Mayor Ed Murray toured Ballard last Saturday April 25 and spoke with business owners and residents about issues in the community. Murray focused extra attention on housing affordability and public transportation in Ballard.

Residents and community leaders gathered at the Starbucks on NW Market Street and 20th Avenue NW to start the tour. Secret Gardens Bookstore, Hot Cakes and Ballard Health Club were just a few businesses Murray visited.

“So how’s business?” Murray asked owners.

Murray also asked owners what he could do to improve commerce in the community. Parking and rent affordability was a major issue mentioned by owners.

“It’s very important that the mayor is here today in Ballard to see what’s happening in the community and meet community leaders,” said Mike Stewart, Executive Director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce.

On top of hearing issues about parking, Murray was especially interested in issues pertaining to affordable housing. His Housing Affordability and Livability Advisory Committee (HALA) will reconvene in May to address strategies for creating affordable housing in Seattle. Neighborhood tours are part of Murray’s process to gather first-hand input from community members.

HALA was formed by Mayor Murray and city councilmembers last fall and is charged with making affordability policy recommendations for the city. The committee is a group made up of 28 housing experts, activists and community leaders from private and non-profit sectors.

Murray asked the committee last March to come up with strategies for a 10 year plan to build and preserve 50,000 housing units within the city limits. Of those units, 20,000 must be designated for income-restricted individuals and families. Individuals who qualify are ones who make 80 percent of the area median income (AMI) and below. The other 30,000 units would be rented at the market rate.

“I’ve committed that this city is going to create 50,000 units, including 20,000 of low-income units in the next 10 years. That will make us the leaders in the nation as far as creating units,” said Murray.

On top of HALA efforts, Murray said that enacting the $15 minimum wage increase last week is just another action among many to create affordability in Seattle.

“The country has been in a long slow slide into income inequality and Seattle -- like our suburbs, and every other major city -- is in the middle of an affordability crisis, and it’s going to take more than one thing to make the city more affordable. Minimum wage was one way – just putting more money in people’s pockets.”

Another element to creating affordability is expanding transportation. Murray mentioned the Move Seattle Plan that he asked the city council to put on the ballot for November, which proposes ways to speed up bus service.

“The good news for Ballard is that this is a city that approved the biggest increase in bus transit since the system was started in the 70’s. Beginning in June and finishing in September, Ballard will see a significant increase in bus service here. … We will need to do more in Ballard and West Seattle. These neighborhoods cannot wait for Sound Transit and light rail to open.”

Stewart commented on how important the future of light rail will be to Ballard.

“Sound Transit is planning its next public voter package, and we need to make sure that light rail to Ballard is part of that plan,” said Stewart.

Another strategy for affordability Murray discussed is the preservation of housing that already exists, and rather than replacing it, he wants to build more.

“Without a robust preservation strategy the other things will only keep us even and not move us ahead.”

The mayor also addressed the lingering question of rent control that some activists have called for.

“The biggest beneficiaries of rent control are people who are well off and people who are very well off. … To some it sounds like that’s the answer, but the cities that have it are far less affordable than Seattle.”

Murray compared Seattle’s housing cost to San Francisco’s.

“It [rent hasn’t solved a thing. We are building 3500 affordable units in Seattle compared to 1500 in San Francisco. Their goal is to reach our current level. My goal is to almost triple what we are doing. To me that’s a better strategy and something that will take a long time to get through the legislature.”

Indeed, there are many plans. But with unprecedented growth in Ballard, many citizens have questioned whether city departments operate with the big picture depicted in the Master Plan in mind. One issue in particular is the growth in Ballard without the transportation infrastructure to support booming density.

“This city is silo. The city government is silo. Growth happened where we wanted it to happen. We wanted urban villages and focused growth. That worked. But what didn’t work were the other things that go with it. Where’s parks [Department of Parks and? Where’s the transit? When does that kick in? Where’s the next school? That’s the disconnect. Right now I’m spending a significant amount of time with staff to figure out how we integrate that approach, and will probably do a structural integration of planning so that DPD, parks and transportation are integrated.”

Murray said he would have more to say about his department integration plan in the next coming months.

“I grew up in West Seattle. My father worked for a steel mill. My parents had seven kids, and they had a house and could afford to live in the city. I’d like to be the mayor of a city that has people like me when I was a kid. I don’t want to be mayor of a city that is simply the very wealthy or people who are lucky enough to buy their houses 30 years ago,” said Murray. “That’s kind of a moral value for me, but there’s also economic good sense. A city that is slanted one way will not be a happy environment. It will not be a democratic environment.”