HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-22-2021 CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSIONCity Council S tudy Session P W CD S FA
February 22, 2021 - 5:30 P M
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I .C A L L TO O R D E R
I I .V I RT UA L PA RT I C I PAT I O N L I NK
A.Virtual P articipation L ink
The A uburn C ity C ouncil Meeting scheduled for Monday, F ebruary 22, 2021 at 5:30
p.m. will be held virtually and telephonically. To attend the meeting virtually please click
the link or enter the meeting I D into the Z oom app or call into the meeting at the phone
number listed below.
P er Governor I nslee's E mergency P roclamation 20-05 and 20-28 et. seq.
and S tay S af e-Stay Healthy, the City of Auburn is prohibited f rom holding in-person
meetings at this time.
C ity of A uburn Resolution No. 5581, designates City of A uburn meeting locations for
all Regular, S pecial and Study S ession Meetings of the City Council and of the
C ommittees, Boards and Commissions of the City as Virtual L ocations until
Washington’s Governor authorizes local governments to conduct in-person meetings.
The link to the Virtual Meeting or phone number to listen to the C ouncil Meeting is:
J oin f rom a P C , Mac, iP ad, iP hone or A ndroid device:
P lease click this UR L to join. https://zoom.us/j/98526133764
Or join by phone:
253 215 8782
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B.R oll Call
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I I I .A G E ND A I T E MS F O R C O UNC I L D I S C US S I O N
A.P ierce Transit Updates (Gaub)(10 Minutes)
B.Housing Action P lan (HA P) - E xisting Conditions Report (Tate)(30 Minutes)
I ntroductory briefing by the City Consultant, E coNorthwest, on an early phase of the
project, consisting of the draf t A uburn Existing C onditions Memo, as part of the
continued work on the preparation of a Housing Action P lan (HA P ) document under a
Washington S tate Department of Commerce grant
C .P olice Advisory Committee Update (O'Neil)(15 Minutes)
P olice Advisory Committee Update
D .D omestic Violence Presentation (O 'Neil/Comeau)(30 Minutes)
E.Ordinance No. 6814 (Thomas)(60 Minutes)
D raf t B &O Tax C ode
I V.P UB L I C W O R K S A ND C O MMUNI T Y D E V E L O P ME NT D I S C US S I O N I T E MS
A.C apital Projects Status Report and F eature P roject (Gaub)(20 Minutes)
B.Update of B ridges Annexation (Tate)(10 Minutes)
C ity of A uburn staff to provide an overview and status update detailing the discussions
with the C ity of Kent about the potential annexation of the B ridges community
V.O T HE R D I S C US S I O N I T E MS
V I .NE W B US I NE S S
V I I .A D J O UR NME NT
Agendas and minutes are available to the public at the City Clerk's Office, on the City website
(http://www.auburnwa.gov), and via e-mail . Complete agenda packets are available for revi ew
at the City Clerk's Office.
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AGENDA BILL APPROVAL FORM
Agenda Subject:
Pierce Transit Updates (Gaub)(10 Minutes)
Date:
February 16, 2021
Department:
Public Works
Attachments:
Pierce Trans it Pres entation
Budget Impact:
Current Budget: $0
Proposed Revision: $0
Revised Budget: $0
Administrativ e Recommendation:
For discussion only.
Background Summary:
Pierce Transit operates Bus Route 497, which serves the Lakeland area and connects to the
Auburn Station, and is paid f or in partnership with Auburn and King County Metro, where the
cost is shared between the three agencies. This partnership began in 2009. A new contract
was put in place in 2020. The cost to Auburn is approximately $150,000 per year in a typical
year.
Pierce Transit is making changes to their services, and removing stops along some of their
routes, which is not going to affect Route 497. They are also working towards Bus Rapid
Transit. They expect that all jurisdictions served by them will receive questions f rom residents
about the changes, and want to update all City Councils to ensure they are informed
regarding how their jurisdiction is affected.
Rev iewed by Council Committees:
Councilmember:Staff:Gaub
Meeting Date:February 22, 2021 Item Number:
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AGENDA BILL APPROVAL FORM
Agenda Subject:
Housing Action Plan (HAP) - Existing Conditions Report (Tate)
(30 Minutes)
Date:
February 16, 2021
Department:
Community Development
Attachments:
PP File
Auburn - Exis ting Conditions Memo
Fact Pack et - Auburn
Budget Impact:
Current Budget: $0
Proposed Revision: $0
Revised Budget: $0
Administrativ e Recommendation:
For discussion only.
Background Summary:
Housing is a pressing issue in our region. It is also a complex issue influenced by several
f actors and participants. While the housing supply is influenced by factors beyond the city’s
control, the City’s Community Development Department is working to make sure we do what
we can to support the development of enough housing for everyone in Auburn. To do this
work, the City has received a grant from the W ashington State Department of Commerce to
develop a Housing Action Plan (HAP).
The Housing Action Plan (HAP) will evaluate the current housing dynamics in Auburn and take
into consideration projected future needs. This data will help inform the City's housing
strategies to assist in ensuring the right supply of housing is available to meet the f uture
demands of Auburn residents at all income levels.
