The answer is that the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority (KCCHA) creates partnerships with social service agencies, banking institutions, local governments, state and federal governments and other community groups to address the housing needs in Kitsap County. The collaborations allow each agency to bring strengths and resources to provide affordable housing opportunities to members of the community.

The Housing Authority has developed or acquired 1,085 local multifamily units. It has also provided 183 affordable for-sale housing opportunities through the creation and sale of condominiums and has facilitated the development of nearly 600 self-help homes in Kitsap County.

However, the need for affordable housing still exceeds the supply. The KCCHA maintains a waiting list that includes nearly 500 families on the public housing waiting list and over 1,200 on the Section 8 waiting list. In addition to the KCCHA’s waiting list, the Bremerton Housing Authority maintains a public housing and Section 8 waiting list with a similar number of families waiting for affordable housing opportunities.

The average Kitsap County rent is only affordable to persons making at least 60 percent the area median income, which equates to an hourly wage of over $10.41 per hour for a single parent with one child.

The typical renter who might want to own a home has only 74 percent of the income required to qualify for a mortgage on the typical starter home (Kitsap County Trends Report, Fall 2001).

Approximately 68 percent of renters in Kitsap County with income between 31 and 51 percent of the median family income pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing (2001-2005 Kitsap County Home Consortium Consolidated Plan).

A key factor that limits the production of affordable housing in the County is the lack of multifamily-zoned land in the County. Planning initiatives such as establishing neighborhood design criteria; identifying and providing incentives for housing development in infill neighborhoods; and encouraging the cities of Kitsap County to increase densities in areas served by public utilities and transportation are additional methods to support affordable housing initiatives.