Drafter
Clerk 01/14/2026
Title
AN ORDINANCE authorizing the executive to enter into a housing cooperation agreement with the Housing Authority of the County of King to facilitate the development of low-income housing in accordance with chapter 35.83 RCW.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington, the median home price in King County nearly doubled from 2015 to, while median household income as reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has increased by only approximately fifty percent over the same period, putting the dream of owning a home out of reach for many King County middle and lower income households.
B. Homeownership provides quality housing and is one of the most important assets in building wealth, particularly for middle- and lower-income households.
C. The Housing Authority of the County of King ("KCHA"), in partnership with the Manufactured Housing Community Preservationists ("MHCP"), a Washington nonprofit corporation, is proposing to develop a manufactured housing community consisting of thirty two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes that will be affordable and sold to low-income households with incomes at or below eighty percent of the area median income on undeveloped property located at 5901 South 129th Street in the Skyway-West Hill Community Service Area ("Skyway-West Hill Subarea") of King County, Washington ("the housing project").
D. The site consists of Assessor's Parcel Number ("APN") 2172000470 currently consisting of 2.89 acres. In cooperation with MHCP, the site will be expanded through a boundary line adjustment (File No. BLAD24-0032), to adjust the property line adjacent to MHCP's manufactured housing community at 12929 Martin Luther King Way, APN 2172000612, to exceed the three-acre minimum lot size required under the King County Code.
E. The housing project is located between two existing manufactured housing communities, owned and operated by MHCP.
F. The housing project is fully funded, including two million nine hundred thousand dollars from King County's housing finance program, and will be ready for construction once development permits are issued.
G. The property is zoned as Urban Residential, twenty-four dwelling units per acre, subject to parcel-specific condition "WH-P10," which allow use of the property as mobile home park, community residential facilities, senior assisted housing, daycares, and religious institutions, and does not subject the property to minimum density requirements.
H. Due to the size, configuration, and topography of the property, strict compliance with certain King County development regulations and ordinances, primarily intended for single family subdivisions, significantly limits the number of manufactured homes that can be constructed on the property or will preclude development of the site altogether, if not varied or waived by the county.
I. The Housing Cooperation Law, chapter 35.83 RCW, includes RCW 35.83.010, which states, "it is a proper public purpose for any state public body to aid any housing authority operating within its boundaries or jurisdiction or any housing project locate therein, as the state public body derives immediate benefits and advantages from such an authority or project."
J. For the purpose of aiding and cooperating in the development of a housing authority project, the Housing Cooperation Law expressly allows state public bodies, including counties, to "plan or replan, zone or rezone" and "make exceptions from building regulations and ordinances" and "[d]o any and all things, necessary or convenient to aid and cooperate in the planning, undertaking, construction or operation of such housing projects."
K. RCW 35.83.060 authorizes state public bodies to exercise the powers of the Housing Cooperative Law through legislation adopted by a majority of the members of its governing body and the King County council is the governing body of King County.
L. The county desires to cooperate with KCHA in the planning, permitting, and undertaking of the housing project, by authorizing certain exceptions, modifications, and waivers that do not impact the safety of residents and neighbors but will increase the amount of affordable homeownership opportunities to households earning eighty percent of the area median income or lower within the Skyway-West Hill Subarea.
M. The Housing Cooperation Law provides that the aid and cooperation provided by the county can be effectuated by an agreement between the county and KCHA that sets forth the authorized exceptions, modifications, and waivers of building regulations and ordinances as set forth in the Housing Cooperation Agreement attached to this ordinance as Attachment A.
N. As set forth in the Skyway-West Hill Community Service Area Subarea Plan ("the subarea plan"), the county has identified preventing displacement of residents as a key priority in the Skyway-West Hill Subarea, having incorporated certain regulations and policies intended to preserve manufactured housing communities, but also recognizing that the county will need to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies and adjust as needed.
O. Policy SWH-6 of the subarea plan reflects the priority cited in subsection N. of this section by specifying as follows: "Support new residential development that is consistent with the community's new residential development that is consistent with the community's vision, particularly affordable homes and rentals, homeownership opportunities for first time and moderate-income families, economically and racially diverse neighborhoods, and vibrant communities."
P. Development of additional manufactured housing communities in the Skyway-West Hill Subarea is consistent with the policies and key priorities identified in the Subarea Plan.
SECTION 2. The county executive is authorized to execute a housing cooperation agreement, substantially in the form of Attachment A to this ordinance, with
the Housing Authority of the County of King to facilitate the development of low-income housing in accordance with chapter 35.83 RCW.