Mayor Murray’s West Seattle visit, report #2: 1-on-1 questions

(WSB photo from Saturday’s mayoral visit)
As reported here in-depth on Saturday, Mayor Ed Murray spent about 2 1/2 hours in West Seattle that day, including a walking tour of The Junction and Triangle, and a “coffee chat” with about 20 in attendance. After all that, we had the opportunity to ask the mayor a few questions one-on-one. Ahead, our questions – inspired by recent reader comments and community-meeting discussions – and his replies:

*What can be done about the affordable-housing crisis right now – to help people who are getting notices of big rent increases, who are looking for someplace they can afford to live and can’t find it?

“We’re trying to understand that,” the mayor replied. “The question is whether we can change the length of the warning (period), or the amount of increase – I’m not talking about rent control – or whether it will take permission from the state.” He says he suspects the latter will be necessary.

*Speaking of the state, what are you doing to push for Sound Transit to be authorized to raise enough money for light rail to West Seattle (and elsewhere – the battle currently is over whether ST will have $11 billion taxing authority or $15 billion)?

Murray, who is on the Sound Transit board, said he was in Olympia all day Thursday working on this (the day a hearing was held on the transportation bill that made it out of the State Senate). They’re running into a bit of a roadblock over which taxes they can use, though.

*Speaking of taxes, we keep hearing about levy fatigue. People say they just want to be able to see the big picture, rather than voting for one levy, then hearing about another, then another … What else is on the horizon?

He didn’t mention anything new – the $900 million transportation levy is in the spotlight now, and has a West Seattle informational meeting Tuesday (March 31st) at 6 pm at West Seattle High School – but first noted that “we’re not doing a good job reminding people” when levies are replacements or renewals. (Transportation, for example, will follow the expiring Bridging the Gap levy, though it’s been amply noted that its 9-year price tag is more than twice BTG, which was for less than $400.) Second, Murray said people have to remember “how we got here,” namely, he said, via the Tim Eyman initiatives. “So now we have to go to the voters again and again … but they do get to decide.” He expressed regret that so much of the taxation is “regressive.”

John March 30, 2015 (7:54 am)

“What can be done about the affordable-housing crisis right now?”
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Nothing right now.
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But a start would be to roll back the the recent restrictions on single family development and ‘apodments’ as the Mayor’s committee suggested.
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Banning alternative modes of housing during such a shortage was a political reaction to homeowner ‘concerns’ and now Seattle is facing the consequences.
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Paraphrasing Dan Savage on KUOW, anyone who is concerned about homelessness while opposing development is a hypocrite.

Captain Dave March 30, 2015 (8:58 am)

What this mayor fails to realize is that the destruction of our diverse economy has lead to unaffordable rents and tax revenue shortages. If he and his cohorts continue to create so-called “social justice” policies that stifle commerce, then we will eventually have the same kind of equality they have in Russia.

Sue March 30, 2015 (9:37 am)

Changing the warning period on large rent increases really wouldn’t make a difference. If you raised my rent 25%, I’d never be able to pay it with all the notice in the world, and while it would give me extra time to find a new place to live, it isn’t suddenly going to help me find the money to move, nor that all the rents around me will go down enough to afford them either.
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And why *aren’t* we talking about rent control or rent stabilization? Why is it allowed to increase rent in such astronomical amounts all at once?

The Dude March 30, 2015 (10:18 am)

Mayor Ed ROCKS!

wsg March 30, 2015 (10:26 am)

Sue – I totally get what you’re saying but don’t think rent control is the answer. Look at SFO, New York, they have higher rents than anyone. What does work is more apartments. The supply is still not enough with all the people moving here…..and that’s why rents are climbing. Take for example in 2008-9, new apartments in Seattle and even West Seattle were giving 3 months free with a 1 year lease, and older apartments weren’t raising rents because of the demand. Now with more coming on line end of this year and next we should see…(unless more people move here) the prices start to drop- but not until there is more supply. I know a scary thought for some, but just my two cents.

Paula March 30, 2015 (11:13 am)

John – I do not believe I’m a hypocrite for opposing types of housing that, while solving what could be a short term problem, creates long term negative impacts. Once built, we have to live with these developments for decades. I’d rather we address the reasons people can’t afford a place to live, from the perspectives of both the renter/buyer and landlord/developer. Are renters being accountable for their choices? Just because a landlord CAN increase rent, do they really NEED to increase the rent?

