Ferndale staff urges a consolidated housing strategy; council asks for trust‑fund legal analysis and blight data

Ferndale’s community and economic development director presented a data‑driven review of the city’s housing landscape and asked council whether to amend existing policies or build a consolidated housing strategy to guide FY2027 budgeting.

Ross Quarrel told the workshop the city has roughly 11,000 housing units: about 66% owner‑occupied and 33% renter‑occupied; 79% single‑family and 20% multifamily. He said cost‑burden rates differ sharply by tenure: about 12% of homeowners are cost‑burdened, compared with about 35% of renter households (roughly 15% severely cost‑burdened). Quarrel cited recent American Community Survey five‑year estimates used in the analysis.

Quarrel reviewed existing instruments — the 2017 incentives policy (brownfields/TIF), the city’s inclusive housing policy (2017), the 2020 housing action plan and a 2024 workforce housing pilot — and reported that some provisions (notably the inclusive‑housing policy) have not produced projects as written and that a local housing trust fund has not been established. He listed brownfield and pilot projects that have produced hundreds of housing units since 2004 but said gaps remain in implementation and coordination.

Councilors asked staff to produce a consolidated housing strategy that merges the multiple plans and policies into a coherent document, to research the legal mechanics and allowable uses of a local housing trust fund (including whether general‑fund dollars can be legally used and what constraints apply), and to provide data on blighted properties, city‑owned parcels, short‑term rental density and the age/condition of housing stock to inform program scale. Staff agreed to gather that data and return cost estimates and legal guidance ahead of the March budget workshop.

Council also discussed expanding home‑rehab assistance and potential partnerships with nonprofit builders or volunteer organizations as ways to stretch limited local resources. No new funding commitments were made at the workshop.