PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Land Trust has secured a $197,500 grant from the state Department of Commerce to plan an affordable housing project for farmers and food systems workers in Chimacum.
The project, called Chimacum Commons, is planned to be constructed on a portion of a 16-acre property in Chimacum, purchased about 2014, said Erik Kingfisher, the land trust’s director of stewardship and resilience.
Conceptual plans include several homes, some to be rented and others sold, including up to 30 bedrooms, according to a Jefferson Land Trust (JLT) press release.
At the time of the purchase, farmers who partnered with the land trust in agricultural conservation efforts consistently brought up housing as a significant barrier to finding and retaining workers, Kingfisher said. Since 2014, the issue has become more acute, he added.
“Folks want to work at these farms but have such a hard time finding a reasonable and dignified place to live,” Kingfisher said. “Even in 2014, the prices were hard, but it was just a lack of supply.”
When JLT purchased the property, it saw conservation value both agriculturally and in habitat protection.
“When we acquired the property, we recognized the threat to the conservation values of the property,” Kingfisher said. “What we think of as the conservation values of the property are the agricultural values. The property has potential to produce food and fiber for generations if it’s well taken care of, and its habitat values, the west boundary of the property is along Chimacum Creek.”
The 625-foot stretch of creek the on the property is salmon habitat, according to the JLT press release.
JLT has been working in the watershed since its formation in 1989, Kingfisher said.
Early on, JLT’s focus was on conserving salmon habitat, as well as other biodiversity conservation projects, Kingfisher said. JLT’s conservation values eventually expanded to include agricultural conservation values, Kingfisher added.
“This property represented a nice blend of some of these different kinds of conservation values, which we’ve been able to accomplish permanent protections on,” Kingfisher said.
JLT plans to secure a conservation easement on the property before transfering it to Olympic Housing Trust (OHT), which will manage the property long-term, Kingfisher said.
The property is currently leased by a farmer. When OHT takes over, it will be in charge of managing leases, and JLT will continue to monitor for conservation, Kingfisher said.
When JLT started looking into how it could contribute to the affordable housing need, the organization was unable to locate a housing partner, Kingfisher said.
Eventually, it created a task force and put out a letter of interest to the community, Kingfisher said.
“We were able to secure this partnership with them because not only are we interested in building a project that would meet their design goals of preserving agriculture and habitat while also supplying affordable housing, but we have a model that will do that in a conducive way and help the ongoing operation of the housing development, specifically for food system workers,” said Kellen Lynch, OHT outreach and development manager.
The housing will be managed to be permanently affordable, Lynch said.
Kingfisher attributed the successful grant application in part to OHT’s involvement in the project.
The grant money needs to be spent by the end of June, the end of the state fiscal year, Lynch said. The pre-development grant will pay for permitting, building designs, site analysis and project management time.
“We’ve had great meetings with Jefferson County department of planning, and they’re very supportive of this as it is,” Lynch said. “Right now, we’re working on our building designs with our local architects and designers.”
Architect Richard Berg of Port Townsend’s Terrapin Architecture will work with Lauren Ehnebuske of Port Townsend’s Inhabit Design on the building plans, Lynch said.
Lynch said rammed earth, a building technique, is being considered for the project. Bly Windstorm of Port Townsend’s Earth Dwell is consulting on the use of the technique, Lynch said.
Also, the property is likely to use wood products from the nearby Chimacum Ridge Community forest, owned by JHT, he added.
Also a recipient of the pre-development grant was the Hoh Indian Tribe, which was listed as being awarded $200,000.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
