PORT TOWNSEND — Each person can take steps today, the call declares. Everybody in Jefferson County has a role in making this place livable for essential workers.
That’s the message of the Community Call to Action, a document released by the Jefferson Community Foundation and Housing Solutions Network.
“The strength and future of our community, the health of our families, and the vitality of our local businesses are at stake,” the top of the page reads.
Next comes a list of 11 grassroots actions, including:
• Providing an affordable rental unit or renting out a room in one’s home.
• Converting an airbnb to a long-term rental.
• Talking to neighbors and friends who have spaces that could be rented.
• Actively helping employees with their housing needs.
• Participating in government meetings when housing is on the agenda.
“We want people to see themselves as part of the solution,” said Siobhan Canty, CEO of the Jefferson Community Foundation.
The Housing Solutions Network, a foundation initiative, issued the call to action this fall; it can be found under the “Engage” menu at HousingSolutionsNetwork.org.
The Port Townsend City Council and Jefferson County Board of Commissioners have housing at top of mind: After Monday’s unanimous City Council vote in favor of a sales tax to support affordable housing projects, the county commissioners will conduct a public hearing on it at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 21.
There could be a faster way to tackle this, Canty believes.
“As I walk around my neighborhood,” she said, “I see five potential rental units within two blocks of my house,” be they accessory dwelling units, detached studios or would-be basement apartments.
Another way landlords can help solve the affordable housing crisis, she added, is by modifying their lease terms. Not requiring first and last month’s rent at move-in, or allowing pets in a rental can make the difference.
This isn’t only about people who are homeless and in shelters or transitional housing, Canty said. The shortage of affordably priced rentals affects the whole workforce.
Mill workers at Port Townsend Paper Co. and nurses at Jefferson Healthcare hospital have a tough time finding any place to live, she said, as property values far outpace wages.
“The fastest way to support our workforce is making currently unused space available,” she said.
And she’s seeing that begin to happen.
“People are starting to take short-term rentals and turn them into long-term,” said Canty, especially as airbnb-type properties are no longer in demand.
Tiny-home communities are being discussed. And awareness is rising of the disconnect between housing costs and workers’ incomes.
The Community Call to Action notes that for housing to be considered “affordable,” the rent or mortgage and utilities should total not more than 30 percent of one’s gross income. So the average worker should spend no more than $988 on housing.
Most rentals in Jefferson County run $1,000 to $2,000 — plus utilities.
The Housing Solutions Network, meantime, is making connections with people, Canty said.
Staffer Justine Gonzalez-Berg, a Network Weaver, coordinates five volunteer housing action teams (HATs), which meet with local churches and other community and business groups.
The HATs talk with residents about converting garages into apartments, adding ADUs, or renting out part of their main or second homes.
With city and county planners, they discuss changes in permitting rules for rentals and tiny homes.
“We’ve got to get past putting this problem on the nonprofits. Everybody has to get involved,” said Gary Keister, founder of Bayside Housing & Services, which provides homeless families and individuals with rooms at the Old Alcohol Plant Inn in Port Hadlock.
The 26 rooms there are full; 150 people are on the waiting list, he said earlier this month.
“That’s transitional housing,” he said. “We try to move people into permanent housing, but there’s no place to move them.”
Without community action, Keister added, “Port Townsend is going to be like Carmel,” the coastal California city with nowhere for its workers to live.
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
