(The Center Square) – Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has issued an executive order that directs city departments to find ways to improve anti-displacement programs that totaled over $40 million last year.
Displacement occurs when households are forced to move away from their homes due to economic reasons. Displacement also includes households that are unable to move into neighborhoods because of higher costs of living.
The executive order comes the same day as a presentation on the city’s current anti-displacement programs was given to the Seattle City Council Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan.
The presentation from the city’s Innovation and Performance Team noted that there is a broad consensus among researchers and economists that rightsizing supply with demand is one of the most effective strategies to prevent displacement.
Seattle voters are aware of this. They approved the Seattle Housing Levy in 2023, which has a tax rate of 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or $383 a year for the median Seattle homeowner. It is anticipated to collect $970 million through 2030 to help create affordable homes throughout Seattle.
Harrell’s executive order intends to complement the “One Seattle Comprehensive Plan” update, which serves as a roadmap for how the city will grow over the next 20 years and beyond.
The executive order requires city departments to improve their existing anti-displacement programs with more proactive planning, monitoring, and evaluation.
The Innovation and Performance Team Reviewed 20 anti-displacement programs across six different city departments, totaling $44.7 million in 2024 and more than $50 million in 2025.
These programs were identified to be in need of improvements by the team. Research of the anti-displacement programs found that the current programs have a strong foundation, but data use and public access were areas in need of improvement.
“As Seattle continues to grow, we need to be taking holistic, concrete steps to preserve existing affordable housing, produce more housing units to increase affordability, and protect vulnerable residents from being displaced,” Harrell said in a statement.
The executive order also requires city departments to develop new legislation that combats home buying practices in which buyers target homeowners and offer cash for their homes at a lower price than what the homeowners could receive on the open market.
An anti-displacement work group would be created within the first quarter of 2025 and begin developing an implementation plan.
City departments will also have to work to propose a plan for preserving naturally occurring affordable housing, and create a report on housing production statistics and development activity.
“This executive order is an important step towards ensuring that our anti-displacement programs are helping our residents and having the impact that they were designed to have,” Seattle City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth said.
