Ronald Reagan once famously said in 1986, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”
Now WA State has seemingly applied that to the state’s housing shortage
WA State Creates new Department of Housing
Under the ‘leadership’ of Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, the Department will reportedly take information from a coalition of elected officials, tribal leaders, state agency staff, local government “advocates” and builders, and funnel it into the new Department.
According to the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business:
“Heck is part of a group of elected officials, state agency staff, tribal members, local government advocates and developers tasked with devising ideas for Washington to set up a new state Department of Housing.”
Officials are Pledging to Find Solutions
Various Officials are saying all the right things, but the real reasons WA is facing a shortage of affordable single-family housing are as follows.
- The outdated Growth Management Act. Since 1990, this legislation, designed to prevent reckless urban sprawl and irresponsible land use, has become a severe roadblock to needed, justifyable housing developments. It limits available land, drives up land and other costs. When supply is limited, prices go up.
- Zoning Restrictions. Over the last decade, the Democrat-controlled legislature has pushed for local communities to rezone areas used for single-family homes, and demand more multi-family dwellings. In the short-term these deliver more units, but fail to address the single-family affordable shortages.
- The Cost of Permits and Fees. The cost of permits and fees have risen in WA, and account for 24 percent of the cost of building a new home, and can add as much as $165K to the cost.
- Regulatory Hurdles. These included state-mandated energy codes that drive up the cost of homes. On the west side, many developments were required to install electric only heating systems in homes, instead of lower-cost affordable natural gas options. Bans and limits on natural gas have caused the HVAC portion of a home to skyrocket.
One of the platlforms of the Department, said Officials, is to ensure Washington residents across all ecnomic and social levels have access to affordable housing. That sounds eerily like the state wanting to get into the ‘business’ of providing government-built and run housing, which is not a viable long-tern solution.
The Department is taking more comments and input until the end of April.
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