City Council has unanimously agreed to Mercer Island’s financial support ARCH affordable housing

The Mercer Island City Council will vote ( Did vote approval) tonight on Agenda Bill 5818: ARCH Housing Trust Fund Project Funding, which will authorize the expenditure of $55,300 of Mercer Island taxpayer funding contributed to the ARCH Housing Trust Fund. ARCH was established in 1993 by an Interlocal Agreement to create and preserve affordable housing throughout the greater East King County community. Member jurisdictions include Beaux Arts Village, Bellevue, Bothell, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Issaquah, Kenmore, King County, Kirkland, Medina, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Redmond, Sammamish, Woodinville, and Yarrow Point. By participating in ARCH, member cities are part of a joint and cooperative undertaking to collectively plan for and provide affordable housing in East King County communities. The ARCH member cities created the ARCH Housing Trust Fund (HTF) in 1993 to directly assist the development and preservation of affordable housing in East King County. The HTF enables ARCH members to capitalize on a joint housing development fund and directly control the use of their housing funds through ARCH's funding recommendation process. The current balance in the Mercer Island HTF account is $196,718. Of this amount, $118,636 is committed to previously funded projects that are now in development. If the $55,300 for the recommended projects listed above is approved, $22,782 will remain in Mercer Island's HTF account. Together with the 2021 contribution (plus interest earned and any loan repayments), these funds will be available to award to new projects in the fall of 2021. In the last three decades, the ARCH Trust Fund has supported nearly 4,500 units of affordable housing and shelter beds, more than any other program in East King County, notably creating housing for those with the greatest needs and the fewest housing opportunities. HTF investments are amplified by the other public and private funding leveraged by these projects, with every $1 in local financing matched by an estimated $27 of other funding.