What is affordable housing? 

What does homeless look like in our community?

Tumwater is a great place to live, work, and play. As community leaders, we want Tumwater to be a city for all people.

The Mayor and City Council are committed to addressing the needs of homeless youth, adults, and families and those at risk of homelessness. They are also working to expand the availability of affordable housing in Tumwater. Equally important is expanding the availability of affordable housing in Tumwater.

Expanding affordable housing

Community Development Block Grant

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is an important tool for helping local governments tackle serious challenges facing their communities. Every third year, the City of Tumwater receives funding from this program to support capital projects and public services.

Services and activities are provided by organizations located in or locating to Tumwater, or that primarily serve residents of Tumwater.

The CDBG program works to ensure decent affordable housing, to provide services to the most vulnerable in our communities, and to create jobs through the expansion and retention of businesses.

Community Human Services Program and other human services funding

Funds are set aside each year to support human services organizations that provide necessary aid for Tumwater residents who are vulnerable, low-income, and disadvantaged. The City of Tumwater participates in a regional approach through the Regional Housing Council (RHC). As part of the RHC, Tumwater funds a minimum annual amount equal to not less than one half of one percent of the last full year of general sales and use tax.

For 2021, this totaled $32,260 for the 2020 tax year. These funds help support programs such as The Community Kitchen, Basic and Emergency Needs for Homeless and High Risk Youth, and the Hygiene and Household Program.

The City also sets aside funds for agencies providing a direct benefit to Tumwater residents that may not qualify for funds through the regional approach. These funds are distributed through the Community Human Services Program (CHSP). Annually, the City funds a total of $15,000 through the CHSP in support of organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Washington, Dispute Resolution Center, Family Education and Support Services, Family Support Center of South Sound, Garden-Raised Bounty, and the Tumwater Education Foundation.

In 2019, the City Council funded $34,459 toward the prevention of homelessness by working with TOGETHER! and the Family Support Center.

In 2020, the City Council funded $50,000 toward the prevention of homelessness by working with TOGETHER! and the Family Support Center of South Sound.  The City also funded $10,000 to the Family Support Center of South Sound to help prevent homelessness from a hotel fire.

Recognizing the need caused by COVID-19, the City Council funded an additional $178,000 in 2020 to support meal programs for the elderly, improve food security for families and children, and keep residents in their homes by working with organizations such as Community Action Council, Community Youth Services, Family Education and Support Services, Family Support Center of South Sound, Homeless Backpacks, Thurston County Food Bank, South Sound Senior Services, and United Way of Thurston County.

In 2021, the City funded $50,000 of 1406 funds to TOGETHER! for rental assistance, and $30,000 to the Family Support Center of South Sound for a homeless shelter facility expansion and $50,000 to InterFaith Works for construction of a new shelter facility.

Housing Action Plan

The City Council approved the City of Tumwater Housing Action Plan by Ordinance No. O2021-007 on September 21, 2021. The Housing Action Plan began as a collaborative effort between the Cities of Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater to develop a Regional Housing Needs Assessment and Housing Gap Analysis, a Landlord Survey, and a draft set of actions to address the gaps identified in the housing gap analysis. The City Council adopted the City Housing Action Plan to reflect the specific conditions and concerns of the City. The Plan is intended to inform the City’s Comprehensive Plan policies and development regulations and to guide implementation strategies to help the City meet its housing needs and strategic objectives.

The Housing Action Plan identifies six strategies for addressing housing needs in the city:

1. Increase the supply of permanent, income-restricted affordable housing.
2. Make it easier for households to access housing and stay housed.
3. Expand the overall housing supply by making it easier to build all types of housing projects.
4. Increase the variety of housing choices.
5. Continually build on resources, collaboration, and public understanding to improve implementation of housing strategies.
6. Establish a permanent source of funding for low-income housing.

Under each of these strategies are specific actions for the city to implement. The intent of the City of Tumwater Housing Action Plan is to create one set of actions that the city will take going forward to support the development of more affordable housing.

The work on the City of Tumwater Housing Action Plan builds on the affordable housing work guided by Resolution No. R2018-016 and the 2019 City Council Housing Affordability Work Plans. The City Housing Action Plan is the next step in the process of trying to increase the amount of affordable housing by identifying specific actions the City should undertake to help facilitate the creation of more affordable housing.

Regional Housing Council

On September 1, 2020, the city council approved the interlocal agreement to establish a Regional Housing Council. Working together with Thurston County and all the cities in Thurston County, elected officials and staff drafted the interlocal agreement to establish the roles and responsibilities of the Regional Housing Council.

The Interlocal Agreement created the Regional Housing Council to aid in efficient and effective decision making related to responding to the homeless and housing affordability crisis. The primary purpose of the Regional Housing Council is to leverage resources and partnerships through policies and projects that promote equitable access to safe and affordable housing.  By regional collaboration, these activities and programs will be delivered more efficiently and effectively and the costs and impacts of managing them will be shared equally by the jurisdictions.

Studies, Plans and Municipal Code