On My Way

I'm well on my way to peeling apart the onion of bureaucracy that represents our building code political process. I have discovered the route to making proposals for building code revisions and I would love to share it with you eager readers. The first step to making a proposal is forming an adhoc group of people who have an interest in seeing the revisions happen. Then the group makes a proposal to the Olympia Planning Commission. The commission is in place to advise City Council on "...the long range growth and development of Olympia." If the proposal passes through the Planning Commission it is then presented to the City Council for vote.

The target groups that I have identified to solicit for the adhoc group are thus far:


- Camp Quixote and homeless housing advocates: Presently the Camp moves every month to avoid building codes that are in place for safety standards. Therefore they break down their tent city and reconstruct it every month in a new place hosted by an interfaith religious organization. The City of Olympia is in the midst of a design contest to build Quixote Cottages. This idea was inspired Portland's Dignity Village and will create a permanent location for Camp Quixote. The buildings are not entirely to code, and though they will be able to get around some of the coding obstacles, it would be beneficial to make Detached Accessory Structures legal to live in for future projects.


- Students and young people: Young people are constantly transitioning and if you are a student you probably have had to move all of your belongings into a storage unit for some reason or another as you move, almost bi-yearly, from one moldy rental unit to the next. Allowing for detached bedrooms to be built will allow for more housing options to be available for the ever growing student body of Evergreen and surrounding academic institutions.



-Home owners looking to create revenue streams through rental units: This is a great way for home owners to rent property without adding an additional mortgage from a rental property. This creates a stimulus for people who want to build and helps offset the cost of building.


-Builders: Maybe you have not noticed, but the building industry has taken a big hit from the housing bubble. New construction is few and far between, however this coding change will create more options for people to build new structures on already existing property.


-Older people looking for help and companionship: Our culture has effectively split up and ostracized older generations into nursing homes and their respective abodes. Detached bedrooms offer an opportunity for inter-generational housing. A student can find cheap rent by helping out a community member in need and the elderly can keep there house, gain a friend and avoid being shewed away to a assisted living center.


-People building illegal structures. I spoke with Eli Spevak of Orange Splot LLC from Portland Oregon this morning and he sent me a study from Portland characterizing the number of ADU like structures that are being built without permits. This phenomenon causes the potential for unsafe and unsightly construction that could be avoided by making the permitting process more approachable. In fact, Portland just waved all System Development Charges associated with building ADU's for the next 3 years. The City of Portland is encouraging ADU permitting to support infill development and increasing density while maintaining health and aesthetic standards.