Committee acknowledges 2023 Health Through Housing annual report; council seeks clearer unit and occupancy accounting

The Committee of the Whole acknowledged receipt of the 2023 Health Through Housing annual report on Jan. 28, 2025, and requested follow‑up information to clarify unit counts, occupancy and deployment timelines.

Council central staff presented the annual report background and findings. The Health Through Housing initiative was authorized after a 2020 state law change and county ordinance (Ordinance 19,179) allowing a local sales and use tax for housing. In December 2021 the council adopted an implementation plan that set the paramount goal of creating and operating 1,600 affordable housing units with housing‑related services. The 2023 annual report is the second required report and was transmitted on July 11, 2024; the Health Through Housing Advisory Committee certified the report May 16, 2024.

The report’s financial summary notes total Health Through Housing revenue for 2023 of $160 million, including about $70 million in sales tax collections (roughly $2.4 million higher than 2022), and references a bond issuance in December 2023 to be spent in 2024–25. The report lists a portfolio inventory of 1,358 units (a combined count of county‑owned units and operations‑only units), of which the report counted 724 units open by the end of 2023 and 634 units in progress. The report also stated 911 people were housed in 2023, a net increase of 108 from 2022, with 396 persons in permanent supportive housing sites and 519 in emergency shelter sites (figures are from the report text).

Committee members pressed staff for clearer, up‑to‑date accounting. Council members received an oral update that additional openings in 2024 raised the number of units open to 954 and that the county anticipates bringing nine of 11 county‑owned buildings online and leased by the end of 2025, producing about 1,260 units open by the end of 2025. Staff clarified that the 1,358 figure includes both county‑owned buildings and operations‑only units (partnerships where the county funds operations but does not own the building).

Council members expressed concerns and requests including: a simple, one‑page chart showing (a) total units in the Health Through Housing inventory (county owned + operations only), (b) units open/operational, (c) current occupancy (people housed), and (d) planned openings for 2024–25. Members also asked for disaggregation so the council can see how many occupied units are in county‑owned buildings versus operations‑only partnerships, and for an explanation of barriers to faster conversion of emergency housing to permanent supportive housing (permitting, building conversions, operator staffing, turnover and maintenance impacts).

Staff said the annual report complies with ordinance 19,366 reporting requirements and that the advisory committee certified the report. Committee members voted to acknowledge receipt of the 2023 annual report (proposed motion 2024‑0225); the clerk recorded five ayes and three members excused. The motion will be sent to the Feb. 11 council meeting on the consent agenda.

Council members and staff agreed to follow up with a concise briefing and a one‑page chart requested by the committee to clarify the items above.