By Ron Young
At the Everett Streets Initiative public meeting this week there were reports of much progress and much still to be done, including moving forward on the fundamental “housing first” concept to address the homeless crisis.
A public meeting earlier this month about the model low-barrier housing projected to be built in the Pinehurst-Beverly Park neighborhood drew angry responses from many local residents, even from some who support the moral vision of housing first. I urge everyone to visit the city’s website, everettwa.gov to get updates about the project, including frequently asked questions; and to ask yourself, what can I do to help this project succeed? In addition to the location chosen for the project, the website outlines how residents will be selected, security issues and services at the residency.
The public meeting revealed two larger, longer-term challenges that complicate the issue: the need for a fairer statewide system of taxation to raise more public revenue; and the need for a revised system of voting for City Council to assure representation from all Everett’s neighborhoods.
Reflecting fears about the project, one local resident asked, “If the crime rate increases in our neighborhood, will there be increased police presence?” Everett Police Chief Dan Templeman, responded positively but also explained current budget pressures and how these limit police response capabilities. The recent defeat of Proposition 1, putting county policing programs at risk reveals the seriousness of the problem.
It’s not responsible or realistic to call for more public revenue without addressing the fact that Washington state’s tax system is one of the most regressive in our nation. Relying on a sales tax and property tax means middle class and poorer people pay a much larger percentage of income in taxes than do wealthy people. Whether the challenge is hiring more police; addressing causes of homelessness; repairing our roads, rails and bridges; improving public schools or making higher education financially accessible, it’s clear we do need more public revenue, but we also urgently need a fairer system of taxation. Unless and until we reduce our state’s reliance on regressive taxes by adopting a progressive state income tax, it’s likely that many current problems will get worse and we all will feel frustrated.
Several local residents complained that City Council seemed unresponsive to concerns raised over their neighborhood being selected as the site for the housing project. Their complaint reflects a second larger issue — the need for a system of voting in Everett that would assure representation from all the city’s neighborhoods. Today, partly as a result of at-large voting for City Council, people who reside south of 41st Street are under-represented. Having reviewed the complex process of site selection, I appreciate that city staff and the council based their current choice on multiple impartial and practical criteria. At the same time, given the system of voting for council members, it’s understandable that many residents of Pinehurst-Beverly Park felt left out of the process. It seems clear that changing to combined district and at-large voting in the future would assure representation and more participation from citizens in all parts of the city.
While changing to a fairer state system of taxation and a revised city system of voting won’t happen overnight, acknowledging how these larger, longer-term challenges complicate the housing project issue can help calm the current controversy and, hopefully, motivate all of us to support these needed changes.
Listening carefully to everyone at the public meeting, it was encouraging that despite the frustration and anger expressed, many local residents (though not all) who spoke expressed compassion for homeless fellow citizens and supported the housing first concept. Recognizing the homeless as our neighbors helps us imagine steps to move beyond conflict to shared community support for this creative and practical project.
The Mayor, City Council and staff, Catholic Community Services, local churches, businesses and neighborhood leaders working together all can help. The city needs to respond quickly to local concerns raised before this controversy developed, including the need for additional sidewalks, revised traffic patterns and new street signs in Pinehurst-Beverly Park that would significantly improve neighborhood safety. Utilizing resources from Catholic Community Services, including lessons learned from similar projects in other cities, local churches and businesses could do community education.
Practical support for residents of the project after it’s built might possibly include congregations providing additional furnishings for the units or offering to host a monthly community meal at the residency. Steps also are needed to counter the fear-inspired response of a few people at the meeting who announced plans to sell their houses and move out of the neighborhood. The idea of “selling out,” might be picked up and promoted by eager real estate agents. That could cause a wave of house sales that would definitely deflate property values. However they may view the housing project, most people in the neighborhood plan to stay in their homes. Community leaders, with support from churches, could work with homeowners on a petition campaign with supportive yard signs.
It’s not surprising that low-barrier housing is controversial, especially in the neighborhood where the housing would be built. While residents in Pinehurst-Beverly Park believe the city and Catholic Community Services should have done more sooner to communicate with them, it’s not too late to address and assuage community concerns.
As citizens and good neighbors in Everett, if we want this important, innovative and practical housing first project to succeed, we all need to find ways to help.
Ron Young is a resident of Everett; his email is ronyoungwa@gmail.com.
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