Christy Osborne, Mountlake Terrace community and economic development director, and consultants from Echo Northwest presented a draft Housing Action Plan (HAP) framework and timeline to the council. The presentation described how the city intends to translate recently adopted comprehensive-plan policies and the recently passed middle-housing code into prioritized, implementable actions.

Osborne and Mackenzie Bisser of Echo Northwest said the HAP will distinguish between policies (long-term goals in the comprehensive plan), actions (strategies to achieve those policies) and implementation (who does the work and when). "This is an opportunity for us to really focus on implementation," Bisser said, describing a framework that ranks actions by feasibility, timing and potential impact and matches actions to city capacity.

The presentation outlined several priority areas identified through community engagement: increasing diverse housing types (including accessory dwelling units and "middle housing"), addressing displacement risks and increasing regulated affordable housing. Consultants said regulated affordable housing for households under 80% of area median income generally requires incentives beyond what the private market will deliver; the presentation identified analyzing expansion of the multifamily tax exemption (MFTE) beyond the town-center zone as a possible action for further study.

Staff noted specific community concerns about manufactured-home parks, including a mobile-home park code last updated in 1994 and worries about rising pad rents that could lead to displacement. Osborne said manufactured-home parks were intentionally kept zoned for manufactured housing to reduce the risk of large-scale redevelopment, but council members and staff discussed limits in financing and code for unit replacement and repairs.

Osborne and consultants described planned next steps and timing: staff are drafting potential actions now; the first draft of actions will be brought to the Planning Commission in September, followed by a work session about a month later, with further refinement in November and a public hearing in early December. Staff said they are coordinating with developers, regional partners and nonprofits to test feasibility and to estimate cost and staffing needs for each proposed action.

Council members asked how the framework would prioritize items and how long-term policies should inform near-term prioritization. Osborne and Mackenzie said the plan will present a menu of actions tied to specific policies and a recommended sequence based on feasibility, community priorities and timing of other city projects (for example, town-center zoning work and transit-area development). Council members emphasized the need to monitor and update new code changes after adoption, to improve permitting and to pursue partnerships with affordable-housing providers.

Why this matters: The HAP is intended to move Mountlake Terrace from policy language in the comprehensive plan toward concrete programs and actions—such as streamlined permitting for ADUs, potential MFTE expansion, anti-displacement strategies (community land trusts, tenant protections) and partnerships with affordable housing developers—that the council may authorize and fund.

Provenance:
Topic intro evidence: "Great. Good evening. Christy Osborne, community and economic development director. I have Mackenzie Bisser, here with me from Echo Northwest..." (transcript block starting at 451.26498)
Topic finish evidence: "Thank you so much. Appreciate it." (transcript block starting at 3848.905)

Speakers:
- Christy Osborne — Community and Economic Development Director, City of Mountlake Terrace
- Mackenzie Bisser — Consultant, Echo Northwest
- Becky Hewitt — Consultant, Echo Northwest (remote)
- Council member Murray — asked about the framework and prioritization
- Council member Wahl — expressed support and compared approach to economic strategy
- Council member Page — requested planning commission priorities and practical feedback
- Council member Marie — offered contact for community-land-trust stakeholder