History of E2SHB 1923 and contract:
Recognizing the need f or additional housing, the W ashington State Legislature authorized up
to $5 million for the development of housing action plans by jurisdictions and intended to
increase urban residential capacity, with a maximum award amount per jurisdiction of
$100,000. The City of Auburn sought this f unding for the development of a Housing Action
Plan (HAP) to accomplish short term goals identif ied in the Housing Element of the City’s
Comprehensive Plan.
Signed into law by Governor I nslee on May 9, 2019, Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill
(E2SHB) 1923 authorized the Washington State Dept. of Commerce to issue grant f unding
f or the purpose of increasing residential housing capacity in urban areas. The City of Auburn
submitted a grant application on September 30, 2019, requesting the maximum award of
$100,000. On November 5, 2019, Auburn was officially awarded the grant in the amount of
$100,000.
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On November 18, 2019, the Auburn City Council considered and adopted City Resolution No.
5471 authorizing the City to enter into a contract with the Washington State Dept. of
Commerce (Commerce) to accept the grant and prepare a Housing Action Plan. The
contract specifies that the Housing Action Plan (HAP) must be adopted by the City Council by
May 31, 2021, however Commerce has indicated in writing, they will allow up to June 30,
2021.
Purpose:
According to the contract language, the goal of a housing action plan is to encourage
construction of additional affordable and market rate housing in a greater variety of housing
types and at prices that are accessible to a greater variety of incomes, including strategies
aimed at the for-prof it single-f amily home market. The housing action plan should:
(a) Quantify existing and projected housing needs for all income levels, including
extremely low-income households, with documentation of housing and household
characteristics, and cost burdened households;
(b} Develop strategies to increase the supply of housing, and variety of housing types,
needed to serve the housing needs identified in (a) of this subsection;
(c) Analyze population and employment trends, with documentation of projections;
(d) Consider strategies to minimize displacement of low-income residents resulting
from redevelopment;
(e) Review and evaluate the current housing element adopted pursuant to
RCW 36.70A.070, including an evaluation of success in attaining planned housing
types and units, achievement of goals and policies, and implementation of the
schedule of programs and actions;
(f) Provide for participation and input from community members, community groups,
local builders, local realtors, nonprof it housing advocates, and local religious groups;
and
(g} I nclude a schedule of programs and actions to implement the recommendations of
the housing action plan.
Scope of work:
The work ef f ort and contract are generally divided, in two main phases:
1. T he first phase
The first phase consists of the development of a South King County Subregional
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Housing Action Framework document in collaboration with neighboring jurisdictions of
Burien, Federal W ay, Kent, Renton, and Tukwila. As a part of the collaborative effort, up
to $20,000 per jurisdiction has been allocated f or the purpose of collecting sub-regional
data necessary to support the development of individual Housing Action Plans. This
cooperative ef f ort provided economies of scale and allowed the sharing of information
and facilitated the comparison between several south county cities. The cities
cooperatively selected and hired a professional consulting firm with specialized
expertise, EcoNorthwest, to gather information and assist the city in the preparation of
this document. This document was completed in August 2020.
Attached as Attachment C is the Fact Sheet/Executive Summary of the South King
County Subregional Housing Action Framework document that captures broad f actors
impacting housing choice, cost burden, and existing conditions of housing stock in
South King County that will set the stage to evaluate and incorporate appropriate
policies, tools, and incentives for increasing residential capacity. The full document can
be shared with the Planning Commission, if desired.
2. T he second phase
This second phase, currently in process builds on the contents of the South King
County Subregional Housing Action Framework document developed in the f irst phase
but f ocuses specifically on the City of Auburn. And this phase is independent and
conducted under a separate contract. This step was also the subject of a consultant
selection and hiring process and resulted in the City choosing the same consultant,
EcoNorthwest, as had worked on the earlier phase. Use of the same consultant aids in
efficiency and continuity.
As a f irst step f or this next phase, the City’s consultant has prepared information
specific to the City of Auburn. The consultant has prepared a draft “Auburn Housing
Action Plan Existing Conditions Memorandum” which details the current conditions
influencing housing capacity in the City. This document is Attachment B.
This document is “draf t” as it is not meant to stand alone but its contents will be
incorporated into the contents of the overall City Housing Action Plan (HAP).
This document has the following components:
Intr oduction
Housing Needs Analysis discusses the current housing inventory in Auburn, current
demographics and employment trends for Auburn residents, housing af f ordability
trends and displacement risk, and estimates f uture housing needs for Auburn through
2040.
Market Conditions provides data on recent rents, home sales prices, vacancy rates,
and development trends in Auburn.
Housing Planning and Policy Evaluation discusses the most relevant planning
documents – f rom state to county to local levels – that guide and influence housing
development and housing planning decisions in Auburn. Building on the work
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completed in the South King County Subregional Housing Action Framework, this
section also evaluates f ive policies that are in place in the City of Auburn to assess their
successes at encouraging housing development.
Methodology, Data Sources, and Assumptions lists the data, sources, and the
methods used in this analysis.
