County allocates $2 million in funding for affordable housing projects

The Salal Neighborhood on Carter Avenue used Home Fund dollars to help with roof replacements

Following County Council approval this past Tuesday, $2 million in funding has been made available for affordable rental and homeownership projects throughout San Juan County.

That money will come from the County’s Home Fund, which generates revenue from an excise tax of 0.5 percent on real estate transactions. This is the third year that such funding has been allocated since voters approved the excise tax in November 2018.

Awarded through a competitive application process, Home Fund grants or loans are used to support the acquisition, construction, rehab, or maintenance of residential properties for people with low or moderate incomes, or people with special needs. Both rental and homeownership projects are eligible for funding. Nonprofits, housing authorities, public agencies, and private for-profit affordable housing providers can submit proposals.

Proposed projects must address one of the six housing needs identified by the County’s affordable housing strategic action plan, approved by the County Council in March 2017:

• Long-term rentals serving individuals earning $15-20 per hour, with a rent range of $680-$940 per month.
• Long-term rentals serving individuals with limited or fixed incomes, with a rent range of $0-$680 per month.
• Long-term rentals serving individuals earning over $20 per hour, with a rent range of $940-$2,000 per month.
• Short-term, reduced-amenity housing – such as dorms, studios, or shared occupancy units – serving seasonal temporary workers, with a rent range of $400-$500 per month.
• Homeownership units with a price range of $80,000-$275,000.
• Housing with supportive services, such as transitional or group housing.

All projects that receive Home Fund grants or loans are required to remain affordable for at least 30 years following project completion, but the County gives highest preference to projects that will remain affordable in perpetuity. Property owners or managers are required to submit annual reports of rents and tenant incomes so that the County can ensure compliance with the long-term affordability requirements.

Four projects on San Juan Island received Home Fund dollars in the last two years. The Harborview Apartments on Tucker Avenue used funding to preserve and upgrade existing affordable rental apartments, and to make infrastructure improvements. San Juan Community Home Trust used funds to help replace roofs on the permanently affordable homes in the Home Trust’s Salal neighborhood. Home Fund dollars also supported site improvements on a County-owned parcel of land on Argyle Avenue so that the property can eventually be developed with affordable rental housing. And $1.6 million in new construction funding was allocated to the Home Trust’s eight-unit HolliWalk community, located on Price Street. That project broke ground earlier this month.

Applications for Home Fund grants or loans are due July 15. The County’s Housing Advisory Committee will make their funding recommendations to the County Council in September, with the Council expected to decide on those recommendations by late fall. Funding will make its way to the selected projects after funding agreements are finalized in spring 2023.

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