Title
Olympia 2045 Housing Element Chapter of the City of Olympia Comprehensive Plan Update - Housing Displacement Analysis
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive an update on the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan Housing Chapter and Housing Displacement Analysis.
Report
Issue:
Whether to receive an update on the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan Housing Chapter and Housing Displacement Analysis
Staff Contact:
Susan McLaughlin, Director, Community Planning and Economic Development, 360.753.8206
Tim Smith, Deputy Director, Community Planning and Economic Development, 360.570.3915
Casey Schaufler, Associate Planner, Community Planning and Economic Development, 360.753.8254
Christa Lenssen, Senior Housing Program Specialist, Community Planning and Economic Development, 360.570.3762
Presenter(s):
Casey Schaufler, Associate Planner, Community Planning and Economic Development
Christa Lenssen, Sr. Housing Program Specialist, Community Planning and Economic Development
Background and Analysis:
For the last periodic update, the City’s Comprehensive Plan underwent a major rewrite through a planning process that took place from 2009 through 2014. The Plan was adopted in December of 2014. At least once every ten years, cities and counties that are fully planning under the Growth Management Act (GMA), must update their plan through a process known as a periodic Update. The periodic update requires that jurisdictions update the planning horizon to a minimum of 20 years, update the population projection it is planning for, and address all new planning requirements that have been adopted since the previous update.
In 2021, the Washington Legislature changed the way communities are required to plan for housing. House Bill 1220 (2021) amended the Growth Management Act (GMA) to instruct local governments to “plan for and accommodate” housing affordable to all income levels. This significantly strengthened the previous goal, which was to encourage affordable housing.
The amended law also directed the Department of Commerce to project future housing needs for jurisdictions by income bracket and made significant updates to how jurisdictions are to plan for housing in the housing element of their comprehensive plans. These new changes to local housing elements include:
• Planning for sufficient land capacity for housing needs, including all economic segments of the population (moderate, low, very low and extremely low income, as well as emergency housing and permanent supportive housing).
• Providing for moderate density housing options within Urban Growth Areas (UGAs), including but not limited to duplexes, triplexes and townhomes.
• Making adequate provisions for housing for existing and projected needs for all economic segments of the community, including documenting programs and actions needed to achieve housing availability.
• Identifying racially disparate impacts, displacement and exclusion in housing policies and regulations, and beginning to undo those impacts; and identifying areas at higher risk of displacement and establishing anti-displacement policies.
New requirements in the Growth Management Act (GMA) require jurisdictions to plan for affordable housing for all economic segments of the population in their periodic Comprehensive Plan updates. “Capacity” refers to the potential number of new dwelling units that could be built on a parcel based on zoning, development regulations, development trends, and market factors. Capacity includes greenfield development, infill development, and redevelopment. Olympia, along with Lacey, Tenino, Tumwater, Yelm, and Thurston County partnered with the Thurston Regional Planning Council to implement the requirement to identify sufficient land capacity.
The Housing Displacement Risk Analysis is a continued effort at addressing economic displacement and racial disparities in our community. Olympia partnered with the cities of Lacey, Tumwater and Yelm to contract an independent consultant to prepare an analysis and recommendations for each jurisdiction to address these items. While each jurisdiction has specific recommendations as a deliverable, the intent is to also provide a regional look at these impacts.
Through a competitive process, the partner jurisdictions selected a consultant for the Displacement Study. Uncommon Bridges (formerly BDS Planning & Urban Design) was selected to prepare this analysis. In preparation for their analysis, Uncommon Bridges held a series of four community affinity group roundtable discussions, and a community survey that resulted in 167 responses. Affinity groups included those with lived experience and relevant connections to 1) Manufactured housing communities, 2) Communities of low-wage workers, 3) Military families and households, and 4) Accessory dwelling units.
Findings and recommendations resulting from this analysis will be used to inform updates to the Housing chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. The Housing Displacement Analysis is provided as an attachment to this report. Key findings for the City of Olympia include:
• A significant increase in racial and ethnic diversity among residents between 2010 - 2023.
• A decrease in cost-burdened renter households but an increase in cost-burdened and severely cost-burden homeowner households between 2015 - 2019 and 2017 - 2021.
• A slight increase in affordable units for extremely-low income households, but a significant decrease in the availability of affordable rental units for very-low-income households (earning between 30% and 50% AMI).
• A notable increase in low-income renters (50%-80% AMI) and a decrease in low-income and extremely low-income homeowners between 2015-2019 and 2017-2021.
• An increase in overall homeowner households.
