At Solid Ground, we believe in a future for Seattle where the skyrocketing cost of housing no longer uproots communities and forces families into debt and homelessness. That’s why we advocate for policies and programs that move us closer to the day when everyone in our communities has a home, regardless of their means.

One of those programs is the Seattle Housing Levy, which has created more than 12,000 affordable homes since voters first passed it in 1986. Today, some 16,000 people live in homes they can afford thanks to Seattle voters who have repeatedly shown their commitment to a city that has a place for all of us.

This fall, Seattle voters will have a chance to renew and expand this commitment to meet the scale and urgency of the housing crisis we now face as a community.

Solid Ground Housing under construction at Sand Point.

At a cost of $32 a month for the median homeowner, the 2023 Seattle Housing Levy Renewal will triple our commitment to affordable housing, creating at least 3,100 new homes over the next seven years, while keeping more than 9,000 people from becoming homeless. The renewal will also pay for the preservation and maintenance of existing affordable housing and help low-income Seattle families build wealth by buying their own homes or staying in the ones they already have.

Seattle voters have renewed this levy five times, because we know it works.

The last levy, approved by voters in 2016, has already beat its goal for housing production by 27%,¹ and is well past its goals for helping low-income homeowners and preserving affordable rentals as well.

At Solid Ground, we get to see every day how these levy dollars lead directly to transformational change. Thanks to the support of Seattle voters, we’re able to help hundreds of families who’ve experienced the trauma of homelessness find homes and support for healing in our Sand Point Housing.

The need for affordable housing in Seattle has literally never been greater and will only grow in the coming years. A recent study estimated that Seattle will need 112,000 new homes in the next 20 years² to address the needs of people already harmed by the cost of housing here, and those who will be moving to our city in the next two decades.

We cannot rise to this challenge ahead of us without every tool at our disposal, including the Seattle Housing Levy. Please join us in building a stronger, more inclusive Seattle. Vote YES on Proposition 1 – and return your ballot by Tuesday, November 7.

Sources:

1) City of Seattle: A history of maximizing housing levy dollars

2) The Seattle Times: Thousands of new homes needed across King County