Thread by @CMTMosqueda

I'm proud to serve on the @leagueofcities Housing Task Force along with leaders from cities across the U.S. working together to address how we can better respond to our shared challenges of housing availability, affordability, investment, and quality.

Together, we are working to create a set of local best practices for cities to address housing affordability, as well as policy recommendations to federal and state governments. Read more about the NLC Housing Task Force here: nlc.org/article/mayors…

Hot off the presses: @leagueofcities' state-by-state analysis of local tools to address housing affordability, which includes some very compelling insights for cities in Washington. Read the report here: nlc.org/sites/default/…

The report looks at the ways state governments play a role in the tools available for cities to address housing affordability at the local level—and it’s timely here in Washington as state legislators consider key housing/land use bills HB 1923 and SB 5812/HB 1797.

Key take-aways from NLC's report:

Nearly all cities in the U.S. are struggling with varying aspects of housing affordability—from creating enough housing, to ensuring existing housing is in good condition, to preventing displacement as cities grow.

Cities need a range of flexible tools to ensure housing options are available and affordable to people at all income levels, and states play an important role.

Local policymaking authority often enables cities to lead on progressive policies, but on some issues, like housing affordability, we need states to take the lead:

"Greater local control is often at the heart of policies that accelerate progress, expand rights, build strong economies and promote innovation...

...However, there are examples, particularly in the affordable housing policy arena, in which state policy is needed to make progress for everyone." @leagueofcities

Community pushback can be a barrier for cities to adopt the necessary changes to increase housing affordability and availability, which can lead to piecemeal local policy that’s insufficient to address the scale of the problem.

In these cases, it's important for states to step in and create baseline standards for cities to build upon. E.g., in California, recent legislation was passed that mandates local action to increase density near transit centers.

In Utah, legislators are considering SB 34—legislation tying housing with transportation to ensure local planning helps to increase housing availability in high growth areas. The legislation provides a menu of 22 options to ensure flexibility for cities to comply.

The report also cites state legislation—SB 5812/HB 1797—being considered here in Washington that would create a baseline for some cities to ease local restrictions on backyard cottages and in-law units.

@SenatorPalumbo @SenMarkoLiias @meetjoenguyen @MiaGregerson33 @AKB1968 @votenicolemacri @joefitzgibbon @cindy32ld @NoelFrame and others, thank you for your leadership on this legislation!

These state-level policies set minimum standards that cities can build upon—but they provide leadership and ensure some degree of local action on the most pressing issues facing cities: housing affordability and availability.

"[O]ne thing is crystal clear: The significant housing problem facing our country is compelling cities and states to rethink how they address the issue, and to adapt the relationship they have with each other to meet the scale of the challenge.” @leagueofcities

The keys to state leadership on local housing affordability action are meaningful standards that will actually help improve housing availability for all, and flexibility to implement them locally.

HB 1923, also being considered in #WAleg, does just that by providing a flexible menu of options—similar to Utah’s legislation—for cities to create local policies allowing for greater housing availability.

TY Reps @joefitzgibbon @votenicolemacri @SherryAppleton2 @BethDoglio Sharon Tomiko Santos @NoelFrame & Laurie Dolan for creating this realistic, flexible approach to meeting the diverse needs of WA cities while ensuring we’re all doing our part to address housing affordability!

Local backlash can often stifle progress on efforts to increase the availability of housing (see the years-long delays on Seattle's ADU/DADU legislation and MHA), and we need states to step in to help cities take meaningful action.

It’s unfortunate that the @seattletimes Editorial Board is once again inciting resistance to progressive housing affordability policies with their recent erroneous and reactionary editorial against state efforts HB 1923 and SB 5812/HB 1797.

Far from removing local planning authority (as the editorial inaccurately claims), these bills would create realistic, permissive baseline standards for local action for cities grappling w/ historic wrongs rooted in racist redlining policies & continued exclusionary practices.

HB 1923 and SB 5812/HB 1797 are smart, flexible, bi-partisan policies with broad support from environmental & housing advocates, labor, and local leaders, among others: assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5777…

Along with @SeattleCouncil colleagues, I have advocated for state leadership through these bills because Seattle, like cities across WA, is living the housing crisis & we can't solve it on our own—we need the state to serve as a partner to lift the floor for local action.

The issue of “local control” versus state preemption is nuanced and shouldn't serve as a justification for the state to stay silent on the most critical economic and social justice crisis facing cities in our state & across the country right now: lack of affordable housing.

We have the same expectation for the state to step in, lead, and raise the bar through smart policy when it comes to labor standards like minimum wage, family leave, and safety in the workplace. Now it's time for the state to lead on housing affordability and availability.

In spite of the devastating impacts the housing crisis is having in WA communities & broad support for state action, the @seattletimes Editorial Board argues for state legislators to sit on their hands. Meanwhile we're losing time, we're losing lives, and we're losing neighbors.

The fact is, relying solely on local action will only create a patchwork of policies across cities that are insufficient to address housing affordability at the scale of the problem.

Because the housing affordability crisis spans the boundaries of any given city, we need broader solutions that any individual city can achieve—and we need each city to do its part.

Furthermore, without the state helping to raise the floor in terms of permitting & greater density, we will continue to face lengthy and costly delays at the local level.

The legal delay on MHA implementation alone is estimated to have cost Seattle $87.8 million worth of affordable housing, or 717 units. @Crosscut reports on that here: crosscut.com/2018/11/city-s…

As we work to advance progressive local housing & land use policies in Seattle, I'm eager to continue working collaboratively w/ state, regional, & local partners to make sure we are doing everything we can to address housing affordability for all our communities in Washington.

Thank you, @leagueofcities, for highlighting the importance of state leadership for local action on housing affordability. Read the full report here: nlc.org/sites/default/…