Housing Action and Implementation Plan

What is a Housing Action Plan? 

A Housing Action Plan is a strategic plan about increasing housing options and choices in Pasco. It is important that the plan received input from our local community members involved with housing, and residents impacted by housing affordability. Our plan will highlight what we hear from stakeholders and community members to determine the best strategies and actions for Pasco to take.

Project Overview

Why is Pasco developing this now?

The Housing Action and Implementation Plan (HAIP) is intended to address the rising costs of housing, including market-rate single-family housing. This can be done by encouraging the construction of more housing and by permitting housing more quickly so it can be brought to the market faster. Expanding housing supply and bringing housing on to the market faster is one way to address rising housing costs.

The State legislature has been exploring a number of ways to encourage housing supply. The original version of Washington State Legislature House Bill 1923 mandated that cities adopt changes to zoning and development regulations. The legislation was amended to make changes optional and to allow residents and elected officials to be in control of the process and the outcome, rather than being required to follow a one-size-fits-all solution.

The City of Pasco is undertaking the HAIP to better understand what housing challenges are facing city residents, workers, and employers and how to best address them. Examples of housing challenges include:

• Older adults being unable to afford housing in our community.
• Families who may be unable to find suitable housing or who face housing instability due to rising costs and must choose between housing that does not meet their needs and leaving our community.
• Businesses that may be unable to hire and retain the best employees because housing prices make them uncompetitive employers.
• Workers that are unable to live near their jobs, resulting in longer commutes that add to traffic congestion, pollution, and costs to both them and the region.

What has been done so far? 

Under city leadership, Pasco has made significant progress to address housing affordability. Some of those changes include:

• Allowing attached and detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs)
• Allowing diverse home types and missing middle housing on a majority of residentially zoned lots
• New residential development standards to allow for more home types and flexibility, such as townhomes, duplexes, courtyard apartments, and other homes, that will increase options for residents.