Diane March 30, 2015 (1:16 pm)

“What can be done about the affordable-housing crisis right now?” “Nothing right now.”
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THAT IS NOT TRUE
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there are many many many immediate actions the Mayor could have done, could be doing right now, and he knows it; he’s just simply doing nothing
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we had a standing room only press conference at City Hall 2 weeks ago, that included a 16-page report to the Mayor and City Council, packed full of long term and immediate solutions
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“Solutions to Seattle’s Housing Emergency; An ‘immediate action’ agenda for presentation to the Mayor, City Council, and the Housing Affordability and Livability Advisory Committee (HALA)”
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the Mayor has the information; he is simply choosing to do nothing, to ignore the housing crisis
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how many more people have to die in order to get his attention?

Diane March 30, 2015 (1:48 pm)

one of the many immediate and simple actions the Mayor and City Council could do right now, is to pass a “tenant screening portability act” for Seattle; currently, when a renter is forced to move due to insane rent increases, and has to go searching for another rental, every one of those rentals charges ridiculously high fee for background/credit check, usually $40+, for each person, for each application; this is a practice that has spread like wildfire throughout the property management industry as one of the many ways to gain more profit (yes, I’ve actually read those exact words in multi-family professional publications, as one of many fees to stick to renters to gain more profit)
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for decades, the usual practice was to charge a reasonable fee, at most $20; and the renter could carry that copy, which is identical, it’s your info; to carry that info (portable) to multiple rentals; there is no legitimate reason to require renters to have to pay that too-high-fee, over and over and over; it’s the same info on a report, and should not cost $40; I have approached several of our City Council members, asking them to sponsor a city of Seattle “tenant screening portability act”; if you are a renter and agree this could be a helpful solution, please write letters to City Council

Diane March 30, 2015 (1:50 pm)

here are a few other immediate actions the Mayor & City Council could enact right now to protect renters from abuse:
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“Deposit & Fee Reform: Enact an ordinance requiring language in all rental agreements that:
● Give tenants the option of receiving interest on their deposit or directing it to a tenant protection fund for legal aid and tenants’ rights outreach
● Limit deposits to one month’s rent
● Cap total fees in a rental contract
● Require a landlord to provide the tenant with all related invoices for deposit amounts withheld along with the specific damage statement
● Entitle tenants to three times the deposit for illegal withholdings”

Diane March 30, 2015 (1:51 pm)

AND THIS
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“Support and seek State passage of a 90-day notice for all rent increases.”
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the Mayor and City Council could easily enact a citywide 90-day notice for all rent increases, right now

Diane March 30, 2015 (1:52 pm)

AND THIS
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“Tenant eligibility for receiving relocation assistance: Close loopholes in the Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance (TRAO) to allow administrative hearings for tenants, and penalize landlords who economic eviction tenants prior to providing those qualified tenants with assistance. Seek authority from the state to increase the eligibility to 80% area median income for assistance, for head of household.”

Diane March 30, 2015 (1:53 pm)

THAT list of “Tenant Access/Protections” was just one page of a 16-page report, presented to the Mayor and City Council, 2 weeks ago

West Seattle since 1979 March 30, 2015 (1:54 pm)

Paula, whether or not the landlords NEED to increase their rents, they’re going to do it if they’re in a period of undersupply and there are a lot of people who are highly paid and able to pay them. There are a few that might be compassionate and think of the people who will no longer be able to afford to rent there, but most of them probably just think of getting more money when they can.

Renters being accountable for their choices? I’m not quite sure what you mean. Of course people should choose to rent somewhere they can afford. But if you’ve lived in a place for, say 10 years, and suddenly the rent gets doubled (and your income d didn’t), how should you be accountable for your choice?

I’ve lived in the same place for many years, and recently had my rent increased by 33.3%. I’m just able to afford it, but if I wasn’t, what was my choice that I should have been more accountable for? I guess I should have chosen to move somewhere else a few years ago? But then who’s to say that rent wouldn’t have gone up even more?

Unless you’re saying everyone should own, and avoid rent increases? Some of us could have, I guess, but probably not everyone. Probably the ones that are being most affected by this and are worried about being homeless are the ones that couldn’t have afforded to buy.

Anyway, it’d be nice if the landlords would choose not to raise rents so high, but the only thing that’s going to help right now is to get more and more housing supply, and even that’s not going to help right away, since the units will have to be built first. But eventually there’ll be a surplus and rents will have to go down.

Or price control, but that didn’t seem to work in San Francisco or New York.

