HOUSING BANK MEASURE FAILS

San Juan County voters said no to the proposed real estate excise tax for affordable housing Tuesday.

With all precincts reporting at 8:04 p.m., the tally was 2,179 in favor and 3,527 opposed, a difference of 1,349. The elections department had mailed out 10,504 ballots and received 5,707, a 54.33 percent turnout.

Elections officials had no way of knowing how many ballots were put into the mail today. But Elections Assistant Doris Schaller said even a 60 percent voter turnout would not be enough to change the result.

"That would be 600 more votes than we have now and the difference would still be over a thousand," she said. "Unless a lot of people voted today."

Proposition 1 would have added a one-half of 1 percent tax on local real estate sales. The money would have been managed by the county Housing Bank, formerly known as the Affordable Housing Commission. The money would have been used to help fund construction of affordable housing.

Earlier in the day, County Council Chairman Alan Lichter predicted Prop. 1 would prevail with "handsome" support. However, he added, islanders would be in "big trouble" on the housing front if it failed.

The median household income is $48,646 while the median price of a home was $433,500 in the first four months of the year.

Earlier in the day, Auditor Si Stephens predicted a 55 percent voter turnout and doubted the county had the demographics to see the measure to passage. According to the 2000 Census, 54.6 percent of the county population was 45 and older; 24.6 percent of the population was age 20-44.

Stephens predicted the measure would fail 60 to 40 percent.

Housing Bank-sponsored homes would have been available to those of very low, low and moderate income. A family of four with an annual household income of $57,000 qualifies as "moderate," as does a single person earning $40,000.

Based on 2005 property sales, the tax would have generated about $2 million per year, or $20 million during its 10-year life span. The tax would have required voter renewal in 2016.

Opponents said an additional tax would just boost the price of real estate, and that the islands' home trusts have been successful in meeting the need for affordable housing.

A home buyer would have paid 99 percent of the tax, while the seller would pay the remainder. The tax, equivalent to half a penny on every dollar spent on the purchase of real estate, would have added $2,167.50 to the price of a $433,500 home, the median between January and April.

Proponents, however, said the cost of buying a home is out of reach in San Juan County.

Earlier in the day, Housing Bank Campaign Committee spokeswoman Lee Sturdivant was unsure what to expect. The committee, she said, waged an effective campaign but it was difficult to gauge whether it connected with the growing number of new voters who recently moved

to the islands.

Opponents also launched an aggressive campaign late in the game and

there was limited time to counter their claims, she said.

"If it loses by a little, I think all we'd really need to do is spend some more time educating the community and it could be back on the ballot in November," Sturdivant said. "But if it loses by a lot, we'd have to go back to square one and rethink the entire proposal."

According to supporters, up to 600 homes could have been built with real estate excise tax funds and state or federal grants.

"The Housing Bank Commission is prepared to hit the ground running," said Paul Losleben of the Orcas Island Research Group, a primary proponent of the Housing Bank. "The highest priority items for them are the hiring of an executive director and updating the County Affordable Housing Needs Assessment."

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