Letters to the Editor

Missing Middle would set pace for housing alternatives

By Michele Horaney Olympia

June 29, 2018 02:27 PM

My husband and I just moved to Olympia from Alameda, California, and we are delighted to be able to make this area our new home.

And, yes, we do wish that Missing Middle housing was already in place and blooming. It’d be great to choose from a variety of housing such as townhouses, duplexes, quads and small homes close to downtown, on transit lines.

We’re working and older, but years from retirement. However, we do want to age in place. We don’t need a large house nor do we need a large yard. A home with two bedrooms and two office nooks would be ideal. If it was on a bus line, that’s even better.

We know that not everyone supports this plan. But the truth is that people will come.

So the question is: How shall change be managed?

We just moved from a town that outlawed what we’d now call “Missing Middle” construction in the 1970s. This year, with the housing crisis in the Bay Area in high gear, the California legislature declared that such ordinances are done. The lesson: Change will come. You can’t lock it out. What will you do to manage it?

We believe Olympia can and should set the pace for the region and the state on this issue. Please support this effort. Please incorporate the concept in the city’s plans and start working to help build out the Missing Middle.

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