SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — On August 26th, Spokane City Council approved $9 million worth of funding to help with nine different affordable housing projects in a 5-1 vote.
The nine projects in total are aimed to create close to 149 affordable housing units and the money from the city will be dedicated to 67 of them. Of the 67, only 26 will be newly built and the other 41 will either be bought or fully renovated.
Councilmember Zack Zappone, who sponsored this resolution, sent a statement saying in part:
"Affordable housing is important everywhere in Spokane as Council knows well that we are in a housing crisis. Council also wants to provide attainable housing for at-risk populations, so we catch them before they end up on the street."
The city isn't paying for these projects in full, but rather providing anywhere from between 9-80 percent of each projects' cost. The funds for these projects come from house bill 1590 which was signed into law back in 2020. 1590 funds are generated by a 0.01% sales tax throughout the city. Councilmember Michael Cathcart says that since the fund was established back in November 2020, there was close to $17 million raised.
Councilmember Cathcart was the only one on city council to vote against this decision, saying that he has actually been against this resolution for months.
"I was very clear back in may when this RFP went out that I would not support the outcome if it was based on this RFP that did not follow code," said Cathcart.
The city codes that he is referring to talk about using these funded projects as mixed-use projects, which mean that there is a space for businesses potentially as well as housing. The other code talks about prioritizing projects that would result in home ownership.
"We have a housing crisis and so we need to be focused on how do we expand the number grow the number of units available and doing it at the most cost effective price and so I don't think this current process achieves that," said Cathcart.
The city says that before the affordable housing funding was approved, there was about $17,000,000 at the city's disposal. Now, there is about $8 million left for future projects. Councilmember Cathcart says that every year the sales tax generates around $6 million.
"1590 funds are specifically for seniors, vets, survivors of domestic violence, those experiencing or at risk for homelessness, or those with a physical or behavioral disability. These funds help keep vulnerable populations in Spokane housed in quality spaces," said Zappone.