Affordable-housing tax, micro-house village to be decided by Pierce County Council

Next week the Pierce County Council will vote on whether to impose an additional 0.1% sales tax to support affordable housing initiatives and combat homelessness. Also on the March 21 agenda is final approval of a planned micro-home village for people experiencing chronic homelessness on a 86-acre site just west of Spanaway.

The sales tax will be equivalent to collecting a penny for every $10 purchase or 10 cents on every $100 purchase. The City of Tacoma imposed a 0.1% sales tax to support affordable housing in 2021.

The tax is expected to bring in $15 million to Pierce County in 2023, $20.8 million in 2024 and about $67.5 million from 2025 to 2027, according to county estimates.

If passed, at least 60% of that revenue must be used for constructing, acquiring or operating affordable housing, behavioral health facilities or facilities that provide housing-related or treatment services. Revenue from the tax also would be used to construct, acquire or purchase land for affordable housing for people whose income is at or below 60% of the median income of Pierce County, according to city documents. As of June 15, 2022 the average median income for one person in Pierce County was $68,220.

The revenue generated by the 0.1% sales tax would be used to support people with behavioral health conditions, veterans, senior citizens, people who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless, people with disabilities and domestic-violence survivors.

Under the council’s Comprehensive Plan to End Homelessness, which was adopted in March 2022, Pierce County spends $40 million a year to address homelessness and would need to spend an additional $117 million a year to end homelessness in the next five years.

Pierce County’s Housing Action Strategy, adopted in 2022, found that one-third of Pierce County residents are housing cost-burdened — meaning one-third of residents in Pierce County spend more than 30% of their income on rent, mortgage and other housing needs. By the county’s estimates, housing production needs to increase by 46% to meet demand.

In order to pass, the bill would require a super majority vote with five council members voting in favor.

Council Chair Ryan Mello said he expects to see debate about the council’s spending plan and a possible expiration date for the tax.

If passed, all cities, towns and unincorporated areas in Pierce County would be required to collect a 0.1% sales tax to support the county’s affordable housing initiatives.

Micro-home village plans

The Pierce County Council also will be voting on whether to release funding for and approve a zoning ordinance for the construction of a shared housing village on about 27 acres of the 86-acre property off Spanaway Loop Road and Cross-Base Highway South in unincorporated Pierce County.

The village plan, heralded by county officials as “transformational,” hit a development hurdle in October after it was discovered the site didn’t meet land-use rules.

Many people who live near the proposed site have been outspoken about not wanting the village to be built there, expressing concerns about the location of the site and the environmental impact on nearby wetlands and Spanaway Lake.

Wetlands, habitat and soil studies conducted in December confirm the village could be developed outside wetlands and buffers in full compliance with environmental regulations, according to a report from the Office of the County Executive. No habitats of protected species were identified, and the proposed project could be constructed with no potential impact to surrounding flood plains, according to the report.

Mello said the council majority is concerned about the impacts the project would have on residents and the environment.

Mello said the council would discuss additional amendments to the project, like ensuring properties use sewage systems rather than septic to protect ground water flow in the greater region and Spanaway Lake, limiting the square footage of the project and size of living structures and limiting surface water run-off.

Finding another site for the village would be tricky.

The Office of the County Executive wrote in the report, “No other unimproved property in the urban growth area offers such potential; in fact no smaller-sized properties could be identified to accommodate 75 micro homes and support buildings near sewer and transit systems.”

The owner of the site also indicated to county officials “he will not grant a second extension and will likely sell [the property] to an interested developer” to build upscale single-family homes there if Tacoma Rescue Mission does not develop on the site, according to the report.

The project, modeled after Community First! Village in Austin, Texas, would be owned and operated by Tacoma Rescue Mission, which would provide on-site work, health care, treatment, case management and security to residents. The village would focus on serving older adults who have experienced long-term chronic homelessness.

The master plan of the Shared Housing Village includes an East Village and a West Village, with an organic farm, farmer’s market, visitor’s center, behavioral health clinic, resident volunteer living quarters and village commons. The space would also house about 258 smaller living units with communal kitchens, showers and laundry buildings. Construction is planned to be completed in fall 2028.

Village operation costs are expected to be funded by Pierce County Housing Authority tenant vouchers, Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers and state commerce funding, in addition to private donations, according to the Pierce County Village Proposal.

The Pierce County Council set aside $22 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to help cover the costs of land acquisition, infrastructure and pre-design, but will be voting on final consideration of the project on March 21.

A previous version of the article misstated the proposed sales tax percentage.