The Sammamish City Council unanimously approved a $90,000 line item, which would increase the city’s funding to A Regional Coalition for Housing tenfold, during a mid-biennium budget update at its Tuesday regular meeting.
The increase, under social & human services in the 2016 general fund budget adjustment, is part of the approved $220.5 million 2015-2016 budget.
“We’re a very blessed community, and sometimes I think we lose sight of that,” Sammamish Mayor Tom Vance said Wednesday. “It’s a good thing if we can share some of those blessings with people who need it. … Sharing those blessings ultimately comes back to help us.”
The coalition, commonly referred to as ARCH, is a partnership of Eastside cities mostly in King County with the goal of preserving and increasing the supply of homes for low- and moderate-income households. The city of Sammamish has been a partner for about 15 years.
The city had earmarked $10,000 for the ARCH contribution in 2016, but city staff suggested increasing that to $100,000 at the Nov. 10 city council study session.
“Affordable housing is a regional issue,” City Manager Ben Yazici said at the Nov. 10 city council meeting. “The reality, however, is home prices in Sammamish have been raising at a much higher rate than perhaps some of our peer cities. … We can’t buy potentially one-fifth of one unit with a $100,000 contribution, but as we contribute to this pool we will get our share by supporting those projects in the immediate vicinity of the city and those we would benefit from.”
