Skip to main content

No Plan for Affordable Housing

The City Council has repeatedly said that Sammamish is required to have affordable housing. True. They have also repeatedly said that a 4000 unit Town Center is required to provide affordable housing. Not true.

Sammamish has a Growth Management Act requirement to plan for, accommodate and enable affordable housing, but not just any affordable housing. 

Sammamish has been allocated a target of 1549 units of Extremely Low Income Housing. The Draft Town Center Plan and Draft Code Amendment provide nothing for this housing that is not already in the Comprehensive Plan and current Municipal Code.

Who qualifies for Extremely Low Income Housing? This category could include people making less than minimum wage, some part time workers and people with only government benefit income. Eligible income is less than $33,000 for one person. Household income can be approximately $4000 higher per person for larger households. Most of the potential tenants will need support services for disabilities, substance abuse, and other medical and social issues.

The maximum allowed rent that can be charged in King County for a one bedroom in this category is $900. This is far below the $2300 for a market rate rental in Sammamish.

It just doesn’t work to have a few of these units in a market rate building. There are no examples on the Eastside, and probably none in King County. You need a dedicated building. Bellevue has a recent successful local example. Redmond is constructing a similar building.

A 100 unit building will cost about $40 million. There is no way that the city can give a developer enough incentive to build it “for free”. The cost will have to be raised from a combination of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and city funds. 

There is no connection between a 4000 unit Town Center and providing Extremely Low Income Housing. To use it as an excuse for inaction is a disservice to these people in need.

Comments

  1. JudyOctober 9, 2025 at 9:02 PM

    You're making some false claims and assumptions here. First of all, the allocation of 1,549 units for Extremely Low Income Housing is for all of King County, not Sammamish. Second, why do you assume that "most of the potential tenants" would require support services? Not everyone who is poor is anti-social, disabled, or does drugs--that's just offensive. What about a single mom who can only work part-time, but wants to send her kids to one of the excellent Sammamish public schools? And third, you do not need a "dedicated building" for AMI-dependent units--just because there are "no examples" doesn't mean it can't work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RichardOctober 12, 2025 at 10:27 AM

      Thanks for your interest in this challenging topic. Actually, the King County target for ELI housing is 129,541units according to the King County Affordable Housing Committee website.
      According to Plymouth Housing, the largest ELI housing provider in our region, 94% of their residents have at least one disability, and 78% have substance abuse disorder. Please stop insulting these people. They need help and resources to be successful.
      According to ARCH Housing, there are 159 affordable housing properties on the Eastside. 16 of them include ELI units. None of those 16 include market rate units. In fact, none of them even include units that are one step more affordable than market rate. If there is a way to provide ELI housing without a dedicated building, no one has managed to do it yet.

      Delete

New comments are not allowed.

Popular posts from this blog

📣 The Votes Are In on the Sammamish Town Center Plan — What’s Next?

  The Votes Are In on the Sammamish Town Center Plan City Council Passes Action Alternative (4,000 units, 85’ buildings) Before the final vote was accepted, Councilmember Kent Treen presented three alternative motions: 1. A hybrid option that would keep the 2,000-unit cap. Councilmember Lam seconded the motion. After discussion, the Council voted 6–1 against approving it. 2. Two additional alternatives were also introduced by Councilmember Treen but did not receive a second and therefore did not move forward. At the July 15, 2025 Sammamish City Council meeting, the Council voted on the future of the Town Center. They were asked to select one of three proposed alternatives: Proposed Options: 1. No Action Alternative Keeps the current cap of 2,000 housing units. Likely results in mostly townhomes and fewer community amenities such as retail, restaurants, and civic spaces. 2. Action Alternative Allows up to 4,000 units with a mix of apartments and condos, plus retail, restaurant, and...
5 comments
Read more

A Former Sammamish Mayor's Thoughts

Read what the former Mayor of Sammamish, Tom Odell, wrote about the changes the current City Council is considering and how far they've come since the early plans in 2007 and 2010. Rolled up Newspaper by 2happy.  Do you realize how different the current considerations are from the original concepts? Republished here with permission. Opinion: let the residents vote on doubling the Town Center size By Tom Odell Former Mayor and City Council Member The 2025 Sammamish City Council is considering proposed changes to the Sammamish Town Center project that was originally approved by the 2010 City Council.   I doubt if very many people got the notice regarding the changes as there is only a requirement that it be distributed to the affected and immediate “neighborhood”.  The current definition of the required notice area is very geographically limited.  Others living outside must request to be notified (I did).  It is likely that very few Sammamish residents have d...
2 comments
Read more

Town Center Expansion: A Fiscal Sustainability Crisis for Sammamish

The Red Ink Flows... Our beautiful City of Sammamish faces a serious financial challenge affecting every resident: *   2025 Budget Gap: $10,319,000 deficit ($57,287,000 in revenues vs. $67,606,000 in expenses) *   2030 Projected Overspending: $20,747,000 *   2030 Projected Funding Balance Deficit: $24,099,000 This persistent red ink has already led to new taxes for residents: *   A 6% utility tax has been implemented. *   A potential Metropolitan Park District tax is being considered to fund park expenses. Will Town Center Costs Exceed Revenues? The current Town Center plan (2008 Plan as Amended in 2020) allows for 2,000 housing units. The plan includes some information about the costs City taxpayers will bear: Infrastructure Cost-Sharing With Developers *The Town Center plan states infrastructure will be "funded jointly" between the City, service providers, and private developers, but the exact cost distribution remains unclear: *"Infra...
Post a Comment
Read more