Diane March 30, 2015 (1:56 pm)

and TR; THANK YOU for asking the question; “What can be done about the affordable-housing crisis right now – to help people who are getting notices of big rent increases, who are looking for someplace they can afford to live and can’t find it?”
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thank you, thank you, thank you

Sue March 30, 2015 (2:17 pm)

wsg, I’m originally from NYC, so I have firsthand knowledge of the issues with rent control and rent stabilization. Rent control (where you got grandfathered into unrealistically low rent) is not common anymore in NYC. Rent stabilization is, and that’s where you cannot have your rent raised more than a certain percentage. At the time I lived there, it was 4% for a 1 year lease, and 7% for a 2 year lease. That may have changed. That is not unreasonable and will not create a housing crisis to put caps like that here.
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wsg, are you a renter by chance? I have been renting here for 10.5 years now. I have never received free x months’ rent with a lease. I never had my rent not go up in all that time. I know it was happening in the area (not calling you a liar), but I never (and nobody I know personally) seemed to get those deals. I have no problem with rents going up – everything goes up. It’s when they go up 10%, 20% or more in a year that it’s unreasonable and predatory. If I had to move out of my current apartment in the Junction right now for some reason, any comparable apartment in a 5 block radius (in these new, or newly-renovated buildings) would cost me at least 40% more than I currently pay. And I don’t believe I am now paying an unreasonably low rent.
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I hear the argument all the time about how rents will come down when there is enough supply. Call me cynical, but I find it hard to believe that if they can get $1700+ for a 1BR that they’ll drop them back down to the $1200 that it was merely a year ago.

bright side March 30, 2015 (2:49 pm)

If you receive a big rent increase it’s a strong sign that you’ve been paying below market rent for awhile.
Instead of being mad, be glad for the years where you paid less than the landlord could have charged.

yacman March 30, 2015 (6:41 pm)

I’m impressed with the thoughtful discussion. I used to be a renter, but now I’m a landlord (I have 2 tenants). My heart is breaking for my low income friends who are suffering. They have been doubling and tripling up to try and survive. There are a lot of thoughts that come to mind. I think a lot of people forget that our economy is a market economy, driven by supply and demand. High rents are hard on people, but rent control can exacerbate the problem by creating shortages. Unfortunately, increasing the supply of housing by allowing the construction of high density housing is going to put a huge strain on the transportation infrastructure. Yikes! What a mess. The one very-doable suggestion I see above is to is from Diane. I would favor a tenant screening portability act. I also, like many others, would favor getting the best possible public transportation we can. I have to admit though, that I’m worried that there isn’t a whole lot of effective ideas out there. I fear that Seattle is getting loved to death. I really don’t know where all the starving artists and service and retail workers are going to live.

West Seattle Hipster March 30, 2015 (7:15 pm)

I think if the mayor was sincere about dealing with the housing crisis, he would hire commenter Diane to his team. She has some great ideas and thoughtful solutions.

aa March 30, 2015 (11:49 pm)

When I see pictures of the mayor having a nice walk in our neighborhood I can’t help but wonder when was the last time he walked on second ave between Yesler and Jackson? It breaks my heart every time I’m on that street.

au March 31, 2015 (1:02 am)

That photo above with the gal talking with the mayor, looks really familiar but you didn’t put a caption with name. Am I supposed to know this person, its bugging me….

WSB March 31, 2015 (1:07 am)

Susan Melrose, West Seattle Junction Association.

maplesyrup March 31, 2015 (8:07 am)

Diane, if you haven’t already, you should send your suggestions to the Mayor’s office. There’s a lot of good stuff there.

Maybe put it all into one document and try to get some media behind it.

John March 31, 2015 (8:21 am)

Diane’s extensive posts neglect to include the parts of the Mayor’s report that address the actual housing shortage.
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We simply need more housing.
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Tenant’s rights are ripe for improvement but will do nothing to address housing shortages.
And they will do nothing to reduce rents.
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Housing shortages are addressed in longer term changes recommended such as developing vacant public owned parcels into homes and allowing small home development that was recently banned.

maplesyrup March 31, 2015 (9:52 am)

Issues like this are rarely simple.

au March 31, 2015 (10:00 am)

wsb-thank you, that’s such a great photo.

I think Diane’s posts don’t include a lot as they are examples from a 16 page report of immediate actions that could be taken. The suggestions made would definitely help ease the pain of having to move.

Long term solutions….for one, we as a society need to reevaluate how we view life and what we value. When our basic needs are treated as a commodity, something to make a profit from instead of something everybody needs in order to survive, well we run into this problem of many people barely being able to afford to be alive.

Personally I am not sure anything will work long term until we admit and begin to adjust to the fact that our capitalistic economic system only works for some, everybody else is just s.o.l.

These conversations are important to have.
Where do we go from here?

civik April 1, 2015 (7:42 am)

John, small houses were banned because there was public outcry when SF5000 lots were being built on like MultiFamily zoning. The city needs to grow a pair and rezone if they want the increased density rather than doing it surreptitiously by using archaic lot sizes and unscrupulous builders. I would never have bought a home in an MF zone because they are simply too small.

Sorry, comment time is over.