This phase of the effort also has an emphasis on a public outreach to solicit public
feedback while the plan is under development and when a draft of the plan is made
available for public comment. To get the most relevant and valuable feedback, this
outreach is targeted to persons impacted by or with knowledge about housing issues
and circumstances in the City of Auburn. City subconsultant of Broadview Planning has
developed a public engagement plan including:
individual or stakeholder interviews (virtual)
focused or small group conversations (virtual)
community forum/open house (virtual)
interactive webpage accessible from city webpage where input can be shared
The process f or development of the HAP and the contents of the draf t “Auburn
Housing Action Plan Existing Conditions Memorandum” were the subject of a
presentation at the February 2, 2021 regular Planning Commission meeting. The
Commissioners expressed interest in the HAP and asked several questions about the
public engagement process and how it was being conducted considering the
pandemic. They also inquired about the schedule and how other interested persons
could participate by providing input. The consultant and staf f explained the public
engagement plan and due to the restrictions associated with the pandemic, the city has
implemented a new on-line tool as one of the methods of gathering input:
https://speakupauburn.org/hap
The Commissioners also asked about how the contents of the HAP and its strategies
would come back bef ore them.
Range of possible future actions:
When complete, this analysis, along with public input, will be used to generate
recommendations and implementation strategies in the completed Housing Action
Plan, which will help the City of Auburn guide its housing policies and regulations and
decisions over the 2020-2040 planning period. The City’s contract with the
Washington State Dept. of Commerce specif ies that the HAP must be adopted by the
City Council.
Future actions include additional briefings with the Planning Commission and City
Council. The implementation recommendations of the City’s HAP could implement
take the form of :
Changes to the Comprehensive Plan document such as:
Updates to the housing element (chapter) goals and policies;
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Changes to Land use element (chapter) related to density and zoning
standards; and
Amendments related to the City’s Capital Facilities Element (Chapter).
Changes to City code, such as:
Remain consistent with the Comprehensive Plan;
changes to the set of land uses allowed in certain zones;
changes to density standards;
new or revised zoning districts; and
ef f iciencies in development permitting.
Rev iewed by Council Committees:
Councilmember:Staff:Tate
Meeting Date:February 22, 2021 Item Numb er:
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Auburn Housing Action Plan
February 22, 2021
Tyler Bump
Page 16 of 205
Project Overview
Page 17 of 205
Auburn Housing Action Plan
Public Engagement
Community Vision
Solicit Ideas
Assess Changes
Existing Conditions
Data Analysis
Employment
Trends
Population Growth
Policy Evaluation
Recommended Actions
Public Input
Staff Input
Development
Analysis
Prioritization
Adoption
Planning
Commission
City Council
3Page 18 of 205
Building off South King County Subregional Housing Action
Plan Framework
4
1.Public engagement
2.Assess housing needs in 2040
3.Evaluate demographic & employment trends
4.Develop new strategies
1.Preserve existing housing
2.Increase housing production
3.Increase housing choice
5.Evaluate neighborhood context for housing type allowances
6.Create the Housing Action Plan (HAP)
AUBURN
SOUTH KING COUNTY SUB-REGIONAL
HOUSING ACTION PLAN FRAMEWORK
2020
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South King County Subregional Housing Action Plan
Framework
5Page 20 of 205
Existing Conditions & Housing Needs
Assessment
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King County Income Levels
Family Size 2018
Income Limit
Annual
Income
Max Monthly Housing
Costs (30% of Income)
Example Jobs
(full time)
30% of AMI $25,700 $643 1 worker in retail sector
50% of AMI $42,800 $1,070
1 worker in retail sector
80% of AMI $64,200 $1,605
2 workers in food service; 1 full time
worker in info. tech.
100% of AMI $85,600 $2,140 2 workers in retail sector; 1 worker in
management + 1 worker in retail sector
30% of AMI $32,100 $803
1 worker in food service
50% of AMI $53,500 $1,338
1 worker in transportation / warehousing
80% of AMI $80,250 $2,006
1 worker in finance;
1 worker in education + 1 worker in retail
sector
100% of AMI $103,400 $2,585 1 worker in finance + 1 worker in
agriculture; 2 construction workers
Source: HUD 2018, Puget Sound Regional Council Employment Data, ECONorthwest Calculations
Note: 2018 income limits are used to align with data pulled from the U.S. Census; max monthly housing costs do not include utilities 7Page 22 of 205
$1,664
$2,162
$0
$250
$500
$750
$1,000
$1,250
$1,500
$1,750
$2,000
$2,250
$2,500
1-Bedroom Market
Rate Unit
2-Bedroom Market
Rate Unit
New Construction Multifamily Units Rent at About 80% MFI
8
Photo: Trek Apartments (Built 2015, 2 E Main St.)
