Dear Editor:

I enjoyed Jordan Royer's article about Seattle City Hall needing adult supervision. Unfortunately, Seattle is not the only place it is needed.

Our State government makes housing more expensive on purpose. They require urban growth boundaries, which put rings around cities. Housing and schools can only be built inside those rings.

The shortage of buildable land makes the land more expensive, greatly increasing the cost of housing. The State is requiring this so local governments don't have to build so many new roads.

The Highline School District could also use some supervision. They want an impact fee for new students. You would think an impact fee for schools would be a fee when new babies are born in the District or when someone first enrolls at a District school.

Instead, the District wants apartment and house builders to pay about $7,000 for each new house they build and about $6,000 for each new apartment. This cost is passed on to the house buyer or tenant, who may not have any children.

Here is their “logic.” Home builder's need to get a permit from the City to build a house or apartment. The City can charge this fee because the State says it is OK and because the builder's must pay the fee to build. They are stuck with it.

There is really no direct connection between housing being built and the number of children in school. People moving into older apartments or houses with 5 children would pay zero in this scheme. People who move into new apartments or houses with no children would pay about $7,000 more for their house or in their rent, which goes to the school district. This $7,000 increases the cost of housing.

Let's get government to stop creating a housing shortage rather than have them spend millions of dollars to help with the problem they have created.

Sincerely,
Jeanette Burrage
Former Washington State Representative from the Burien area.