Appendix

APX 01: Glossary of Key Terms:

Affordable Infill: Affordable Infill seeks to use tactics of small-scale, incremental development and economic inclusion to produce entry level homeownership opportunities as an upfront market product.

Affordable Housing (subsidized)
“Housing that is developed with public funding to ensure long-term affordable housing. These tools include but are not limited to homeownership housing units created through nonprofits and community land trusts, inclusionary housing programs, and/or deed-restricted homes” (ECONorthwest, 2022, p. 2).

see also:
“affordable” means that the net monthly mortgage or rent payment shall not exceed 30% of the worker’s monthly wage.  This shall be verified at time of move in and may be verified at additional time benchmarks, at the discretion of the housing management entity – from Whatcom County Infrastructure Improvements for Affordable Workforce Housing Program.

Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (“non-subsidized affordable housing, bottom of the market)
Naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) does not require financial assistance or subsidy to be affordable for low- and middle-income households. Typically, this housing is Class B or C rental housing built between 1940 and 1990. Class C properties are generally over 20 years old, are in less desirable locations, or in need of overdue renovations. Class B generally refers to older buildings that are otherwise well maintained and in good condition.

Community land trust (CLT)
“A land banking model where a community organization owns land and provides long-term ground leases to low-income households to purchase the homes on the land, agreeing to purchase prices, resale prices, equity capture, and other terms. This model allows low-income households to become homeowners and capture a portion of the growth in home value as equity but ensures that the home remains affordable for future homebuyers”.

Community Wealth Building
Community wealth building is the concept that communities have local ownership and control over their community assets, and access to economic opportunity for developing those community assets.  

De-Commodified Housing
Housing units that have been taken out of the speculative market so they cannot be bought and sold as investment properties.

https://www.sonomatenants.org/de-commodified-housing#:~:text=Decommodifying%20housing%20means%20taking%20housing,housing%20for%20generations%20to%20come.

  • See also: Non-Market Housing

Development without displacement
Development without displacement refers to a socio-economic approach that aims to promote equitable urban development while safeguarding existing residents from involuntary displacement. It involves implementing inclusive policies, affordable housing measures, and participatory decision-making to balance progress with the preservation of community integrity.

Economic Inclusion
All consumers have access to safe, secure, and affordable financial products and services, as well as opportunities for wealth building.

Incremental (Small-Scale) Development: A practice that seeks to place the tools and mechanisms of residential and commercial real estate development into the hands of existing community members and small-scale practitioners. Based on the assumption that the best people to develop a place are the local people who already live and work there.

Infill Development: Increasing the density of existing residential neighborhoods. Integrating missing architectural forms and neighborhood improvements within residential urban zones.

Infill: Building new houses in-between existing houses, increasing the number of private units within an existing home, and replacing existing single-family homes with townhouses and apartment buildings.

Development: Any site improvement or building construction that increases the usability and economic value of a property.

Labor Force, Workforce
People aged 16 and over either employed or unemployed – Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The people engaged in or available for work, either in a country or area or in a particular company or industry – Google definition.

Land Banking
“A land bank is a governmental or nongovernmental nonprofit entity established, at least in part, to assemble, temporarily manage, and dispose of vacant land for the purpose of stabilizing neighborhoods and encouraging re-use or redevelopment of urban property”.

Limited Equity Cooperative (LEC) 
A model of homeownership where residents buy a share in a development rather than an individual unit and agree to sell at a rate formulated to keep the housing affordable over the long term for subsequent buyers.

See also: Limited Equity Housing Cooperative
A limited equity cooperative (LEC) is a homeownership model in which residents purchase a share in a development, rather than an individual unit, and commit to resell their share at a determined, restricted price that maintains affordability of the housing unit. Government assistance, subsidies, and low interest loans help to create initial affordability for the housing development. LECs are often initiated by a non-profit agency, but unlike other housing models, LECs usually have a self-governing group of residents or members who share stock of the cooperative and pay a monthly fee to cover common expenses and maintenance. The price of a share is usually limited to ensure affordability for workforce households.

Non-Market Housing
Non-market housing is for rent or purchase at below-market costs, through government or non-profit ownership or deed-restricted trust (Law Insider, n.d.). May or may not require income qualification.

Owner-Occupied Development
Owner-occupied development is “residential development in which the same person or persons are sole or majority owner(s) of the property at the time of first approval of the development and at the time the development receives its building permit, and those persons make and record a legally binding agreement.”

Producer’s Coop
Producer’s Co-ops are owned by a group of people who produce similar goods or services, improving their abilities to negotiate prices and access larger markets. The Co-op can add additional value to member goods by processing them further.

Scenario planning
“Scenario planning helps decision-makers identify ranges of potential outcomes and impacts, evaluate responses and manage for both positive and negative possibilities. It is an integrated approach to dealing with uncertainty. Scenario planning is also about visualizing different representations of an organization’s future, based on assumptions about the forces driving the market — some good, some bad.”

Tenants-In-Common
Tenancy in common (TIC) is a type of concurrent estate in which all owners own a share of the property. Owner shares are not necessarily equal, but all parties have the right to use and occupy all parts of the property.