Based upon these findings, the analysis recommends prioritizing the following new policy recommendations:
• Protection and Preservation of Manufactured Home Communities: Implement policies to safeguard and preserve manufactured home communities. This is crucial for retaining a vital source of affordable housing within the city.
• Encouraging Retention and Maintenance of Existing Affordable Housing: Develop additional measures to incentivize the retention and maintenance of existing affordable housing units. Particular emphasis should be placed on high-opportunity neighborhoods or areas with historical segregation patterns to promote equitable access to housing.
Additionally, the analysis of the City's existing Housing Action Plan (HAP) policies revealed several high-impact strategies that align to overcome housing barriers:
• Evaluation of Home Fund Relationship: Assess the relationship between Olympia's Home Fund and the county's home fund to ensure alignment and effectiveness in meeting shared housing goals.
• Expanding Residential Tenant Improvement Allowances: Broaden the allowance for residential tenant improvements without triggering additional land use review requirements. This can encourage the maintenance and upgrading of existing housing stock.
• Allowing Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Housing: Permit Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing in all multifamily zones. This policy diversifies housing options and can provide more affordable solutions for individuals.
The analysis concludes, “…[a] need for encouraging the retention and maintenance of existing affordable housing stock; expand allowances of residential tenant improvements and use creative policy approaches to encourage the appropriate matching of resident characteristic and lived experience to possible housing types, such as manufactured home communities or Accessory Dwelling Units.”
Climate Analysis:
The Housing chapter supports climate goals by encouraging dense, transit-accessible housing and preserving existing homes to reduce construction-related emissions. Policies promoting walkable neighborhoods, infill development, and adaptive reuse align with Olympia’s sustainability objectives. Environmental constraints like sewer and critical area regulations are noted as barriers but also help protect natural resources.
Equity Analysis:
The Housing Displacement Risk Analysis provides an assessment of displacement risk in Olympia, with a strong focus on equity. The analysis identifies renters, manufactured home park residents, older adults, families with children, low-income households, and communities of color - particularly Hispanic/Latino, Black, and multiracial populations - as being at heightened risk of displacement. These groups are disproportionately cost-burdened. Evicted at higher rates and affected by market pressures and policy gaps. The report evaluates Olympia's Comprehensive Plan goals and policies using an equity-centered framework aligned with the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Racially Disparate Impacts (RDI) tool. Many of Olympia's existing policies are rated as "Approaching," indicating partial support for equitable outcomes but highlighting missed opportunities to directly address racial disparities, exclusion, and displacement.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
The Housing Action Plan, as well as the One Community Plan developed to address homelessness, garnered wide and varied interest from across the City of Olympia and the region at large. Building upon the outreach done in the development of the Housing Action Plan and One Community Plan, City of Olympia staff will provide opportunities for review and comment of the draft housing element in the near future. Significant community interest is expected, particularly among renters, low-income residents, and historically marginalized groups most at risk of displacement. Residents may be especially engaged around recommendations tied to tenant protections and affordable housing development. Neighborhood associations and housing advocates may also express concerns about zoning changes, infill development, and policies referencing “neighborhood character.”
In preparing the Housing Displacement Analysis, Uncommon Bridges coordinated four (4) affinity group conversations to gather community stakeholders to discuss housing displacement risk in Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Yelm. Affinity group topics included:
1. Manufactured housing communities
2. Communities of low-wage workers
3. Military families and households
4. Accessory dwelling units
Uncommon Bridges also conducted a multi-media survey. A key aspect of this analysis involves assessing community insight, perceptions, and lived experiences around livability, affordability, and displacement impacts in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and Yelm. A robust data collection effort, including multi-lingual outreach via community anchors, focus groups, and an open-access multi-modal survey resulting in 167 responses, sought to engage those frequently involved and new perspectives and experiences not included in past policy and housing assessments conducted in the region.
Financial Impact:
The City of Olympia is contributing an amount not to exceed $40,000 for the consultant to prepare a displacement study as required per RCW 36.70A.070. This study is being done in collaboration with the Cities of Lacey, Tumwater, and Yelm. Total cost for all participant jurisdictions for the analysis is not to exceed $99,000. The Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update is being funded, in part, by a $175,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce.
Options:
1. Receive an update on the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan Housing Chapter and Housing Displacement Analysis.
2. Do not receive the briefing.
3. Receive the briefing at another time.
Attachments:
Housing Displacement Risk Analysis
Draft Housing Chapter
Planning for and Accommodating Housing Needs in TRPC Analysis
Olympia 2045: Housing Webpage