Housing
Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan Chapter - Housing
The Housing Chapter
Everyone matters in Kitsap County. As part of the Comprehensive Plan, the County will work to provide policy guidance for assistance to the most at-risk residents, while directing funding to programs that support these populations. As part of this effort, the County will consider and review a housing first model for support for the most at-risk residents. The County also strives to provide policy direction to facilitate adequate housing for all economic segments of the county. Part of this effort includes intergovernmental coordination to make the most efficient use of resources to provide housing while avoiding concentrating housing in environmentally sensitive areas and protecting natural systems adequately to ensure long-term viability of groundwater supplies and maintain a high quality of life
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Guiding Directives
Healthy and vibrant residential communities are attractive, affordable, diverse, and supported by appropriate services. Strong neighborhoods include a variety of housing choices that meet the full range of resident income levels, backgrounds and preferences. In urban areas residents are able to walk to community destinations to comfortably and safely shop, work and interact with neighbors and friends. These community values are further supported by recognizing:
- Safe, affordable, and appropriate housing is a fundamental need for all citizens in Kitsap County.
- Housing, transportation, economic development, and social services are all closely linked.
- Provide sufficient development capacity in existing zones to accommodate additional housing units for projected population growth.
- Vital neighborhoods create connections between people, stabilize families, and support local businesses.
- Appropriately sited and designed housing located near jobs, schools, and services can help reduce the negative impacts of traffic and commuting.
- Many citizens are supported by social services, which should be accessible to all who need them.
Goals and Policies
Goal 1. Make homelessness rare, brief, and one-time in Kitsap County.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 1. Expand and commit public resources to create a mix of housing alternatives and services for people experiencing homelessness.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 2. Remove regulatory barriers to alternative housing models for people experiencing homelessness.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 3. Create additional permanent supportive housing units and expand service options for Kitsap residents who have significant barriers to independent, stable housing.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 4. Support programs that address contributing factors to homelessness (e.g., poverty, mental illness, substance abuse disorders, and people exiting from institutional care to homelessness).
Goal 2. Increase affordable housing units and ensure that a broad range of housing types are available.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 5. Use regulatory strategies to incentivize and provide flexibility for development of affordable and special needs housing.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 6. Analyze and implement new funding opportunities and sources to support the development of additional affordable housing.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 7. Adopt regulatory changes to allow non-traditional housing types.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 8. Wherever possible and appropriate utilize unused County properties for affordable housing.
Goal 3. Preserve existing affordable housing inventory.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 9. Support programs and regulations that encourage the rehabilitation of deteriorating housing.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 10. Preserve existing subsidized housing units with expired affordability restrictions that are at risk of being converted to market-rate housing.
Goal 4. Ensure that all people have fair and equal access to housing and services.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 11. Promote fair housing to ensure that all residents of Kitsap County have an equal and fair opportunity to obtain safe and sanitary housing suitable to their needs and financial resources, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, family status, income, disability, or other protected class.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 12. Identify and remove regulatory barriers that limits access to or the provision of a diverse affordable housing supply.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 13. Identify and remove impediments to creating housing for harder to house populations.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 14. Disperse affordable housing opportunities throughout the County.
Goal 5. Increase support, referral, and connections to social services.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 5. Support existing programs and develop new and innovative programs that provide human services and links to housing.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 16. Ensure that all residents have an equal and fair opportunity to access human services, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, family status, income, disability, or other protected class and ensure services are accessible via public transportation.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 17. Work with partner agencies and provide support to programs that assist the low-income elderly and residents with qualifying disabilities.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 8. Work with partner agencies to provide services to area Veterans.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 19. Continue to support services for Kitsap area disadvantaged youth with job training and job placement.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 20. Continue to promote workforce development.
Goal 6. Integrate affordable housing and human services planning with transportation, workforce development, and economic development efforts.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 1. Ensure coordination and consistency between Kitsap County policies and other housing and human services planning efforts and documents, including the Consolidated Plan, the Kitsap Homeless Housing Plan, the Area Plan on Aging, and others.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 22. Cooperate with other jurisdictions and entities and support their efforts to plan and develop housing and human services.
