them, Colleen Robinson and the rest of the Habitat For Humanity staff will continue to do what’s worked so well for them up to now, and that’s putting deserving people into affordable homes.
“We keep building. That’s my motto. Keep on building.”
(Habitat For Humanity photo)