By Adri and Julian
Section I: Here’s the situation
By Julian
The Pacific Northwest is growing. Seattle in particular has experienced an unprecedented amount of development, averaging 1.5 percent population growth annually since 2010, according to the 2017 Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis. That’s about 41,550 people moving to Seattle every year, resulting in a population of 2.94 million.
This massive influx of workers caused the price of housing to shoot up 8 percent between 2016 and 2017 to an average of $519,900 for an existing home. Vashon, as a small, rural, commutable town, is becoming a hotspot for wealthy workers to get away from the city.
“With the addition of Amazon and Google [to] Downtown [Seattle], the picture changed as to how the population would grow,” said Emma Amiad, Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust founder and real estate buyer’s agent. “We’ve always had a significant second-home buyer market.”
Unlike Seattle, which can grow out and up, Vashon has strict zoning laws and distinct borders that prevent extensive development. This has resulted in a high demand for housing on the island with a low supply to meet it, as there are a limited number of houses to buy.
The influx of wealth has forced many of the less-affluent service-sector community members to move off the island in order to find more affordable housing.
“We’ve almost doubled our homeless population here,” Amiad said, “and a significant number of our employees around the community are now living in Kitsap and coming over here every day for work because they can’t afford to live here.”
However, according to Amiad, there is a glimmer of hope.
“If I were to say anything to younger people in high school right now, it’s just: ‘Pay attention. See what’s happening around you, get involved, and if you can make change, do so and have [the] courage to do it,’” she said.
Options include drawing King County’s attention to Vashon in terms of funding affordable housing units, as well as cleaning up the beaches, limiting water use and volunteering to plant trees.
Section II: Losing “Vashon”?
By Adri
From the prominent display of “Keep Vashon Weird” bumper stickers to Noodle the Sheep running for mayor, islanders have long been able to use the name “Vashon” as an adjective — but will it always carry the meaning it does now?
Vashon-Maury Island — and by extension, the community here — has clearly defined boundaries. Steep coastline meets driftwood, sand and gravel, which continues downward into the water of the Puget Sound.
The only breaches of this barrier are at the North and South ends of Vashon, where ferries facilitate the flow of people and goods between the island and the mainland. This relative separation has played a major role in preserving the island’s rural culture — or at the very least, allowing it to change at a slower rate than the surrounding areas.
But this is starting to change. The increased cost of living and real estate is having a growing impact on Vashon’s community (see Section I: Vashon is Changing).
“The people that are working in the stores right here and in the shopping centers around town are struggling really hard just to stay here,” Emma Amiad said. “A fairly substantial number of them don’t live here anymore.”
From this, Vashon loses economic diversity as it becomes less sustainable to both live and work on the island.
“It is not a good spiral to be in, as more people get priced out and we only have an island of wealthier residents,” said Chris Szala of Vashon HouseHold, a local nonprofit that works to create and maintain affordable housing.
This task is made difficult by the low supply and high demand for housing — thanks to regional growth and the zoning regulations which make Vashon desirable.
Ecological concerns also factor into the restrictions on Vashon’s residential expansion.
Loss of habitat, growing levels of invasive species and degraded water quality are the three greatest environmental threats currently facing the island, according to King County Vashon Watershed Steward Greg Rabourn.
“I think that we are more likely to contaminate our water supply than run out in the near future,” Rabourn said.
According to both Rabourn and Amiad, the best thing that islanders can do is be aware — both in terms of housing and the environment.
Section III: The community responds
By Julian
In July 2017, the Council of King County released the 2016 King County Comprehensive Plan. This ordinance included a section amending a plan from 1996 which set zoning and development laws throughout Vashon-Maury Island. The new plan was developed with council from community meetings, and addresses many issues facing the island, including the advancing gentrification.
The most controversial aspect of the plan was the rezoning of Vashon town to allow for more affordable housing to accommodate the lower income service sector.
“The idea of it was that instead of upzoning everything, you have a certain district in town where you allow people to have much greater density than used to be allowed,” said Frank Jackson, former Water District 19 Commissioner and longtime Vashon-Maury Island resident. “The idea was to attract developers to build more affordable housing.”
The plan allows for over 1,600 potential new units at “half buildout” in the area on the Vashon Highway between Cemetery road and Gorsuch road. This means that if half of the full development potential is taken advantage of, about 1,600 new housing units will be created. On average, each housing unit houses 2.4 people.
Another similar plan was passed in 1996 which allowed buildings in town to be two stories, with housing on the second floor.
“Nobody did it,” Emma Amiad said. “Nobody could afford to do it. A lot of our old buildings wouldn’t have withstood a second floor, but it was a great idea.”
One of the fears with the revised zoning plan is that the same thing will happen.
“In a lot of the things that we envision and we think would be a great idea, we’re not thinking the practicality of cost, and that’s the problem,” Amiad said.
Chris Szala summed up the situation simply:
“The plan does almost nothing to increase the ability to create more affordable housing. There are some small incentives, but nothing to really create the push needed to have more units of affordable housing.”
Section IV: Looking to the future
By Adri
A 1952 Chamber of Commerce planning document, “Vashon Island Story,” placed the future population of Vashon at 40,000 to 50,000 people, according to VashonHistory.com. The Chamber had not foreseen two key events: the failure to pass the Vashon Bridge, and the subsequent implementation of zoning regulations.
Vashon has grown and developed, though, and will continue to do so. As this occurs, the community can monitor that change.
The maintenance of both economic and ecological diversity will help to preserve the unique cultural and environmental aspects that separate the island from the surrounding areas.
“With a large influx of people moving into [the] Puget Sound region, there will continue to be pressure to find housing in the region,” Greg Rabourn said. “As long as the residents of Vashon continue to care about nature, water and protecting habitat, and are willing to take action to protect the island, Vashon will be fine. If people choose not to act or don’t care, than I am not as optimistic.”
Likewise, if people continue to look for openings to support lower-income housing, it will prevent people from having to commute on-island to work.
Periodically, the zoning laws are revisited. Emma Amiad suggested the upzoning of Dockton as an option for creating more residences, because — unlike most of Vashon town — the land in Dockton is dry and potentially an environmentally feasible location for development.
Supporting local businesses and being conscientious of the environment on the individual level, can help make the future of Vashon-Maury Island healthy and sustainable.
“As long as we protect our natural resources, watch for changes, and have laws and regulations to protect the land, we can still thrive and maintain Vashon as a rural area,” Rabourn said.