CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
title
AN ORDINANCE relating to affordable housing; authorizing a loan of up to $1,000,000 in General Fund funds to Community Roots Housing, a Washington public corporation, to mitigate the financial impacts of COVID-19; and authorizing certain new agreements to be developed relating to the lending of General Fund funds to Community Roots Housing.
body
WHEREAS, the impacts of the COVID-19 emergency include a severe local, state, federal, and global recession, all of which have affected the City's current year revenues, as well as the current year revenues of the City's Public Development Authorities (PDAs); and
WHEREAS, Community Roots Housing, formerly Capitol Hill Housing Improvement Program (CHHIP), is a PDA created by The City of Seattle to steward important assets, help bring resources to diverse communities, provide programs and services that support community development, and actively develop affordable housing both in Capitol Hill and in other areas of Seattle; and
WHEREAS, in March 2020 in the period of civil emergency due to COVID-19 and in response to new cases of COVID-19, the Mayor declared a moratorium on non-profit, residential, and small business evictions, which also included a prohibition on late fees, which has been extended through the end of 2020, and which actions are supported by Community Roots Housing as it provides housing and small business stability; and
WHEREAS, as a PDA, Community Roots Housing has not been eligible to apply for federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act assistance programs intended to provide relief to small business and non-profit organizations to keep people working, including the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), which Community Roots Housing estimates would have created an additional source of revenue totaling approximately $1.4 million based on their employment of approximately 100 employees; and
WHEREAS, the l...
Click here for full text