SAN JUAN COUNTY, WA. September 18, 2024 – San Juan County continues to support affordable housing efforts throughout the islands via the Home Fund, the Affordable Housing Awards, Connecting Housing to Infrastructure (CHIP) grants and a new Emergency Rental Assistance Pilot Project. During the August 27 Council meeting, the Council approved five Affordable Housing Awards totaling $65,000 to applicants on Orcas and San Juan Islands and allocated $30,000 to local Resource Centers via the Emergency Rental Assistance Pilot Project.
Housing Advisory Committee Affordable Housing Awards
Council approved the Housing Advisory Committee’s recommendation of full funding for all applicants to the Affordable Housing Awards, totaling $65,169. This is the third year of the program that combines funds from the Very Low-Income Housing Fund (VLIH) and the Affordable and Supportive Housing Fund (ASH).
“The Affordable Housing Awards program supports local affordable housing projects serving low-income households,” said San Juan County Housing Program Coordinator Ryan Page. “Not only is it difficult to create new affordable housing, but maintaining and preserving existing affordable housing is also a challenge.”
The County awarded five grants to five different existing affordable housing projects located on Orcas and San Juan Islands ranging in amounts from $5,154 to $37,000 to be used for smaller maintenance, construction and/or rehabilitation work on those projects.
“The Affordable Housing Awards shows the County’s commitment to affordable housing throughout it’s lifespan by helping to offset construction, maintenance and rehabilitation costs,” said Page.
Connecting Housing to Infrastructure (CHIP) Grants
The Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) was created in 2021 by the Washington State Department of Commerce to fund utility improvements for affordable housing projects in Washington State.
Since the inception of the grant program, San Juan County, in partnership with local affordable housing non-profit developers, has been awarded $739,417 in funding to cover the costs of water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure, and connection fees.
One recent project to receive CHIP grant funding is the Lopez Village North project being developed by Housing Lopez on Lopez Island. Due to escalation in construction costs, Housing Lopez and the County were granted an additional $218,402 in grant funding from the Department of Commerce. This brings the total amount awarded to the County and its partners in CHIP grants to $957,819.
Emergency Rental Assistance Pilot Program Policy 
At the County Council’s March 26, 2024 Council meeting, staff were directed to develop a pilot program for expanded Emergency Rental Assistance funding using the County’s Affordable and Supportive Housing (ASH) 1961.04 funds. The Council approved spending $30,000 from the ASH fund in 2024 for these purposes, pending the development of specific policies for the pilot program.
Staff worked with the Housing Advisory Committee (HAC) and received feedback from the Resource Centers on the framework of the pilot program. The new pilot program was developed in response to increasing numbers of local households seeking rental assistance from the Resource Centers. The program will supplement existing rental assistance funding provided to the Resource Centers from the County, bringing the total amount of rental assistance dollars funded by the County to $75,000.
This pilot program follows guidelines from Washington State’s Consolidated Homelessness Grant (CHG) program and serves households at or below 60% of the area median income and at risk of homelessness. If your household is in danger of falling behind on your rent, please contact the local Resource Center on your island.
“Assisting local islanders stay in their current housing is one of the most cost-effective ways the County can reduce homelessness by preventing it from ever happening,” said Page. “The County is extremely grateful to our local non-profit Resource Centers for the work they do deploying rental assistance funding in our community and keeping vulnerable citizens housed.”
What’s New?
Did you know that this Fall there will be three new affordable housing projects under construction at the same time with funding contributed by the San Juan County Home Fund? Located on Lopez and Orcas Islands, these projects will create an additional 31 new affordable housing units in the County.
San Juan County is currently in the midst of its 2024 Home Fund application process, with grant awards expected to be announced later this year.
About the Home Fund
Approved by voters in November 2018, the San Juan County Home Fund is a program to develop, produce, and/or preserve affordable housing in San Juan County. The Home Fund is used exclusively for the development of affordable housing including acquisition, building, rehabilitation, and maintenance of housing for very low, low, and moderate-income persons and those with special needs.
To date the Home Fund has contributed $11.9 million in funding to affordable housing projects across the County resulting in the construction or preservation of 132 affordable housing units.
The Home Fund is managed by San Juan County Health & Community Services with oversight from the Housing Advisory Committee and the County Council. For more information about San Juan County’s Home Fund, visit: https://sjchomefund.com/ or https://www.sanjuanco.com/1595/San-Juan-County-Home-Fund
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