Olympia residents gather for housing affordability forum. Here are their ideas
About 70 people gathered both online and in person at Olympia City Council chambers on Wednesday evening to discuss one of the region’s hottest topics: housing affordability.
The meeting was organized by the Council of Neighborhood Associations and the city of Olympia. Those who attended split into groups and came up with their own ideas to address affordability in the area, and then shared those ideas aloud.
But before they worked on their own ideas, city officials rolled out all they have done to try to address the problem, including a six-point emergency housing declaration made by the council last year. The sixth and final point on that list — a permit fee grant program — was approved by the council Tuesday night, said Jacincda Steltjes, the city’s affordable housing program manager.
The Olympia area is an expensive place to live. The median price of a home is about $540,000 and average rents are more than $1,500, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service and Thurston Regional Planning Council data.
A TRPC housing needs assessment that was done in 2021 showed the city had about a 17% poverty rate with a significant demographic within that 17% being young, college-age adults, said Olympia associate planner Casey Schaufler.
The forecast for affordable housing in the city and its urban growth area calls for an additional 7,600 units by 2045 to serve those who make 80% or less of area median income, he said. Currently, 80% of AMI is about $82,000, according to city information.
City officials also shared the ways they have tried to encourage affordable housing by exempting a portion of impact fees paid by developers as well as steps taken to help renters. Some of those renter protections: relocation assistance if renters are forced to move in certain situations, and time to plan in advance of a rent increase.
City officials then wanted to hear from the residents. The Olympian joined a table of seven people and listened in. Here are some of their ideas as well as ideas shared by the larger group.
▪ Ease the tension between the need for more housing and those who don’t want to see their neighborhood change by showing that multifamily projects can be successfully integrated into neighborhoods.
▪ Encourage room sharing in homes that have the space.
▪ Create a grant program for homeowners who want to change their property to accommodate other tenants.
▪ Encourage mixed-use development where there are vacant commercial properties.
▪ Create incentives for smaller, existing landlords to maintain and provide housing.
▪ Explore pro-active planning that not only takes into account the cost of rent, but also utilities and transportation costs.
So are any of the city’s programs working?
City officials provided a list of affordable housing developments in the area, including a South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity project on Boulevard Road that will build 112 units.
There’s also a 272-unit project in west Olympia that has been proposed by Devco Residential Group in the 3000 block of Ninth Avenue Southwest. That project is known as the Fieldstone Apartments.
The 6-point emergency housing declaration
▪ Priority permitting process for affordable housing.
▪ Dedicated staff for affordable housing developers.
▪ Waiver request process for some engineering design and development standards.
▪ The willingness to use eminent domain when affordable properties are at risk of losing their affordability.
▪ Infrastructure assistance grant program for water and sewer costs.
▪ Permit fee grant program.
Source: Jacinda Steltjes, the city’s affordable housing program manager.
This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
