Housing & homelessness

Cost of living – particularly the cost of a home – has reached a crisis point here in Seattle and across our region. Rising rents and purchase prices of homes are pushing people out of the city, and the number of unhoused neighbors has risen drastically since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The time for action is now.

Increasing supply of homes

Housing affordability is one of the defining issues facing Washingtonians right now, and we know one of the biggest cost drivers is the lack of supply. This is not only a cost-of-living challenge for current residents; it is an important factor for our state’s economic competitiveness as we seek to attract and retain businesses and their workers (as noted by a 2022 report from the Lt. Governor’s office). We need supply and we need to ensure that once folks are in housing, they can stay there. Noel will fight to break down barriers that limit supply and drive up the costs of homes and put renters at risk of eviction.

As our 36th LD State Representative, Noel championed:

  • HB 1782 (2022) – Increasing middle housing (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, attached and detached accessory dwelling units, cottage housing, stacked flats, townhouses, and courtyard apartments), particularly near transit

  • HB 2343 (2020) – Increasing urban residential building capacity (PASSED)

  • SB 6378 (2020) – Improving residential tenant protections (PASSED)

  • HB 1923 (2019) – Incentivizing cities to build more urban residential homes (PASSED)

  • HB 2578 (2018) – Banning source of income discrimination (PASSED)

Affordable HoMES

The rising cost of living, skyrocketing rents, and a median single family home price of $790,000 in Seattle make it nearly impossible for anyone but the extraordinarily wealthy to afford a home. Increasing access to affordable homes – including pathways to homeownership – is both the right and smart thing to do. Seattle is growing rapidly and working families deserve homes near job centers, and should not be priced out of our booming market or pushed outside of the borders of job dense areas.

As our 36th LD State Representative, Noel championed:

  • SB 5651 (2022) – Increased funding ($113M) for the Housing Trust Fund for affordable housing projects, including homeownership ($25M) (PASSED)

  • HB 1643 (2022) – REET exemption to increase affordable housing acquisition (PASSED)

  • SB 5713 (2022) - Reducing costs for limited equity cooperative housing (PASSED)

  • SB 5868 (2022) – Including affordable housing in rural public facilities program (PASSED)

  • HB 2444 (2018) – Aligning state & federal affordable housing tax credits (PASSED)

  • HB 2448 (2018) – Access to homes for individuals with developmental disabilities (PASSED)

Services & Homes for our Unhoused neighbors

Part of the puzzle of the housing affordability crisis involves getting people into homes and preventing them from being evicted in the first place. That is particularly true for individuals with co-occuring behavioral health disorders. Homelessness has increased rapidly in our region, with more and more people sleeping in their cars, in tents, and completely unsheltered on our streets. We must provide more health and treatment services, as well as permanent housing and eviction prevention programs.

As our 36th LD State Representative, Noel championed:

  • SB 5693 (2022) – Utility and rent assistance and other services to prevent and address homelessness ($318M) (PASSED)

  • SB 5651 (2022) – Permanent supportive housing construction and acquisition ($300M) (PASSED)

  • HB 1866 (2022) – Apple Health & Homes, giving homes & services for people with medical risk factors (PASSED)

  • HB 1724 (2022) – Promoting permanent supportive housing in planning (PASSED)

  • HB 1905 (2022) – Reducing homelessness for youth by providing more supports for young people who have recently been discharged from the foster care system or other publicly funded systems of care (PASSED)

  • HB 2667 (2018) – Expanding eligibility for the housing support and essential needs (HEN) program to those receiving aged, blind, or disabled (ABD) assistance to ensure that folks don’t have to become homeless before receiving critical supports (PASSED)

  • HB 1570 (2017) – Permanent and expanded document recording fee as dedicated revenue stream for homelessness services (PASSED)

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