The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

www.seattlep-i.com

Wednesday, September 6, 2000

By Mike Lewis
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Pushing more development into King County urban centers has contained sprawl but rising housing costs are reducing the number of people who can afford to rent or to buy a home, according to a growth report released yesterday.

Touting the data contained in the 2000 Annual Growth Report as a sign that King County is producing plenty of jobs, slowing its population growth rate and is managing growth better than the rest of the nation, County Executive Ron Sims nevertheless conceded that elected officials can't forget the people who might be left behind.

Calling it "the challenge of prosperity," Sims said the county still must work to ensure the quality of life for the growing number of people who haven't benefited from the economic upswing.

According to the report, 95 percent of the 13,936 new housing units built in 1999 were in urban areas, such as Seattle, Bellevue and newly incorporated cities such as Sammamish. The balance happened in rural areas, mostly in the county's southern and eastern areas.

Because slowing -- if not halting -- rural housing growth is one of Sims' goals as well as a goal of the 1990 Growth Management Act, Sims hailed the urban-rural growth ratio as proof "we've contained sprawl." He said no other metropolitan area in the country has done so well.

Overall, population growth in King County slowed to less than 1 percent in 1999, giving the county 1.685 million residents.

But the numbers show an erosion of quality of life in some areas. For example, King County absorbed 65 percent of the new job growth, but only 25 percent of Puget Sound's population increase. Overall, the county in 1999 had 44 percent of the state's jobs compared to 29 percent of its population.

Analysts said that because Snohomish and Pierce counties are experiencing rapid residential growth without a big boost in new jobs, congestion related to the commute likely will worsen.

Sims used the opportunity to push his transportation plan, which would bump the sales tax by 0.3 percent to raise millions for Metro buses and a light rail project.

"We can't miss this opportunity," he said.

One reason cited for the movement to other counties is housing costs. For example, in 1999 fewer than 5 percent of homes for sale in King County were considered affordable to the county's 166,000 renters. Since 1990, in King County, home ownership has risen 0.8 percent. Sixty percent of King County residents own a home, compared to 67 percent nationwide.

But when asked if slow-growth policies might have contributed to rising home prices, Sims said there's no link. "Sprawl has never contained housing costs," he said.

Critics countered that the data doesn't back Sims' assertion. The Los Angeles-based Reason Public Policy Institute, in studies of Portland, Ore., and Boulder, Colo., found a direct link between strictly enforced urban-growth boundaries and local housing costs.

"Portland has been the mecca of the 'smart growth' movement," said George Passantino, the institute's public affairs director. "But the data shows that the city established its urban growth boundary in 1979 and by the 1990s the city had changed from one of the most affordable towns to one of the least."

During the past decade, Passantino continued, the price for available lots for both cities have risen at a rate two times faster than inflation.

Generally, the report showed that growth is slowing, incomes are rising, water conservation and recycling is up, and the area appears to have a strong, stable economy, though the county's poor could be left behind.

Among its findings:

·  Rents rose faster than income. A 6.6 percent rise in rent was not offset by a 6.1 percent rise in median income.

·  Nearly 200,000 jobs were added during the past five years. The number of jobs increased by 2.9 percent last year alone.

·  Average wages were up 11.6 percent to $46,000 annually, nearly 50 percent above 1990. Chandler Felt, the King County demographer, cautioned that a portion of the wage boost was from cashing in stock options. He said because stock performance has been flat, the average likely will dip next year.

·  Transit ridership increased to 96.5 million boardings in 1999, up 15 million since 1995. The average person in King County rides the bus 58 times a year.

·  Water use is down. In 1998, each resident used 108 gallon a day. Last year they used 104.