Housing, Human Svcs Policy 23. Promote housing preservation and development in areas that are already well-served by schools, public transportation, commercial facilities, and have adequate infrastructure to support alternative modes of transportation.
Housing Strategies
Strategy 1 – Affordable Housing Inventory and Transportation Analysis
Supports policies 2, 3, 5, 7, 9-14
Conduct a comprehensive study of Kitsap County’s current housing landscape and inventory to determine what type of housing is needed currently and in the future based on Kitsap’s employment and socio-economic profile, and to determine whether the current housing stock and employment distribution align with the transportation network and transit service.
- Partnerships: County elected officials and staff (including Department of Community Development, Human Services – Housing and Homelessness Division and Human Services – Community Development Block Grant Division), Cities, affordable housing providers, private housing developers/builders, social service agencies, Navy housing providers, land owners, real estate professionals, and consultants.
- Public Outreach: Kitsap County stakeholder outreach tools, form new Affordable Housing Task Force.
- Finance and Budget: Community Development Block Grant Division, Housing and
- Homelessness Division, other jurisdictions and community partners, and County staff time. Project Selection: County RFP process
- Monitoring: Establish timelines for study solicitation, execution, and completion.
Strategy 2 – Regulatory Changes
Supports policies 2, 3, 5, 7, 9-14
Use the Affordable Housing Inventory and Transportation Analysis and/or other research to evaluate and implement the most effective regulatory tools and incentives (e.g. inclusionary zoning, impact fees, and others), to encourage affordable housing development and alternative housing types (e.g. tiny houses, Housing First units, micro units, boarding houses, Single Residence Occupancy units (SROs), and others).
- Partnerships: County elected officials and staff (including Department of Community Development), affordable housing providers, private housing developers/builders, Navy housing providers, social service agencies, land owners and real estate professionals.
- Public Outreach: Kitsap County stakeholder outreach tools, form new Affordable Housing Task Force.
- Finance and Budget: Board of Commissioners and County staff time.
- Project Selection: Affordable Housing Task Force to make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners for regulatory changes.
- Monitoring: Establish baseline of affordable housing units; list of proposed prioritized changes with milestones; implementation of recommendations; track changes in the production of new affordable units.
Strategy 3 – Development and expansion of financial resources
Supports policies 1, 6
- Research, evaluate and implement new mechanisms for additional local funding for affordable housing and homeless housing and services.
- Partnerships: County elected officials and staff, affordable housing developers, social service agencies, private foundation/funders, citizens.
- Public Outreach: Kitsap County stakeholder outreach tools.
- Finance and Budget: Board of Commissioners and County staff time, community volunteer time.
- Project Selection: Staff and stakeholder recommendations to the Board.
- Monitoring: Establish baseline of current financial resources; produce analysis of options; implementation of recommendations; track changes in new funding availability
Strategy 4 – Implement the Homeless Housing Plan
Supports policies 4, 10, 15, 21
Implement the strategies and action steps identified in the Kitsap Homeless Housing Plan.
- Partnerships: County elected officials and staff, social service agencies (Kitsap Continuum of Care Coalition), faith based organizations, elected officials, Tribes, Federal and State Agencies, housing developers, foundations, people experiencing homelessness, citizens.
- Public Outreach: Kitsap County stakeholder outreach tools in addition to community engagement strategies and action steps identified in the Kitsap Homeless Housing Plan.
- Finance and Budget: Board of Commissioners and County staff time, more money and resources.
- Project Selection: Projects and programs identified in the Kitsap Homeless Housing Plan, through existing County processes.
- Monitoring: Identification and implementation of initial and subsequent action steps, performance indicators listed in Kitsap Homeless Housing Plan.
Strategy 5 – Analysis of Impediments and Fair Housing Plan
Supports policies 11-13
Analyze impediments (including regulatory barriers) to fair housing and develop and implement a Fair Housing Plan.
- Partnerships: County, Cities, Housing Authorities, housing providers, HUD.
- Public Outreach: Create new Working Group, Kitsap County stakeholder outreach tools.
- Finance and Budget: Board of Commissioners and County staff time, agency staff time.
- Project Selection: Projects and programs identified in the Fair Housing Plan.
- Monitoring: Implement action steps and measure progress using identified indicators included in the Fair Housing Plan