Coupeville United Methodist Church (UMC) and Habitat for Humanity for Island County have entered a partnership to help provide permanently affordable housing in Coupeville, Washington. Like many communities, finding property that is both affordable and capable of being developed for multi-family housing is difficult.
The Coupeville UMC Board of Trustees and Habitat CEO Orin Kolaitis began conversations last year about the best way to partner to help serve their community. Eve Parrish, the church’s Administrative Council Chair, said, “We surveyed our unused assets as part of good stewardship and realized our empty lots across the street might provide an opportunity to support affordable housing in light of the present critical need in the county and in Coupeville.”
The two parcels of land were originally purchased many years ago with the possibility of “future housing” for seniors in mind. The church was advised to seek re-zoning to high-density residential status to allow for several dwellings to be developed there. The town planner helped Coupeville UMC gain the re-zoning, which was formally approved by the Coupeville Town Council.
Although an agreement has been reached, as with any development, a lot of preliminary work still needs to be done before construction can begin. Still, Habitat for Humanity and Coupeville UMC gathered on December 1 to celebrate their partnership in mission and the progress that has been made to this point.
“The sale of our two lots in the heart of town was completed late last year, with a phased compensation to Coupeville UMC as each home is sold,” shared Parrish.
“This flexible arrangement made our vision to share what we have a reality with a developer whose goals align closely with our Methodist goal “to do all the good we can” with what we have.
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Land transfer is complete, testing and groundwork will take year or so, then starts the ‘community outreach’ to overcome the NIMBY complaints that are sure to come.