Houses in construction sit at the Kennedy Farm development on Hillhurst Road May 31, 2019.
Three North County cities have received a total of $200,000 in Department of Commerce grants intended to address affordable housing, the department announced last week.
Battle Ground, Ridgefield and Woodland were three of 14 cities receiving $876,000 in funds as part of the third round of grants from the department’s Growth Management Services program, the department stated in a news release.
Battle Ground received $100,000 for developing a housing action plan, while Ridgefield received $50,000 for municipal code changes. Woodland received $50,000 designated for both plan development and code changes.
Grants for other cities also included subarea planning and environmental reviews, the department stated, which along with code changes and housing action plans were intended to increase housing stock and variety of housing types.
“The rising cost of housing is weighing on our economy, burdening struggling families and leaving our most vulnerable people outside,” Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown stated in the release. “These grants will help strengthen communities by helping them plan for more diverse and affordable housing across Washington state.”
The grant program was created by 2019 state legislation and falls in line with the state Growth Management Act, which requires cities and counties who base their planning on the act to have a housing element that encourages affordable housing stock.
