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A MOTION declaring the criticality of regional planning, coordination and funding efforts to address the challenges of housing affordability in King County and establishing the regional affordable housing task force and associated standing advisory panel to develop a recommended countywide affordable housing strategy.

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                     WHEREAS, at the end of February 2017, the median single-family home price in King County was five hundred sixty thousand dollars, more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars above the national median, and

                     WHEREAS, the King County median home price increased more than fourteen percent between February 2016 and 2017, and

                     WHEREAS, at the end of September 2016, the median monthly rental price in King County was two thousand two hundred fifty dollars, more than seven hundred dollars above the national median, and

                     WHEREAS, those housing price levels have resulted in nearly three hundred thousand households in King County spending more than thirty percent of their incomes on housing, and

                     WHEREAS, far too many people have been unable to afford any type of housing, with nearly ten thousand people experiencing homelessness on any given day during 2016, and

                     WHEREAS, in November 2015, the King County executive declared homelessness to be in a state of emergency, and

                     WHEREAS, during the third quarter of 2016, one thousand one hundred seventy- two homeless families applied to King County for permanent housing, and

                     WHEREAS, the lack of affordable housing and the crisis of homelessness are being felt in every community in the county, and

                     WHEREAS, King County, local jurisdictions, private and nonprofit partners and philanthropic organizations have come together to address the challenges of homelessness and housing affordability through:  the efforts of All Home to make homelessness rare, brief and one-time; the work of the King County consortium to assess community development and housing needs countywide and to allocate state and federal funding; and the work of the growth management planning council to develop strategies to meet housing needs through local planning and zoning initiatives, and

                     WHEREAS, the King County executive proposed and the King County council voted in 2016 to issue eighty seven million dollars in bond financing backed by lodging taxes to support the development of affordable housing near transit hubs, and

                     WHEREAS, the executive proposed and council voted in 2016 to approve the regional equitable development initiative fund to develop workforce housing near transit hubs and appropriated three million five hundred thousand dollars in local and grant funds toward that effort, and

                     WHEREAS, the voters of King County approved the best starts for kids levy, which includes nineteen million dollars to support a youth and family homelessness prevention initiative, and

                     WHEREAS, the executive proposed and the council, working with regional partners, renewed the mental illness and drug dependency levy, which includes supportive services for people in need, and

                     WHEREAS, the council is working with regional partners to examine the possibility of submitting a proposal to the voters to renew the veterans and human services levy, which includes services and support for veterans and others in need in our community, and

                     WHEREAS, King County awards approximately twenty million dollars annually for affordable housing, and

                     WHEREAS, the council, in the 2017-2018 Biennial Budget Ordinance, allocated an additional seven million five hundred thousand dollars to provide emergency shelter and services to those experiencing homelessness, joining communities around the region that are increasing local support to help those in need, and

                     WHEREAS, even with those new resources, and despite the ongoing regional efforts, the magnitude of the housing and homelessness challenge facing this region requires a more intensive and coordinated regional approach, and

                     WHEREAS, the council passed Motion 14754 on November 15, 2016, requesting that the executive and council coordinate in convening a regional planning effort during 2017 that includes cities, nonprofit agencies and private partners to develop a regional plan for affordable housing, and

                     WHEREAS, King County is committed to inclusive and broad stakeholder participation during the planning effort and shall include representatives from jurisdictions throughout the county and from across the affordable housing spectrum to participate in the process;

                     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:

                     A.  There is hereby established a King County regional affordable housing task force, a collaborative group to develop a recommended countywide affordable housing strategy.

                     B.1.  The executive shall transmit by May 30, 2017, for council confirmation by motion, task force membership with the following representation:

                         a.  the chair of the King County council committee of the whole, as of the passage date of this motion;

                         b.  the chair of the King County council health, housing and human services committee, as of the passage date of this motion;

                         c.  the chair of the King County council transportation, economy and the environment committee, as of the passage date of this motion;

                         d.  the chair of the King County council government accountability and oversight committee, as of the passage date of this motion;

                         e.  the chair of the King County council law and justice committee, as of the passage date of this motion;

                         f.  the King County executive;

                         g.  one representative from North King County, recommended by the Sound Cities Association;

                         h.  one representative from East King County, recommended by the Sound Cities Association;

                         i.  one representative from South King County, recommended by the Sound Cities Association;

                         j.  one representative from a city in the rural area, recommended by the Sound Cities Association;

                         k.  the mayor of Seattle; and

                         l.  one city of Seattle councilmember.

