Affordable housing has been a stated high priority for the City Council since 2021 and is the current top priority for 2024. The City partnered with Plymouth Housing to develop the project with the goal of housing seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who have an income at or below 30% Area Median Income (less than $28,800/year in 2023) and are exiting homelessness and/or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. The Permanent Supportive Housing model that Plymouth Housing proposed provides comprehensive support services on-site for tenants in addition to permanent housing and rental assistance.  

"The Council has made its decision, and while this project will not be moving forward, we must still recognize and proactively work to address the enormity of our housing and homelessness crisis. So many of the problems we face as a society are caused or exacerbated by a lack of housing that people can afford, and we must continue our work to allow more housing and different forms of housing to help meet the diverse needs of our residents," said Mayor Nigel Herbig. 

The proposed development was fully funded through a complex variety of sources that took over a year to secure. In addition to the city’s contribution of the land and $3.2 million, external funding sources included the National Housing Trust Fund, the State Housing Trust Fund, a direct appropriation from the State Legislature, and a 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit allocation, among other sources.   

"The City of Kenmore is grateful for the dedicated and resilient team at Plymouth Housing who worked with us in good faith over the last twenty months on this project,” said Deputy City Manager Stephanie Lucash. “Plymouth has been an excellent partner to the City and the work we did in collaboration with their talented team and our other partners to get this critical housing fully funded was extraordinary. We are hopeful this important project will find a home in another city." 

The City of Kenmore is required to plan for affordable housing needs and assist in addressing the regional homelessness crisis. Washington State’s House Bill 1220 was passed in 2021 and amended the Growth Management Act (GMA) to instruct local governments to “plan for and accommodate” housing affordable to all income levels and directed the Department of Commerce to project future housing needs by income bracket. According to the King County Housing Needs dashboard, Kenmore’s jurisdictional allocation is just over 1,600 units of affordable housing at the 0-30% AMI level by 2044, 559 of which shall be Permanent Supportive Housing. In the future, King County will monitor Kenmore for compliance in planning for and accommodating its share of the countywide housing need. 

“We are not off the hook. We need to provide solutions for our unhoused neighbors. This might not have been the project, but we are not off the hook,” said Councilmember Srebnik at the January 22, 2024, City Council meeting. 

“I would like to thank our city staff team for their incredible work on this project. This was a years-long effort that required complex partnerships and remarkable dedication and endurance. We are also grateful to the community members who were involved with the project from the beginning to the end,” said City Manager Rob Karlinsey. “Although we are not moving forward with this project, we are still committed to building affordable housing in Kenmore and serving the needs of our most vulnerable populations.” 

Additional background information about the proposed project, including a Frequently Asked Questions document is available on the project website.