Kitsap County residents beginning to support urban growth

A growing number of Kitsap County residents support the concept of targeting population growth in urban areas, according to Mike Eliason, government affairs director for the Kitsap County Association of Realtors.

A new survey conducted for the statewide group Washington Realtors shows that Kitsap residents are concerned about taxes and the rising cost of housing, Eliason said, but many believe that things are "going in the right direction" for the county.



The survey, conducted in early September by Call Research, questioned 200 people each in Kitsap, Thurston, Clark and Spokane counties, providing a 6.9 percent margin of error for each county's results.

Such surveys can be helpful when talking about "quality of life" issues, Eliason said.

"Elected officials should not necessarily make their positions based on polling," he said, "but it is important for them to understand where the public stands at any point in time."

Asked about the general feeling about life in Kitsap County, more than half (52 percent), said things were going in the right direction, while about a third (32 percent) said they were on the wrong track. The other 16 percent either didn't know or declined to answer.

Respondents' top priorities were widely scattered, but leading the list was "holding the line on taxes," with 15 percent ranking it first, followed by improving public education, with 12 percent. Wasteful government spending, affordable housing and growth management were tied, with 11 percent ranking them first.

Protecting the rights of property owners (7 percent) came in ahead of protecting the environment (5 percent), though the margin of error placed them on par.

"Interestingly," Eliason said, "a lot of the debate has become property rights versus the environment, but those aren't the biggest issues for the people."

Of the four counties surveyed, only Kitsap had the largest group putting the greatest emphasis on taxes. For Thurston and Whatcom, it was managing growth. For Spokane, it was improving the economy. For Clark, it was a tie between public education and wasteful government spending.

More than two-thirds of Kitsap respondents (67 percent) said they were very concerned or somewhat concerned about the cost of housing. Concerns were roughly the same for Thurston, Whatcom, Clark and Spokane counties.

People have reason to be concerned, Eliason said. Median home prices in Kitsap are up 8 percent over a year ago, but the median income has grown by only 7 percent over the past five years.

Asked about where growth should occur, 29 percent of Kitsap residents said in cities, 24 percent said in suburbs, 22 percent said on the "fringe of current suburban development," and 16 percent said in rural areas.

Kitsap residents were overwhelmingly convinced that urban and suburban growth benefits the community. About 70 percent said they were "very convinced" or "somewhat convinced" that urban growth allows people to live closer to work, thus keeping traffic from getting worse; 69 percent said urban growth would encourage economic development and increase jobs; and 60 percent said it helps preserve the environment and maintain the quality of life.

Looking at previous surveys, Eliason said more people are seeing the benefits of urban growth, as the state's Growth Management Act drives more housing construction into urban areas.

"The community is becoming more supportive of urban growth once people see it in action," he said, "because people see that it does not negatively affect them."

But he added that it's important to remember that many people in Kitsap County already live in unincorporated areas, making it easy for them to support urban growth.

More than 70 percent of Kitsap respondents said they would support new homes in their own neighborhood to avoid overcrowding of streets and roads, preserve parks and open spaces, or maintain neighborhood character.

Seventy-seven percent said they would support building "affordable homes" in their neighborhood if the housing were provided for teachers, firefighters, police and "other people whom we rely on for help."

Eliason said Bainbridge Island is one community facing a realization that many employees providing essential community services cannot afford to live on the island. City leaders are studying the problem, he said, and they may follow Mercer Island, which identified funding for teachers to live in the school district where they work.

Sixty-six percent of Kitsap residents said they would support building a variety of new housing types, including single-family homes, cottages and townhomes. Seventy-six percent said local governments should allow such construction.

That's because people support choice, Eliason noted.

Addressing the problems of rising housing costs requires a partnership between the real estate community and the government sector, he said. The problem involves market forces, government regulations and the lending environment, he noted. To help people purchase their first home, multiple solutions are needed.

By Christopher Dunagan, The Kitsap Sun
dunagan@kitsapsun.com
Originally published 01:30 p.m., October 18, 2007
Updated 01:30 p.m., October 18, 2007

This community cares!

By LINDSAY LATIMORE Staff Writer for The Bainbridge Review

A private local foundation buys five houses, offers low rent to low-paid teachers.

Imagine being a young Bainbridge teacher with a starting salary of $28,000 – and then trying live on the island, where finding an affordable rental can depend on sheer luck, and the median home price for 2007 was $680,000.

And then a gift comes along, in the form of a beautiful house with a big yard in a great neighborhood, at the unimaginable rent of $500 per month.