                       2.  The director of the King County department of community and human services shall attend the meetings as an ex officio member of the task force.

                     C.  One member representing King County and one member representing the cities shall serve as cochairs and shall convene the first meeting of the task force in July 2017.  Thereafter, the co-chairs shall alternate serving as the chair for task force meetings.  The cochair who is serving as the chair of a task force meeting shall have the responsibility of setting the agenda for that meeting.

                     D.  The executive will recommend and the task force will appoint a nonvoting advisory panel. The nonvoting advisory panel shall be selected from throughout King County, including members representing diverse and disadvantaged communities, and shall have the following representation:

                       1.  Three representatives from housing authorities located within King County;

                       2.  One representative from a nonprofit housing developer;

                       3.  One representative from a for-profit housing developer;

                       4.  One representative from an organization representing tenants or that advocates for tenants;

                       5.  One representative from an organization representing homeowners or that advocates for homeowners;

                       6.  One representative from an organization representing landlords;

                       7.  One representative representing unincorporated housing issues; 

                       8.  One representative from an affordable housing advocacy group; and

                       9.  Two representatives from organizations that represent communities of color or that advocate for communities of color.

                     E.  For each task force meeting, advisory panel members with particular expertise on specific topics to be discussed shall be identified by the task force and invited to provide input.  In addition to the nonvoting advisory panel, the task force may also seek additional community expertise or input to inform its work.

                     F.  A staff working group shall be established to assist the task force, including lead staff from the executive and council.

                     G.  The executive may consider retaining a third-party facilitator who is not an employee of King County to facilitate the work of the task force with the support of the King County staff working group.

                     H.  The objectives of the task force are to:

                       1.  Assess the current state of regional housing affordability in King County, including ongoing efforts by jurisdictions;

                       2.  Develop a recommended statement of intent to address the regional affordable housing crisis in King County;

                       3.  Identify collective tools and actions that can be taken at the regional level to create more affordable options where needed and preserve affordable housing where it exists today, which could include a recommended plan for new partnerships, local strategies, regulatory reform, and funding approaches that could include, but is not limited to, evaluating a countywide sales tax levy under RCW 82.14.530;

                       4.  Develop a recommended state legislative strategy to address issues relating to affordable housing and homelessness; and

                       5.  Develop a dashboard for displaying region-wide progress in meeting the Countywide Planning Policies.

                     I.1.  The task force will comply with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings act.

                         a.  In analyzing the Open Public Meetings act, the office of the Attorney General has opined that when a quorum of the governing body meets and takes action as defined in the act, that meeting must be noticed as a meeting of the governing body.   For this reason, all meetings of task force shall also be noticed as meetings of the King County council and any of its committees, although the agenda for which such a notice is given will be limited to task force business.

                         b.  In all task force meetings, which are council or committee meetings in accordance with subsection I.1.a. of this motion, only the rules and procedures adopted by the task force shall apply to its meetings and not any rules and procedures applicable to the full council or any of its committees.

                         c.  Attendance, if recorded, shall only be for the purposes of the task force.

                       2.  At its convening meeting, the task force shall initiate operating rules and procedures, which should include those necessary to comply with the Open Public Meeting act.

                     J.  The task force will develop a proposed work plan for delivery to the executive and council by October 31, 2017.

                     K.  The task force shall deliver a recommended regional affordable housing strategy to the executive and council, including recommendations for action, no later than December 2018.  The task force may also provide interim updates and recommendations to the executive and council as the cochairs deem appropriate or as may be requested by the council.

                     L.  Any reports made under this motion should be filed in the form of a paper original and an electronic copy with the executive and clerk of the council, who shall retain the original and provide an electronic copy to all councilmembers.

                     M.  The task force shall expire sixty days after all reporting provisions in this motion have been completed.