Source: CoStar
$1,605
80% MFI Rent
2-person HH*
$2,006
80% MFI Rent
4-person HH*
Source: Rent data from CoStar; affordability data from HUD
Note: *Affordable rents are from 2018 and exclude utilities
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South King County Subregion Income Distribution
9Source: ECONorthwest analysis of 2018 Census 1-year PUMS data
17%16%
25%
11%
30%
18%
16%
23%
12%
31%
18%
15%16%
11%
40%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
0-30% of AMI 31-50% of AMI 51-80% of AMI 81-100% of AMI 100%+ of AMI
Auburn South King County King County
Share of Households by AMI
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South King County Subregion Income Distribution
10Source: ECONorthwest analysis of 2018 Census 1-year PUMS data
17%16%
25%
11%
30%
18%
16%
23%
12%
31%
18%
15%16%
11%
40%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
0-30% of AMI 31-50% of AMI 51-80% of AMI 81-100% of AMI 100%+ of AMI
Auburn South King County King County
Share of Households by AMI
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From 2010 to 2020:
§49% increase in average 2-BR rent
§88% increase in median home sales
price
From 2012 to 2018:
§46% increase in median renter household
income
§17% increase in median owner household
income
Auburn’s Housing Affordability Trends
11
Source: CoStar, PUMS (2012, 2018)Page 26 of 205
Housing Affordability –Cost Burdening
12
Cost burdening =
household spends >30% of
income on housing costs
Severe cost burdening =
household spends >50% of
income on housing
§80% of owners and 88%
of renters earning <30%
AMI are cost burdened
§Worse for lower-income
households
§Worse for renters
Source: PUMS (2018)Page 27 of 205
Calculating Risk
Analysis is modeled on PSRC’s Displacement
Risk Tool. Includes 6 variables at the Census
block group level:
1.% of population that is a race other than non-
Hispanic White
2.% of households that speak a language other
than English at home
3.% of population ≥25 who lack a bachelor’s
degree
4.% of households that are renters
5.% of households paying >30% of gross income on
housing
6.Per capita income
Displacement Vulnerability in Auburn
13Darker purple indicates greater displacement risk
* Block group contains few housing units, mostly commercial and industrial
*
Source: ECONorthwest, Census, PSRC
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Auburn’s Housing Production Trends
Auburn averaged
390 new units
annually between
2011-2019
14
Source: OMF, 2019
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Auburn’s Demographics
Source: PUMS, 2018
28%26%28%
9%9%10%11%
23%
13%
43%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
0-30%30-50%50-80%80-100%100%+
% of Renters % of Owners
15
Income Distribution by Tenure
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2040 Housing Need
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Future Housing Needs
17Page 32 of 205
Auburn’s Future Housing Needs by Income Level
1,669
1,043
2,503
1,251
3,963
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
0-30%30-50%50-80%80-100%100%+Number of UnitsPercent of AMI
2040 Forecast of Housing Need by AMI
Source: Source: OFM, 2019; PSRC, 2017; ECONorthwest Calculation.
18Page 33 of 205
Public Engagement Update
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1.Reflect Auburn’s diversity; tell residents’ housing opportunities and
challenges
2.Remain focused, yet flexible, on authentic public involvement during
COVID-19 pandemic.
3.Develop and maintain a consistent communications strategy; ensure
equitable messaging and close the information loop.
4.Clearly connect how community involvement and input informs HAP
strategies.
5.Present data that summarizes community perspectives on how new
housing integrates into neighborhoods.
6.Understand barriers to homeownership and best practices for creating
opportunities for people to own their own home.
HAP Public Engagement Goals
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§Focus on race/social justice equity
lens
§Engage with people and
organizations who typically don't
participate in planning processes.
§Include an educational component
to relay how different types of
housing can support and enhance
a diverse, and vibrant city
Public Engagement Update
21Page 36 of 205
Public Engagement Update
Outreach methods:
•10 -12 individual interviews
•3-5 small focus groups
•Social Media
•Website & distribution list:
•SpeakUpAuburn.org/HAP
•Community forums
•Public Presentations
22Page 37 of 205
HAP Public Engagement –Process & Next Steps
Public Engagement Timeline
January Finalize Plan, Questions, Stakeholder Contacts
Begin Interviews
Advertise Focus Groups
February Planning Commission Update
Continue Interviews
Conduct Focus Groups
March Summarize Findings
Draft Recommendations
April-May -June Draft HAP
Planning Commission Feedback
City Council Feedback
Public Comment & Community Forum Feedback
Final HAP
23Page 38 of 205
Questions?
Contact: Tyler Bump
Bump@econw.com
24Page 39 of 205
PortlandEugene Seattle Boise
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Auburn Housing Action Plan – Existing Conditions
ECONorthwest 1
DATE: January 15, 2021
TO: Jeff Dixon, City of Auburn
FROM: Tyler Bump, Madeline Baron, Oscar Saucedo-Andrade, Justin Sherrill, Ryan Knapp
SUBJECT: AUBURN HOUSING ACTION PLAN – EXISTING CONDITIONS MEMORANDUM – REVISED
1) Introduction
The City of Auburn was founded in 1891 and has grown to become the fifteenth largest city in
the State of Washington. Multiple periods of growth can be observed in the many regions of
Auburn, including early 20th century neighborhoods, mid-century growth, and the annexation
of rural county lands in the early 21st century. This has resulted in over 29 square miles of
housing growth representing many different scales of development that have occurred over
different periods of time.
HB1923 and Housing Action Plans
In 2019, the state legislature adopted House Bill 1923 (HB 1923), which awarded grants in the
amount up to $100,000 to various cities for the purpose of increasing residential capacity.
As the first step in developing a Housing Action Plan, the city of Auburn participated in the
development of a supporting document: the South King County Subregional Housing Action
Framework, along with the cities of Burien, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, and Tukwila. Auburn’s
individual Housing Action Plan builds off the data analysis, housing needs, demographic and
employment trends, housing policy review, and potential housing production strategies that
were generated through this previous subregional framework report.
Auburn’s individual Housing Action Plan must comply with state law, including adoption of
the grant-funded Housing Action Plan consisting of the needs assessment, housing policy
review, and implementation recommendation components, no later than June 30, 2021. Funding
is provided by the Washington State Department of Commerce via House Bill 1923 (HB 1923).
