PCD 2021-03-15 Item 1C - Discussion - Follow-Up on King County's Health through Housing Program Presentation

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City of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO: Planning and Community Development Committee CC: Mayor Ekberg FROM: Rachel Bianchi, Deputy City Administrator DATE: March 8, 2021 SUBJECT: Follow-up on King County's Health Through Housing Presentation ISSUE On Monday, February 22, 2021 staff from King County presented to the Council an overview of the Health Through Housing Program. King County is seeking to purchase existing hotel/motel buildings within cities on a voluntary basis to provide rapid rehousing for chronically homeless individuals. DISCUSSION King County has indicated — and legislation currently moving forward in Olympia mandates — that implementation of this program within cities must be done on a voluntary basis. Before Tukwila determines whether it will be a "willing city," staff recognizes that the Council and community have many questions that must be answered. Staff recommends that the Committee develop a preliminary set of questions at the March 15, 2021 Planning and Community Development Committee meeting. A draft list is attached to this memo, which was culled from questions asked at the February 22, 2021 meeting, as well as from public social media posts on the topic and public comment received to date. Staff will return to the Committee on April 5, 2021 with available answers. In addition, staff recommends that IF the Council is willing to move forward as a "willing city," that the City remove the Tukwila International Boulevard (TIB) neighborhood and the Central Business District (CBD) from consideration. For various and different reasons, these two areas of the City are not good candidates for this program. The TIB neighborhood continues to be an emerging one, and ongoing planning and zoning deliberations will be coming before the Council later this year. These issues should be resolved to better understand the future of this critical neighborhood in Tukwila. As to the CBD, because this is a critical economic engine for the City and state, and is an employment, retail and entertainment district, it is not a good fit for this program. As Tukwila moves forward with investigating whether to participate in this program, there may be other criteria the Council wants to develop before moving forward with the program. RECOMMENDATION Staff is seeking Committee feedback and addition to the preliminary questions on the Health Through Housing Program as it relates to Tukwila. In addition, staff is seeking Committee guidance on whether it concurs with the recommendation to remove the two areas specified above from consideration. This discussion should not be construed as designating Tukwila a "willing city," but is to provide a framework and basic guidance for initiating discussions with the County on a potential role for Tukwila in this program. ATTACHMENTS Preliminary list of questions on the Health Through Housing Program. 23