Adopted unanimously in January 2023, we led this ambitious effort to provide actionable solutions for Anacortes’s major housing affordability and availability challenges. Backed by a thorough existing conditions report, housing needs analysis, and a highly successful engagement program, the detailed action plan deftly balances community priorities with best practices backed up by data and research. Notably, a great level of detail, thought, and collaboration went into building the implementation strategy and prioritizing each recommended action, informed by frequent discussions with the City Council and specific redline code edit ideas.
Outcomes
- A citywide survey with over 1,000 respondents (among the highest of any MAKERS survey) that collected data on people’s housing needs and preferences, personal housing stories, and reactions to preliminary ideas
- Stakeholder interviews with for-profit and non-profit developers, residents, and social service providers that painted a human picture of city’s housing challenges and helped identify possible solutions and their level of priority
- A well-documented strategy with implementation priorities and targets backed up by significant research and community engagement
- Unanimous adoption by City Council in January 2023