Housing Action Plan Development Process
Housing Action Plan efforts are focused on encouraging production of both affordable and
market rate housing at a variety of price points to meet the needs of current and future
residents. Developing the Housing Action Plan is a multi-step process (see Figure 1).
Throughout the entire process, a subconsultant, Broadview Planning is engaging the public to
seek input on the community’s vision and housing needs, as well as ideas and
recommendations for how Auburn can increase capacity for more housing. In addition, the
public will be invited to review a draft Housing Action Plan and provide comment before the
City moves toward finalization and City Council adoption of the Housing Action Plan.
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Auburn Housing Action Plan – Existing Conditions – Revised Draft
ECONorthwest
2
Figure 1. Auburn’s Housing Action Plan Development Process
The Department of Commerce requires that Housing Action Plans be adopted by each city. In
Auburn, that means the Housing Action Plan will be presented to city staff for review, revised,
and then presented for public review. After reviewing those comments, a revised, final Housing
Action Plan will be presented to the Planning Commission, then to City Council for adoption.
How this Report is Organized
This Existing Conditions Memorandum focuses on the housing inventory, demographics, and
employment trends occurring within the City of Auburn, as well as the policy environment that
influences housing development. This memorandum provides a foundation of the existing
conditions surrounding housing and population growth, and then estimates future housing
needs in Auburn. This foundation is helpful to understand the basis for recommendations for
actions as Auburn increases residential capacity to meet future population forecasts.
This report is organized into five sections, beginning with this introduction, which is the first
part.
§ Part 2) Housing Needs Analysis discusses the current housing inventory in Auburn,
current demographics and employment trends for Auburn residents, housing
affordability trends and displacement risk, and estimates future housing needs for
Auburn through 2040.1 This is a required component of the Department of Commerce
Grant funding this Housing Action Plan.
§ Part 3) Market Conditions provides data on recent rents, home sales prices, vacancy
rates, and development trends in Auburn.
1 King County is in the process of updating its growth targets and forecasts for the 2017 - 2044 forecast period, but the
formal adoption of these targets will not occur until late 2021. Auburn’s future housing needs estimated here are
based off the acknowledged 2040 population forecast.
Public Engagement
Community Vision
Solicit Ideas
Assess Changes
Existing Conditions
Data Analysis
Employment Trends
Population Growth
Policy Evaluation
Recommended Actions
Public Input
Staff Input
Development
Analysis
Prioritization
Adoption
Planning Commission
City Council
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Auburn Housing Action Plan – Existing Conditions – Revised Draft
ECONorthwest
3
§ Part 4) Housing Planning and Policy Evaluation discusses the most relevant planning
documents – from state to county to local levels – that guide and influence housing
development and housing planning decisions in Auburn. Building on the work
completed in the South King County Subregional Housing Action Framework, this section
also evaluates five policies that are in place in the City of Auburn to assess their
successes at encouraging housing development. This is a required component of the
Department of Commerce Grant funding this Housing Action Plan.
§ Part 5) Methodology, Data Sources, and Assumptions lists the data, sources, and
methods used in this analysis.
When complete, this analysis, along with public input, will be used to generate
recommendations and implementation steps in the completed Housing Action Plan, which will
help the City of Auburn guide its housing policies and regulations and decisions over the 2020-
2040 planning period.
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Auburn Housing Action Plan – Existing Conditions – Revised Draft
ECONorthwest
4
2) Housing Needs Analysis
This section summarizes the housing inventory, household2 demographics, and socio-economic
trends that influence housing needs in Auburn. It is based on work conducted for the South King
County Subregional Housing Action Framework which was completed in June 2020. Important data
sources, methods, and assumptions are listed in Part 5 beginning on page 42.
This report uses the best available data sources to assess the housing inventory and future
needs, analyze employment trends, and analyze demographic trends in Auburn. Because
Auburn has more than 65,000 people, it is surveyed in the American Community Survey every
year and thus has data in 1-year samples. The most recent survey data is for 2018. Information
from other sources may be a few years old but represent best data sources.
Current Housing Inventory
As of 2018, there were 31,345 total housing units in Auburn (OFM, 2019). About half of
Auburn’s housing stock was built in the 1980’s or earlier (King County Assessor, 2020) and the
majority of the housing is single-family detached (61 percent). About 16 percent of Auburn’s
housing stock is located in properties with 2-4 units, and construction of these housing types
peaked in the 1970s and 1980s. About 23 percent of Auburn’s housing stock is characterized as
multifamily, the majority of which was build pre-1960, and in the 1990s and 2000s.3
Auburn saw 3,511 new
dwelling units built
between 2011 and
2019, averaging 390
new units per year.
Over this period, 7.8
new housing units were
produced for every 10
new households that
formed in Auburn.4
Figure 2. Number of Units Built Per Year, Auburn, 2011-2019
Source: OFM, 2019.
