June 2026 Message from Councilmember Neil Nelson

June 5, 2026

Building Affordability: A Toolbox Full of Tools

As a construction contractor, I've learned that every project requires a toolbox full of tools. A hammer is important, but it can't do the work of a saw, a level, or a tape measure. Housing affordability is no different.

Port Townsend's housing challenges were decades in the making, and there is no single solution. If we want progress, we need a toolbox full of tools working together.

One of those tools is increasing housing supply.

The Madrona Ridge development has generated plenty of discussion in our community. Some residents dislike the lot sizes, density, or changes to neighborhood character. Those concerns are valid topics for discussion.

At the same time, the project appears to be demonstrating a basic economic reality: when more homes become available, prices face more competition.

As part of my work in the local construction and housing market, I've recently seen multiple sellers reduce asking prices in order to compete with newly available homes. One development won't solve affordability, but it does provide a local example of how additional housing can help moderate prices.

Housing also works like a ladder. When a family moves from a rental into a newly built home, they leave behind a rental unit for someone else. That movement creates opportunities throughout the market. More housing choices at one level can help relieve pressure at other levels.

Housing availability is also an economic issue. Local employers—from healthcare providers and schools to contractors, retailers, and restaurants—continue to struggle with workforce housing. When workers cannot find housing they can afford, our businesses, services, and community all feel the impact.

Another important tool is thoughtful planning.

Much of the discussion surrounding the Comprehensive Plan focuses on what might be built in the future. But planning policies create opportunities, not obligations.

Allowing a sixplex does not mean a sixplex will be built. Adjusting setbacks does not guarantee redevelopment. Increased height allowances do not force anyone to build taller buildings. Development only occurs when financing, demand, construction costs, infrastructure, and property owner decisions all align.

The Comprehensive Plan provides options. It does not mandate outcomes.

The Comprehensive Plan was the result of years of public meetings, analysis, community input, Planning Commission work, and Council deliberation. While reasonable people may disagree with aspects of the final product, our limited public resources may now be best directed toward implementing housing solutions, improving permitting processes, and developing affordability programs that can produce tangible results for residents.

In fact, if Port Townsend experienced even a fraction of the development some residents fear, we would likely see meaningful improvements in housing availability and affordability.

Of course, housing supply is only one tool in the toolbox.

We should continue exploring community land trusts, inclusionary zoning, workforce housing programs, public-private partnerships, and other affordability strategies. We should also look for ways to make permitting more predictable and efficient. Every unnecessary delay adds cost, and higher costs eventually show up in housing prices.

The Comprehensive Plan has now been adopted. While reasonable people may disagree with portions of it, our community may be best served by focusing our energy on how to make housing more attainable rather than continuing to debate whether housing opportunities should be expanded.

The good news is that supporting housing supply and supporting affordable housing are not competing goals. They are complementary goals.

We do not have to love every development to recognize the value of creating more housing opportunities. If our goal is a Port Townsend where teachers, healthcare workers, tradespeople, service workers, young families, and retirees can all find a place to live, we should focus our energy on expanding the toolbox rather than removing tools from it.

No single tool will solve our housing challenges. But together, a toolbox full of practical solutions can help us build a stronger and more affordable future for our community.