Client: City of Seattle

Served as facilitator of a 28-member advisory committee appointed by the Mayor of Seattle to identify and evaluate policy options to create more available housing for people at all income levels. Worked closely with the two co-chairs to develop meeting agendas and to facilitate meetings, and prepared meeting summaries for each committee meeting. Prepared agendas and facilitated three public meetings; and summarized public input. Facilitated small group negotiations to reach agreement on some of the more controversial strategies. The consensus recommendations included 65 strategies to generate a net increase of 20,000 units of affordable housing and 30,000 new units of market rate housing over the next 10 years. (2014 – 2015)

Results: The mayor and the chair of the City Council’s Land Use Committee endorsed the recommendations. The mayor used the recommendations as the basis of his housing action plan to address affordability. In October 2015 , the mayor introduced legislation to create 6,000 units of affordable housing, and Council adopted a HALA workplan.