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County unveils draft five-year homeless plan; council sets Dec. 9 public hearing
Summary
San Juan County staff presented a draft 2025–2030 five-year homeless plan that maps required state objectives to 21 community strategies including prevention, rental subsidies, cold-weather shelters and landlord outreach. Council scheduled a public hearing for Dec. 9 and asked staff to prioritize actions and provide measurable indicators.
San Juan County Health and Community Services staff presented a draft five-year homeless plan (2025–2030) to the council on Oct. 6 and asked for council feedback ahead of a public hearing scheduled for Dec. 9.
Ryan Page, who led the presentation, said the plan follows Washington State Department of Commerce guidance and the county’s obligation to document how it will spend document-recording fees to address homelessness. The draft pulls together task-force recommendations, a housing-needs assessment, point-in-time counts and a list of 21 strategies mapped to the state’s five mandatory objectives: an equitable and accountable crisis-response system; workforce strengthening; prevention; prioritizing assistance for those at greatest risk; and housing people in stable, appropriate settings.
Page reviewed local data and trends: the county’s point-in-time counts have shown relative stability with less than a 10% year-over-year change since 2020; the draft plan’s breakdown distinguishes people who are “literally homeless” (camping, vehicles, tents) from those who are “at risk” (doubled-up, substandard RV/boat housing). He said most people counted had their last permanent address in San Juan County.
Key strategies include maintaining funding for family resource centers and existing hotel-leasing/rapid-rehousing partnerships; expanding emergency rental assistance and exploring long-term rental-subsidy options; developing landlord outreach and preapproved housing plans to expedite permitting for affordable projects; expanding cold-weather shelters and hygiene resources; and engaging people with lived experience to shape program design. The plan also proposes measures and a requirement from Commerce to include implementation timelines.
Council members asked staff to prioritize the plan’s many objectives and to clarify which measures require policy or code changes versus administrative policy; they also urged inclusion of youth with lived experience and clearer, prioritized timelines and performance measures. Page said staff will fold task-force and service-provider input into the draft, provide measures and timelines, and return for a second touch before the public hearing.
The council voted to schedule a public hearing on Dec. 9, 2025, and staff said they will deliver the refined draft and supporting data in advance for council review.
Provenance: Health & Community Services presentation and council discussion during Oct. 6 meeting.
