HIB Recap: Public office-seekers urged to “build, baby, build” and be more business-friendly

Calling the housing affordability crisis in our region “daunting,” former Governor Christine Gregoire stressed the only way to solve this complex issue is via a public-private partnership. Gregoire gave keynote remarks recently during the 31st annual Housing Issues Briefing presented by Seattle King County REALTORS® (SKCR).

“Our goal is to sound the alarm and raise the volume about the crisis,” using facts and data and uncovering best practices, Gregoire told the sold-out crowd. She emphasized the need for a dramatic shift in mindset. “We need to embrace a public-private partnership to get to yes.”

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell gave the opening address at the event.  Reflecting on both the past, when he became mayor, and the future, when he hopes to be elected to a second term, Mayor Harrell told the audience of fellow office-seekers, incumbents, policymakers, and Realtors he wants his administration to be a strong partner for housing.

Echoing the Mayor’s call for partnerships in housing, Gov. Gregoire noted that housing is a key initiative of Challenge Seattle, an alliance of the region’s largest employers, of which she is the CEO.  Affordable housing and chronic homelessness are “conspicuous problems” and are two of the alliance’s six current initiatives.

Challenge Seattle’s research indicates nearly a million Washington households are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of household income on housing-related costs. Gregoire said the affordability crisis not only undermines our economic vitality, but it also challenges employers’ ability to attract and retain workers.

In November, the group published a 35-page report titled “Build Baby Build: Unlocking 1.4 Million New Homes in Cascadia” (the region comprising British Columbia, Washington and Oregon). It offers a roadmap to build 3 million homes integrating four pillars: land, economics, permitting and innovation. Despite that need, the report says we’re on track to produce roughly only 2 million units, leaving a deficit of 1 million by 2044. Ramping up production will require “a united public-private partnership, bold action from every level of government, and collaboration across sectors.”

Washington’s two-term governor (from 2005-2013) said redeveloping underutilized commercial land, including abandoned buildings along Seattle’s Aurora Avenue and various spaces in strip malls and shopping centers, offers the potential for thousands of housing units. “Look at how Northgate and Totem Lake have been converted.” Well-intended policies get in the way, she suggested.

Some cities have made thoughtful changes to their comp plans, Gregoire acknowledged, but said “we can’t survive on piecemeal solutions. We need to get moving on big, bold ideas. Let’s make sure teachers and nurses can live where they work, and the next generation can plant roots here. Let’s be bold, urgent and united!”

The former governor also encouraged incumbents, their challengers and others in the audience to read the book “Abundance,” a New York Times Bestseller published in March by Avid Reader Press. Authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson examine why ambitious projects around housing, infrastructure and climate change are stymied, suggesting the regulatory environment and processes favored by some liberals are among the culprits.

Seattle King County REALTOR President Garrett Nelson and Government Affairs Vice President Sol Villarreal outlined for the audience the housing legislation addressing the needs of King County and beyond.  After which, Governor Gregoire and Scott Dickinson, SKCR VP-Elect of Government Affairs, held a roundtable discussion and answered audience questions.

During his welcoming remarks and speaking as a local official, Mayor Harrell noted Seattle continues to be one of the country’s fastest-growing cities, referring to it as a city of innovators. But, in acknowledging incomes have not kept pace with rising housing costs, he noted in 1950, the average house cost was about 2x income, but now it is 7-to-8x income.

To help address the challenge, he pointed to his “One Seattle” 2025-2026 budget proposal that included a $342 million investment for affordable housing in 2025 and an additional $343 million in 2026, noting those represent the largest single investments in affordable housing in the city’s history. He also mentioned voters’ historic passage of a $970 million housing levy in 2023 for investments in affordable housing needs.

Earlier in the week, the mayor issued an executive order to make it easier to build housing and accelerate production. The order established a Permitting and Customer Trust (PACT) Team. It would consist of staff from several departments tasked with the permitting process.

The order requires “immediate, decisive action to make the permitting system more efficient, predictable, and transparent” and builds on “progress in reducing regulatory barriers to housing development” and “institutionalize continuous improvement. . .within Seattle’s permitting processes.” The order also ensures “that residents of all income levels have access to housing and business opportunities, strengthening the city’s long-term economic vitality and livability.”

In reiterating his desire for the mayor’s office to be partners with its stakeholders, Harrell said “we are a learning organization and a work in progress” but he hoped members of the audience would see his office as a friend.