I believe community support will be required if we are to provide housing for families earning well below the median income.
I have built about 25 houses in my 30 years in Port Townsend.
My partner and I made a choice to build small, simple houses, most in the 800- to 1100-square-foot range, to keep them affordable.
They were affordable for some families, but there are no guarantees they will remain so.
I also served on the board of Habitat for Humanity, where community support in the form of donations and volunteer labor keeps the cost of housing down.
Habitat houses have been a godsend for those families, but the scale is limited.
Again, there is no guarantee of permanent affordability.
Proposition 1 in Jefferson County provides a means to extend support for affordable housing.
We could wish for a different form of taxation, but a property tax is the best tool we have available at the local level.
There is also the possibility for the funds we raise to be matched, giving us more housing for our buck.
And there is a requirement of at least 40-year affordability, according to the county Opportunity Fund Financing Plan.
Many of us who own homes have benefited from subsidies, whether it be deducting mortgage interest on our income taxes or federally insured Federal Housing Administration loans.
Prop 1 will help those who have not been in a position to take advantage of that assistance.
Please vote “yes” on Prop 1.
Ian Keith,
Port Townsend