At a recent League of Women Voters forum, for Port Angeles City Council candidates, affordable housing was a hot topic.
Surprisingly one candidate while urging economic development belittled the current council for trying to regulate short term rentals (STRs).
Availability of affordable housing is an essential component of economic development.
The link between number of a community’s short term rentals and the lack of affordable housing is well documented.
The National Association of Counties website states “having a sufficient supply of housing affordable to households all along the income spectrum is critical to supporting vibrant and sustainable local economies.”
At a recent public meeting, a Olympic Medical Center administrator, the largest employer in the county, confirmed this statement.
Workforce housing is a OMC top priority.
Municipal Research Services Center states The Pew Charitable Trust and Harvard Business Review have conducted research, showing that as the number of STRs increase in a community the quantity of affordable housing units decrease.
A Harvard Law Journal research article concluded STRs exacerbate affordable housing crisis and the impact is especially powerful in high tourist communities.
It recommends that local governments implement “a set of regulations, taxes and community benefit agreements that will force Airbnb to be a partner that promotes rather than impedes the goals of affordable housing advocates.“
The council has done their homework.
They know that placing limited controls on STRs supports affordable housing.
They also know such housing is an essential component of economic development.
Hopefully the council candidate will do his homework too.
Norma Turner
Port Angeles