Trauma Informed Design
Combining trauma-informed care with the architectural and built environment design processes – designing the built environment to “regulate the body and support therapeutic approaches.” The idea that our surroundings should help regulate our bodies by focusing on comfort, community, and choice when designing the built environment (Grabowska et al., 2021).

————————————————————————————————————————————

Term Definitions from Whatcom County Infrastructure Improvements for Affordable Workforce Housing Program:

“workforce” means wage earners making 120% or less than Average Median Income (AMI) for Whatcom County.

“low income” means wage earners making 60% or less than AMI, and by such definition falls within “workforce” category.

“affordable” means that the net monthly mortgage or rent payment shall not exceed 30% of the worker’s monthly wage.  This shall be verified at time of move in and may be verified at additional time benchmarks, at the discretion of the housing management entity.

“long-term” is a minimum of 20 years supported by a deed restriction that requires the housing unit to be rented or sold to persons with incomes at 120% AMI and lower. 

“proponent” means a partnership between a sponsoring local jurisdiction and a for-profit developer, a non-profit developer;bjpbhui , and/or a housing agency or housing NGO. 

“local jurisdiction” means a city, town, water, sewer and port districts located within the Whatcom County, as outlined in RCW 82.14.370.

————————————————————————————————————————————

Specific Definitions From Bellingham Municipal Code: BMC 20.08.020

https://bellingham.municipal.codes/BMC/20.08

“Accessory building” means a separate and subordinate structure, the use of which is incidental to that of the main building located on the same lot. If the roof and wall of the accessory building is a continuation of the roof and wall of the main building, the accessory building shall be considered as part of the main building and shall meet all requirements of a main building. However, in no case shall an accessory building be considered attached and therefore part of a main building if the attachment is only by a covered but unenclosed breezeway.

“Accessory dwelling unit,” or “ADU,” means a second dwelling unit located on the same lot as, and subordinate to, a single-family dwelling unit. An ADU may consist of either of the following:

“Attached accessory dwelling unit,” or “A-ADU,” means an accessory dwelling unit located within or attached to a single-family residence. To be considered attached the roof and wall of the accessory dwelling unit must be an extension of the roof and wall of the existing single-family residence. In no case shall the attachment be made through an unenclosed structure.

“Detached accessory dwelling unit,” or “D-ADU,” means an accessory dwelling unit that consists partly or entirely of a building that is accessory to a single-family dwelling unit.

“Boarding and rooming house” means a structure used for the purpose of providing lodging or lodging and meals, for persons other than those under the “family” definition. This term includes dormitories, cooperative housing and similar establishments but does not include hotels, motels, medical care facilities or short-term rentals.

“Cluster short subdivision” means a subdivision into four or fewer lots in which standard requirements may be modified in order to provide desirable open space, recreational opportunity or achieve other significant public benefits without increasing the overall density of dwelling units per acre except as provided in BMC Title 23 and the applicable neighborhood subarea pursuant to zoning tables in Chapter 20.00 BMC.

“Cluster subdivision” means a subdivision into five or more lots in which standard requirements may be modified in order to provide desirable open space, recreational opportunity or achieve other significant public benefits without increasing the overall density of dwelling units per acre except as provided in BMC Title 23 and the applicable neighborhood subarea pursuant to zoning tables in Chapter 20.00 BMC.

“Co-housing” means a residential development on one contiguous parcel of land, designed by and developed for members of an existing co-housing organization in which members of the co-housing organization will own and reside. A co-housing development shall consist of at least five residential dwelling units and shall be operated as a condominium, co-op or similar form which allows for individual ownership of each dwelling unit. It shall also include one or more common structures containing a shared kitchen, library, computer room, laundry, greenhouse, play area or other common residential facilities for use by the residents.

“Co-housing dwelling unit” means an individual dwelling unit within a co-housing development that is privately owned.

“Co-housing organization” means a legal development entity, during development and construction of a co-housing project, that transforms into a legal residential association upon completion of the development and subsequent occupation of the dwelling units. Membership of the association is open only to owners of dwelling units in the development.

“Dwelling unit” means a single unit providing complete, independent living facilities for one family including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.

“Family” means one or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption, or not more than three unrelated persons, living together within a single dwelling unit. For purposes of this definition, children with familial status within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. 3602(k) and individuals with disabilities within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. 3602(h) will not be counted as unrelated persons. “Adult family homes,” as defined by RCW 70.128.010, are included within the definition of “family.” Facilities housing individuals who are incarcerated as the result of a conviction or other court order shall not be included within this definition.

“Illegal dwelling unit” means any unpermitted residence within a building or a portion of a building that

APX 02: Draft Policy Brief

AffordableInfill_Apx02_PolicyDRAFTDownload

APX 03: Survey Results, Full Report

You can also access these survey results directly on the Qualtrix web hosting platform at the following links:

All, Renters VS Homeowners
Renter specific questions
Homeowner specific questions
AffordableInfill_Apx03_SurveyResults-FULLREPORTDownload
Print Friendly, PDF & EmailDownload this page as a Print Friendly PDF