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06/08/2005: "Island Housing Solutions Summit"

Attendees listen to a presentation on affordable housing
A "Island Housing Solutions Summit" organized by Larry Soll, Ralph Hahn, and Lee Sturdivant attracted approximately 60 citizens to come out of a sunny Saturday and into a meeting room to discuss the current state of affairs, and the problems that can result from a lack of "affordable" housing. The group was told that one of the causes of the problem is directly related to the inflation rate of property, which is due to the influx of buyers who have more money ("urban based incomes") than the local working residents, and are willing to pay higher prices.

The meeting started at noon and ran to late afternoon, and consisted of talks and power point presentations on the rising cost of home ownership in the San Juans, the need to keep a diversity community, how programs in other communities have provided affordable housing, the advantages and disadvantages of capping the amount of profit one can achieve by owning and selling a house provided under various programs, and how a Housing Bank could solve the problem. And then the floor was open to public input on the presentations.

By the end of the day it was the general consensus that the group would explore a proposal to put a measure on the November ballot to set up a new County committee that would be based on the existing Land Bank model of taxing real estate sales. The proposal would place a ½ % tax on the purchase price of real estate. The money raised would then be used in some yet undefined manner (perhaps a Housing Bank) to provide, or assist, certain members of the community to buy or rent affordable housing. Additional meetings are planned to work out the details; and/or come up with new ideals and proposals.

Paul Losleben of the Orcas Research Group was one of the presenters, and stated: "Our intent in presenting our ideas is to stimulate public discussion, including observations of issues that we may have overlooked. The important thing is to work together toward solutions".