Housing Affordability 2019 Session Position

The Eastside, and indeed the entire Seattle Metropolitan area, future economic and community success is at great risk due to lack of housing affordability. The time to act and address with appropriate policy improvements to fix this crisis is now. We at the East King County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Coalition are advocating for all stakeholder groups to join together to address this crisis, and work towards action steps to help improve Housing options for all.

The East King County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Coalition strongly supports increasing housing stock and affordability through the following:

• Enact reforms to the Condominium Act that permits the creation of a missing inventory gap in
  type and price point in our housing supply.
  • Narrow the definition of actionable damages in condominium construction defect
    litigation filed against builders, by requiring a demonstration of actual damage;
  • Modify statutory condominium construction warranties to more closely mirror the
    treatment of new single-family home and apartment construction;
  • Provide safe harbor for volunteer members of Homeowner Association (HOA) boards of
    directors, where reasonable business judgment has been exercised, when declining to
    file construction defect litigation against a builder;
  • Require builders be provided with notice of defect and a timely opportunity for
    consultation, without waiving any purchaser rights or remedies, prior to initiating
    condominium construction defect litigation.
• Evaluate surplus State land for the opportunity to create affordable and workforce housing.
• Encourage shorter entitlement processes
• Incentivize all Cities and Counties to allow for more density, including ADU’s, and multi/mixeduse near transit and commercial districts.
• Encourage tax incentives to developments that provide workforce housing.
• Extend the Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) beyond 12 years and include existing buildings, in
  addition to new construction