Are the problems associated with the placement of the tiny house in Salmon Creek another county permitting issue, or a symptom of something much larger? Families are suffering because concerns for “rural sprawl” win over concerns for helping your family and friends find decent, affordable local housing. The Columbian’s March 7 story “Big problem with tiny house on wheels” is a reminder of the consequences of the anti-growth attitudes that continually influence county growth policy-making and depresses housing opportunities.
The Growth Management Act requires counties to provide an adequate land supply for jobs and housing to meet the needs of a 20-year population growth projection. Currently, the county is fighting a suit that claims too much land is improperly assigned for growth and poorly defined “rural sprawl” is rampant. What is already evident in today’s countywide housing market (let alone 20 years out) is a serious lack of housing diversity and affordability. The major contributing factor is the shortage of easily buildable land.
If the county is serious about meeting current and projected housing needs for all urban and rural citizens, growth policy revisions need to happen or higher density will be forced on existing urban neighborhoods.