“Shocking, wonderful, unbelievable,” Jason Sovick said. “It’s seriously life-changing.”

That’s how Sovick, a math teacher at Bainbridge High School, describes his response to being selected as a beneficiary of the Marguerite Foundation.

The program is the creation of an anonymous Bainbridge resident who, having grown increasingly concerned about the lack of affordable housing on the island for teachers, decided to use the resources at her disposal, collaborate with local realtors and educators, and do something about it.

With the help of Windermere agents Mark Wilson and Bill Hunt along with a small advisory committee of island educators and a general contractor, the donor laid out an investment of $2.6 million to privately purchase five island homes, for the express purpose of retaining teachers who either couldn’t afford to live on the island in the first place, or who were at risk of leaving.

“Our biggest bill, as is everybody’s, is our mortgage,” says Mike Holloway, BHS teacher and a member of the advisory committee.

What’s more, he adds, the Washington state-wide salary allocation for teachers does not make adjustments for cost of living in each locale, meaning that a salary dollar in, say, Yakima will go far further than on Bainbridge.

“Real estate here, as we know, is not the same as it is everywhere in the state,” added Jo Vander Stoep, Sakai Intermediate School principal and another advisory committee member. “It’s never been easy to build or buy a house on Bainbridge, but it’s harder now.”

Sovick certainly found that to be the case. Until moving into his Marguerite Foundation house last November, he rented a house in Bremerton and spent $400-$600 per month on gas for his daily commute to Bainbridge.

On top of that, Sovick and his wife, who’s at home with their three kids, opted for private school in Bremerton because they felt their kids would get a better quality education that way.

Now, he lives in what he describes as an “absolutely beautiful” three-bedroom home in the Commodore neighborhood.

He walks his oldest son, James, to school at the Odyssey Multiage Program before walking to BHS to start his day.

Sovick found out about the Marguerite Foundation when the group, with the blessing of Superintendent Ken Crawford, emailed a district-wide call for applications in September 2006.

The donor’s criteria for acceptance weren’t rigid, but according to advisory committee member and Blakely Elementary teacher Maureen Wilson, also married to Mark Wilson, a clear framework did exist.

Teachers must be early in their careers; demonstrate a clear desire to be a part of the Bainbridge community; and be at risk of leaving or not living on the island without an opportunity like this one.

“It was going to be different from just people who were struggling financially,” Wilson said.

Wendy and Chris Kozina – she a seventh grade math teacher at Woodward Middle School, he a PE and social studies teacher in the Commodore Options program – were the only couple who actually lived on Bainbridge when the applications were sent out.

With a comfortable rental situation that was about to come to an end, they found themselves on the verge of renting a new place in Indianola.

When they found they’d been selected for the program, they weren’t sure what to expect.

“We had no idea what we were getting into,” Wendy said. “All we knew was that this woman was purchasing homes and wanted to offer them because she wanted to keep teachers on the island.”

As it happened, the donor, working closely with the advisory committee, not only purchased the homes, but tailored the matches for each beneficiary.

When Sovick and his family toured the home she had in mind for them, he remarked to his wife, “Oh, the back yard’s kind of small, but I guess you can’t have everything.”

The next day, he said, he got a call from one of the realtors saying, “You know what? We think we have a better home for you” – this one with a large yard.

“She really took each person into consideration...it had to do with need, but also with what they’d like,” Holloway said.

Vander Stoep says there’s no question in her mind that a community is stronger when teachers, firefighters, police officers and others who form its day-to-day backbone can actually live there.

“That was a big goal for us, to stay on the island we work on,” Wendy Kozina said.

“It’s been a fortunate blessing; it’s so generous,” Chris added. “It’s allowed us to be where we want to be, and be comfortable in the community.”

This past April, the foundation was recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c) charitable foundation.

The residents of all five houses have renewed their leases for the upcoming year.

Marguerite Foundation advisory committee members say the donor – who does not want to be identified – is evaluating possible next steps.

She’s not in any hurry to buy up more houses quickly; she’d like to see how her current crop of tenants fares first.

The donor is also interested in helping other people who might be considering getting a similar private effort started.

And part of the thrust, according to Wilson and Vander Stoep, is that with the means and the will, providing this sort of large-scale service to the community doesn’t have to involve insurmountable bureaucratic hurdles.

“She’s very private, but she wants her effort to be replicated by others,” Vander Stoep said.

“I think what she wants to say is, it’s not that complicated,” Wilson added. “She’s trying to get people to realize, just move ahead, move ahead.”