2 The U.S. Census defines a household as the following: “all the people who occupy a housing unit (such as a house
or apartment) as their usual place of residence. A household includes the related family members and all the
unrelated people, if any, such as lodgers, foster children, wards, or employees who share the housing unit. A person
living alone in a housing unit, or a group of unrelated people sharing a housing unit such as partners or roomers, is
also counted as a household. The count of households excludes group quarters. There are two major categories of
households, "family" and "nonfamily." (see: https://www.census.gov/glossary/#term_Household)
3 In this report, multifamily housing is defined as five or more units in a given property development.
4 Household formation occurs when people move into the city, or when one household becomes two (e.g., a child
moves out of a family home, roommates separate).
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The majority of
Auburn’s homeowners
(88 percent) live in
single-family detached
housing.
About half of Auburn’s
renters live in
multifamily housing
(with five or more units
per structure) and 23
percent of renters live in
single-family detached
housing.
Figure 3. Occupied Housing by Tenure, Auburn, 2014-2018
Source: ACS (5 year 2014-2018).
The majority of
Auburn’s single-family
housing stock was built
prior to the 2000’s. The
1960’s, 1990’s, and
2000’s saw peak
construction of single-
family homes.
The majority of
duplexes, triplexes and
quad-plex type housing
was built prior to the
2000’s. The 1970’s and
1980’s saw peak
construction of these
housing types relative to
other years.
Figure 4. Type of Single-Family Housing Built, Auburn, 1960-2020
Source: King County Assessor’s Office, 2020.
The majority of
multifamily housing in
Auburn was built before
2000. Auburn saw an
increase in larger
multifamily housing
development (100+
units) in the 1980s,
1990s, 2000s, and
2010s.
The majority of medium
sized multi-family
housing (between 5 and
50 units) was built in
the 1990s or earlier.
Figure 5. Scale of Multifamily Housing Built, Auburn, 1960-2020
Source: King County Assessor’s Office, 2020.
88%
23%
7%
8%
2%
20%
3%
49%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Owner Renter
Single-family detached Single-family attached
Duplex, Triplex, Quadplex Multifamily (5+ units)
Type of Single-Family Housing (units)
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Compared to King
County and South King
County, Auburn has a
higher share of 2-star5
apartments (typically
older properties with
few amenities).
Based on CoStar data,
half of Auburn’s
apartment housing
stock is rated 2-star,
compared to 27 percent
in King County and
South King County.
Figure 6. Share of CoStar6 Multifamily Inventory by “Star Rating” in
Auburn, South King County, and King County
Source: CoStar; Note: n signifies number of properties in each geography’s sample.
Compared to King
County and South King
County, Auburn has a
larger share of 3- and 4-
bedroom units.
About one-third of
Auburn’s housing units
have 1 or 2 bedrooms.
Figure 7. Share of Housing Units by Bedroom Size, Auburn, South King
County, and King County
Source: ECONorthwest analysis of U.S. Census Bureau PUMS 2018 1-year survey data7
5 CoStar’s proprietary ratings consider design, amenities, certification, and landscaping, and other factors. A 5-Star
multifamily building represents the luxury end of the market as it relates to finishes, amenities, design, and the
highest level of specifications for its style (garden, low-rise, mid-rise, or high-rise). 4-Star multifamily buildings are
constructed with higher end finishes and specifications, provide desirable amenities to residents, and are built to
contemporary standards. 3-Star multifamily buildings are likely smaller and older with less energy-efficient systems,
average quality finishes and or a layout conducive to compact lifestyle, and few on-site facilities. 2-Star multifamily
buildings have small, adequate windows, average aesthetics, purely functional systems, below-average finishes and
use of space, and limited on-site facilities. 1-star multifamily buildings are practically uncompetitive, may require
significant renovation, and may be functionally obsolete.
6 CoStar is a private, third-party, proprietary data provider commonly used in the real estate industry. Of its
residential data, CoStar focuses on multifamily properties with four or more units. While CoStar is one of the best
sources for multifamily data, it has gaps and limitations. Newer buildings and those that are professionally managed
are more likely to have reliable information, while smaller, older buildings may have incomplete or missing data. In
Auburn in 2020, CoStar had data on about 5,800 multifamily units (in properties with four or more units). This
compares to a 2018 PUMS estimate of roughly 12,000 multifamily units (in properties with five or more units).
7 The Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) dataset is very comprehensive and provided by the U.S. Census Bureau
for statistical analysis. PUMS data are only available for geographies called Public Use Microdata Sample Areas
(PUMAs) which contain about 100,000 people. The Auburn PUMA includes the Cities of Auburn and Lakeland.
51%
27%
27%
38%
56%
36%
11%
17%
34%
1%
3%
0%20%40%60%80%100%
Auburn
(n=5,794)
S. King County
(n=49,571)
King County
(n=305,516)
2-star 3-star 4-star 5-star
3%
3%
7%
12%
13%
17%
22%
28%
24%
37%
32%
27%
23%
18%
19%
4%
5%
6%
0%20%40%60%80%100%
Auburn
South King County
King County
Studios 1-BR Units 2-BR Units 3-BR Units 4-BR Units 5+ BR Units
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Demographics and Household Information
Between 2010 and 2018, Auburn’s population grew by more than 10,400 new residents, from
70,180 people in 2010, to 80,615 people in 2018. Auburn’s population is younger on average
compared to other cities in South King County, and over half (57 percent) of its population
identify as White. Similar to other cities in South King County, about 33 percent of Auburn’s
households earned less than half of the Area Median Income (AMI - see page 10 for a
description of AMI) in 2018, compared to 34 percent in the South King County region. In 2018,
one and two-person households made up the majority of households in Auburn.
