Skyway-West Hill and North Highline are richly diverse neighborhoods with large BIPOC and immigrant communities, as well as large numbers of low-income households. Skyway has the highest proportion of African-American residents of any area in the state. These neighborhoods have experienced rising land values and cost of housing at a faster rate than the broader region. This puts current residents at increased risk of being displaced.
Skyway-West Hill and North Highline residents identified housing affordability and displacement pressure as their top priorities during the Subarea planning phase 1 work that occurred in 2018-2019. King County wants to ensure the future development of the neighborhoods reflect the communities’ needs and supports the preservation and creation of affordable housing.
In the fall of 2020, the King County Department of Community and Human Services and the Department of Local Services hosted three anti-displacement workshops exploring 12 anti-displacement strategies for the Skyway-West Hill and North Highline communities. Over 40 community members participated in the workshop series and shared their perspectives on the strategies. Some themes we heard in these discussions are:
- Strong interest in affordable homeownership
- Support for more affordable rental units and a spectrum of housing options
- Support for anti-displacement approaches that are preventative and prioritize people from the neighborhood
Community members requested an additional workshop for the community to hear a high level summary of the strategies, since many joined the workshops mid-way in the series, and to discuss anti-displacement recommendations.
To meet this need, the King County Department of Community and Human Services and the Department of Local Services are co-hosting a virtual Anti-Displacement Recommendations Discussion on January 30 from 1:00pm-3:30pm. This meeting is for community residents of Skyway-West Hill and North Highline to discuss their ideas, develop recommendations, and identify priorities. At this meeting King County staff will present an overview of the strategies discussed in the workshop series and the feedback we heard from community thus far, but the vast majority of this session will be for community members to discuss and dialogue with each other.
The recommendations developed in this session will guide King County staff’s recommendations to address displacement in Skyway-West Hill and North Highline, which will be summarized in a report submitted to King County Council in September 2021.
Throughout the winter, additional meetings will take place to discuss strategies to bring affordable housing investments to the neighborhood and engage youth, business owners, and immigrant and refugee communities around their needs regarding affordable housing.
In April, the County will host another community meeting to share an update on the Skyway-West Hill and North Highline Anti-Displacement Strategies Report and the recommendations compiled from the community.
For questions about this project, please reach out to Yasmeen Perez, Equitable Development Program Manager at yaperez@kingcounty.gov or call 206-263.8636.
Upcoming meeting details:
Saturday, January 30, 1:00pm-3:30pm — Anti-Displacement Recommendations Discussion
At the Anti-Displacement Recommendations Discussion, King County will give an overview of the 12 anti-displacement strategies currently being explored by the County. Residents will have the majority of the meeting to discuss the strategies and develop recommendations and priorities, including additional ideas the community would like the County to consider. Register on Eventbrite.
Saturday, April 10th, 1:00-3:30pm — Community Report Back on Recommendations
Meeting details and registration information coming soon
All meetings will take place over Zoom. Attendees must register. Zoom information and meeting materials will be provided via email in advance of each workshop. For more information about this project go to: www.publicinput.com/anti-displacement
