Affordable housing is a complex issue, but Erik Poulsen’s letter offers just a few bumper stickers’ worth of slogans without recognizing the role of housing in economic development.

I did economic development and city planning for 20 years, including 13 years in Mountain View, California.

The number one concern companies (e.g., Google) expressed to that city over those years — and likely still — was affordable housing. 

Jefferson County ain’t Silicon Valley, but if you’re recruiting employees, affordability is a huge obstacle. Retirees can crow about paying taxes and donating to various causes, but the people brewing your coffee also need a place to sleep — and deserve a shot at making it here.

Poulsen suggests all is well because five homes are being built in his neighborhood, profitably, and Airbnb tourists are eating and shopping. Meanwhile, about half the households issued Section 8 housing vouchers by the Peninsula Housing Authority can’t use them because vacancy is near zero. The median-income local household ($54,471) can afford $1,350 for housing, which is almost enough to rent a house, but not enough to buy. 

Fortunately, more than
500 housing units in Port Townsend are subsidized by various programs. Indeed, “protecting housing from market forces” is a viable solution, not a slogan. But as
Ms. Gonzalez-Berg noted, more housing, especially smaller units and rentals, is needed. 

Her organization, Housing Solutions Network, drafted me to create the “How to Be a Good Landlord” webinar for people wanting to do that. Basement apartments and ADUs are the low-hanging fruit of affordability, not just for renters but for people who couldn’t buy without supplemental income.

The Cherry Street project illustrates the difficulty of producing affordable housing when starter homes go for $350,000. 

Scapegoating the do-gooders is easy. Addressing the need for affordable housing is hard work.

Barney Burke
PORT TOWNSEND