The majority (62 percent)
of Auburn’s households
were one- and two-person
households.
About 25 percent of
Auburn’s households were
large families, with four or
more persons per
household.
Between 2012 and 2018,
Auburn added 7,474 new
households (PUMS, 2012
and 2018).
Figure 8. Number of Households by Household Size, Auburn, 2014-
2018
Source: ACS (5 year 2014-2018).
Household Characteristics
As of 2018, the majority (about 56 percent) of Auburn’s households were homeowners while 44
percent were renters (ACS, 2014-2018). This is higher than some other cities in the South King
County region, but below the national homeownership rate of about 64 percent in 2018.
Auburn’s average household size is 2.72 persons per household for renters and 2.80 persons per
household for homeowners (ACS, 2014-2018).
The majority (56 percent)
of Auburn households own
and 44 percent of
households rent.
In Tukwila, only 40 percent
of housing units were
owner-occupied in 2018. In
Burien, this figure was 53
percent.
Figure 9. Household Tenure, Auburn, 2014-2018
Source: ACS (5 year 2014-2018).
8,549
9,775
3,850
7,491
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
1 2 3 4+
56%44%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Owner-occupied households Renter-occupied households
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About two-thirds of
Auburn’s households are
family households.8
Approximately one-third of
Auburn’s households are
non-family households
(roommates and one-
person households).
Figure 10. Household Composition, Auburn, 2014-2018
Source: ACS (5 year 2014-2018).
Like most areas, the
majority of Auburn’s
residents are between 20
and 64 years old.
Auburn has a larger
population proportion of
young residents (those age
19 years and under) than
seniors (those 65 years and
older).
Figure 11. Age Distribution, Auburn, 2014-2018
Source: ACS (5 year 2014-2018).
Over half (57 percent) of
Auburn’s households
identify as White. This is
slightly lower than King
County’s average of 60
percent.
An additional 16 percent of
the population identifies as
Hispanic or Latino, 11
percent identifies as Asian,
7 percent identifies as two
or more races, and 5
percent identify as Black or
African American.
Figure 12. Race and Ethnicity, Auburn, 2014-2018
Source: ACS (5 year 2014-2018).
8 See footnote 2 on page 4 for a definition of family household.
33%34%33%
0%20%40%60%80%100%
Non-family households
Family households without children
Family households with children
8%
8%
7%
6%
7%
15%
13%
13%
7%
6%
6%
3%
1%
0%5%10%15%20%
Under 5 years
5 to 9 years
10 to 14 years
15 to 19 years
20 to 24 years
25 to 34 years
35 to 44 years
45 to 54 years
55 to 59 years
60 to 64 years
65 to 74 years
75 to 84 years
85 years and over
16%
57%
5%2%
11%
2%0%
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Hispanic
or Latino
White
alone
Black or
African
American
alone
American
Indian
and
Alaska
Native
alone
Asian
alone
Native
Hawaiian
and
Other
Pacific
Islander
alone
Some
other
race
alone
Two or
more
races
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Income Characteristics
Income is one of the key determinants in housing choice and households’ ability to afford
housing. This is due to the fact that, for most households in the U.S., housing is the single
largest expense and impacts numerous other factors like access to jobs, schools, and amenities.
Between 2012 and 2018, Auburn saw a large increase in the number of households earning
between 50% and 80% of the 2018 King County Area Median Income (AMI – see page 11 for a
description), while it saw a modest decrease in the number of households earning less than 30%
of AMI, and a small decrease in the number of households earning between 80% and 100% of
AMI (see Figure 13).
About 33 percent of
Auburn’s households earn
less than 50% of AMI. This
is in line with the South
King County Region as a
whole, where 34 percent of
households earn less than
50% of AMI.
Auburn’s share of
households earning more
than 80% of AMI is also
similar to that of the South
King County Region: 41
percent and 43 percent,
respectively.
Figure 13. Income Distribution by AMI, Auburn, 2012 and 2018
Source: PUMS (2012 and 2018).
The majority of Auburn
homeowners, 56 percent,
earned 80% of AMI or
more, while the majority of
renters, 82 percent, earned
80% of AMI or less.
The share of renters
earning less than 80% of
AMI is similar to that of
South King County, 74
percent.
Figure 14. Income Distribution by AMI and Tenure, Auburn, 2018
Source: PUMS, 2018.
Housing Affordability
Housing costs are typically the largest portion of a household budget. Housing is considered to
be affordable to a household of a certain income if the household pays less than 30 percent of its
gross income on monthly housing costs. While this is an imperfect measure of affordability and
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does not consider disposable income after housing costs, it is an industry-accepted threshold to
measure affordability.
Understanding AMI and MFI
Each year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines an area’s
Median Family Income (MFI), but Area Median Income (AMI) is often used to mean the same
thing.9 AMI is used in this report to align with King County’s data and reporting. In 2018, the
King County AMI was $103,400 for a family of four. 2018 is used to align with the 2018 Census
data used in this report (the latest available).
HUD calculates affordability and income limits for metro areas and counties across the country,
based on the area's MFI which comes from Census data.10 The City of Auburn falls within the
Seattle-Bellevue, WA Metro Area and is subject to the same income and affordability limits as
the rest of the cities in this metro area (which includes King County and Snohomish County).
