White Salmon invests in affordable housing

“Acquiring this land will allow the city to engage in a partnership with a housing authority — someone who has experience or an entity that has experience in managing and administering development of this type,” White Salmon Mayor Marla Keethler said.

According to a staff memo, the purchase would create an opportunity for affordable home ownership, and the project would be in coordination with the development of the remaining lots under private ownership into market-rate lots intended for residential development.

The city will be granting water connections for the 21 lots that were set aside for private development at a value of $111,027, as well as contributing $84,000 towards the construction cost of a sewer line, for a total sale value of $575,027.

To offset the cost incurred by the city, councilors subsequently approved the surplusage of the former Teague Reservoir property.

“It should also be noted that the expansion of sewer service to this portion of town will also mean the opportunity for existing residences in the vicinity that are on septic to transition to sewer,” the staff memo said.

Staff wrote in the memo that “Affordable housing is a multi-faceted issue, and overall will require a combination of policies, development, partnerships, and community support to create the varied types of housing options that will truly alleviate the burden for residents who work and live in White Salmon … If the intent is to create an upward trajectory for households in terms of their living situations, the most promising long-term solution to the affordable housing crisis is home ownership.”

According to a draft version of the “low income housing covenant agreement,” which imposes conditions on the project’s development, the city would preserve the property over a 30-year timespan for “individuals with incomes at or below 80% or less of the area median income in Klickitat County, Wash., adjusted for family size, as estimated from time to time by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

The sale has a closing deadline of April 20, with two month-long options for extension. Before the closing date, city officials will be reviewing potential revisions to the planned unit development package and holding a town hall towards the end of the month or in early May, according to a preliminary schedule. The planned unit development application package is expected to arrive before the city planning commission by June 15.