Regional VIEW Newsletter

January 2007     [pdf version]

Table of Contents DESTINATION 2030 Update in Full Swing Region Receives Economic Development Grants PSRC President Wins National Award for Outstanding Leadership Mark Your Calendar! Puget Sound Trends: Regional Housing Development Growing Back Issues

Enhancements to Destination 2030 to update sections on security, safety, environmental mitigation, commute trip reduction, operations and management, and special needs transportation are underway. Next up is a look at the plan's financial strategy. Recognizing that project costs have increased and revenue sources have changed since the plan's adoption in 2001 and review in 2004, new costs, estimates, and strategies will be included in the updated plan.

PSRC's Transportation Policy Board has given preliminary approval to text changes addressing the improved sections and will review financial information in De-cember. Final action on the updated plan will not take place until April 2007.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded the region's Economic Development District (EDD) a $200,000 grant toward the implementation of the Regional Economic Strategy. The funds will be used to advance work with the Aerospace and Clean Technology clusters. The funds build on the successful grant the EDD received in 2004 to begin development of the Regional Economic Strategy and grow the Prosperity Partnership. The EDA's mission is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide econ-omy, and the award of this grant shows EDA's regard for the work of the Prosperity Partnership.

PSRC Staff Joan Chen and Bill McSherry accept the EDA investment check from U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Sandy K. Baruah, a senior member of the Bush Administration's economic development team, in Lakewood.

PSRC also received an award for $35,750 from the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development's Cluster-based Approach to Economic Development Grant. The grant was awarded jointly to PSRC and Lake Washington Technical College to advance the clean technology cluster in Wash-ington. PSRC will use the funds to further the Washington Clean Technology Alliance, a new statewide trade alliance focused on promoting clean technology in-dustries in the state. Lake Washington Technical College will be using its share of the award to develop a curriculum and training materials for a Renewable En-ergy Certificate Program.

For more information, contact Bill McSherry at 206-587-5663 or bmcsherry@psrc.org.

Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg was honored by the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) for his commitment to regional leader-ship. Recognizing his service as PSRC President, Prosperity Partnership Co-Chair and former Economic Development District President, as well as his role as Chair of Sound Transit, AMPO stated "County Executive Ladenburg has gone above and beyond in his role as an elected official, embracing creative regional ap-proaches for addressing major challenges. Throughout all his work, he promotes the idea that the region's future economic prosperity directly depends on main-taining a world-class quality of life, healthy environment, and efficient transportation system."

Mark Your Calendar!
The 6th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference will be held February 8-10, 2007 at The Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Visit the conference website at http://www.NewPartners.org for more details on this important event sponsored by California's Local Governement Commission.

Regional Housing Development Growing Fueled by population growth and a strong economy, the region continued to experience substantial growth in issued housing permits in 2005. Regional housing permit activity increased an estimated 8.5 percent compared to the previous year. In 2005, the region issued the highest annual number of single-family permits since PSRC first began tracking permit data in 1980. Single-family development increased 12.5 percent, from an estimated 16,000 units permitted in 2004 to 18,000 units in 2005. Regional multifamily development held steady with the previous year, with 8,900 net units permitted. Net New Permitted Housing Units by Structure Type, Central Puget Sound Region, 1991-2005 From 2000 to 2005, King County authorized 48.8 percent of the total residential development activity in the region, followed by Pierce County with 23.7 percent, Snohomish County with 22.2 percent, and Kitsap County with 5.3 percent. Over the last three decades, there has been a shift in the distribution of new residential development authorized by the region's four counties. Comparing regional development in the decades of 1980-1989 to 1990-1999, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties increased their share, while King County decreased from 54.8 percent to 41.8 percent. However, comparing 1990-1999 to 2000-2004, there is a shift towards King County increasing its share of total regional development activity, with Pierce and Snohomish counties remaining stable with a slight decrease. Kitsap County's share in regional development activity has decreased from 9.2 percent in 1990-1999 to 5.3 percent in 2000-2005. Technical Note: The decline in permitted mobile homes from 1998-2003 may be due in part to a change in PSRC's data processing methodology to control for over-counts of mobile home parks. Typically, local jurisdictions will track new units moving into mobile home parks, but do not track move-outs, resulting in over-counts. PSRC now assumes that permitted mobile home park activity results in no net change. County Share of Net New Permitted Housing Units, 1980-1989, 1990-1999, and 2000-2005 More analysis of housing permit activity in the region's four counties is presented in the December issue of Puget Sound Trends, available online at psrc.org. For more information, contact Timothy Michalowski at 206-587-4817, tmichalowski@psrc.org.

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