KENMORE, Wash. — Early Wednesday morning, the Kenmore City Council and mayor voted 6-1 against a new affordable housing building.
According to the Kenmore City Council, affordable housing is the second highest priority for 2023 and will be the number one priority in 2024.
The council meeting, which started at 7 p.m. on Monday, lasted until 3 a.m. due to the 90 residents that showed up virtually and in person to speak during public comment.
The city originally planned to open a six-story complex for homeless seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.
However, a majority of the residents who showed up during public comment spoke against the agreement, saying the new building would make them feel "unsafe" and were uncomfortable with the "risks" and "new residents" the development would bring.
When Councilmember Corina Pfeil defended the project and said safety issues had been addressed, residents in the room could be heard rebuking her comments:
"Being poor is not a crime. It's a happenstance by your senior years, of the economy, of neighborhood gentrification," she continued, "One of the things that stands out to me is ... we've addressed all the safety issues. We've addressed how people come into a building."
Representatives from the development partner, Plymouth Housing, also gave statements at the city council meeting.
If the agreement had been approved, it would have broken ground in mid-2024 and opened on Bothell Way. Original plans included 100 apartments, including 85 studios and 15 bedrooms for those living at 30% of the area median income and below.
The project would have also provided residents with case management and connected them with health and social services. In addition, the building would have included ground-floor retail space and a public courtyard.