Properties developed in Auburn that use HUD income limits to determine eligibility – such as
regulated affordable housing that is restricted to tenants of a certain income – will use the same
affordability limit as properties in Bellevue, Seattle, or other parts of King and Snohomish
Counties, since they all fall within the same HUD metro area.
In 2018, the Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro Area MFI was $103,400 for a family of four. HUD
adjusts the income limits up or down based on family size and provides income limits for 30%
of MFI, 50% of MFI, and 80% of MFI (see Figure 15).
Figure 15. HUD 2018 Income Limits for Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro Fair Market Rent Area
Source: HUD (see https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html and select the year and metro area from the list).
Afford-
ability
Level
Family Size (Number of People)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
30% $22,500 $25,700 $28,900 $32,100 $34,700 $37,250 $39,850 $42,400
50% $37,450 $42,800 $48,150 $53,500 $57,800 $62,100 $66,350 $70,650
80% $56,200 $64,200 $72,250 $80,250 $86,700 $93,100 $99,550 $105,950
100% $103,400
9 We used AMI and MFI interchangeably in this report. HUD offers the following note on MFI vs AMI: “HUD
estimates Median Family Income (MFI) annually for each metropolitan area and non-metropolitan county. The
metropolitan area definitions are the same ones HUD uses for Fair Market Rents (except where statute requires a
different configuration). HUD calculates Income Limits as a function of the area's Median Family Income (MFI). The
basis for HUD’s median family incomes is data from the American Community Survey, table B19113 - MEDIAN
FAMILY INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS. The term Area Median Income is the term used more generally in the
industry. If the term Area Median Income (AMI) is used in an unqualified manor, this reference is synonymous with
HUD's MFI. However, if the term AMI is qualified in some way - generally percentages of AMI, or AMI adjusted for
family size, then this is a reference to HUD's income limits, which are calculated as percentages of median incomes
and include adjustments for families of different sizes.” Source: HUD. 2018. “FY 2018 Income Limits Frequently
Asked Questions.” https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il18/FAQs-18r.pdf
10 For the Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area, HUD has deviated from its typical use of Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) area definitions. In this case, the Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area
income limit program parameters include King County and Snohomish County.
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Additional income limits (such as 60% or 120%) can be calculated off the 100% income limit to
get an approximation of other affordability thresholds. However, these approximations—and
HUD’s official limits—may not be exact scalars to the 100% median income (in Figure 15 the
official 50% income limit for a family of four is slightly higher than half of the 100% income
limit).
Figure 16. HUD 2018 Income Limits for Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area, Max Housing
Costs, and Example Jobs
Source: HUD 2018, Puget Sound Regional Council Employment Data, ECONorthwest Calculations
Family Size 2018
Income Limit
Annual
Income
Max Monthly Housing Costs
(30% of Monthly Income)
Example Jobs
(full time)
2-Person
Family
30% of AMI $25,700 $643 1 worker in retail sector
50% of AMI $42,800 $1,070 1 worker in retail sector
80% of AMI $64,200 $1,605 2 workers in food service; 1 full
time worker in info. tech.
100% of AMI $85,600 $2,140
2 workers in retail sector; 1
worker in management + 1
worker in retail sector
4-Person
Family
30% of AMI $32,100 $803 1 worker in food service
50% of AMI $53,500 $1,338 1 worker in transportation /
warehousing
80% of AMI $80,250 $2,006
1 worker in finance;
1 worker in education + 1
worker in retail sector
100% of AMI $103,400 $2,585
1 worker in finance + 1 worker
in agriculture; 2 construction
workers
In the past decade, housing costs in the entire Puget Sound have risen dramatically, buoyed by
the strong economy, low housing production, and high demand for housing in the region. Price
increases in the past decade are also high because they are measured off the very low prices in
2010, which was a period of home price declines from the housing crisis and economic
recession.
Auburn is no exception to having seen steep price increases. Since 2010, home prices in Auburn
rose by 88 percent, from a median sales price of $222,750 in 2010 to $418,300 in 2020 (see Figure
17). In addition, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Auburn increased by 49
percent from 2010 to 2020, reaching $1,393 per month. Using 2018 income data from
Figure 16, this average rent for a two-bedroom apartment would be affordable to a four-person
household earning 50% of the AMI (which would be a relatively tight space), or to a two-person
household earning between 50% and 80% of AMI.
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Between 2010 and 2020,
the average monthly rent in
Auburn increased by 49
percent ($459 per month).
In this same time period,
the median sales price for
a home increased by 88
percent ($195,550).
Figure 17. Median Home Sales Price and Average 2-Bedroom Rent,
Auburn, 2010 and 2020
Source: Costar and Zillow. Not adjusted for inflation.
2010 2020
Average Rent $934 $1,393
Median Sales Price $222,750 $418,300
Figure 18 demonstrates the housing cost distribution of Auburn’s ownership housing stock as it
relates to percent of AMI (this includes all ownership housing types and sizes). Despite price
increases over time, Auburn’s housing stock remains somewhat affordable to lower income
households: 38 percent of all housing units are affordable to households earning less than 50%
of AMI ($42,800 for a family of two and $53,500 for a family of four). Another 32 percent of the
housing stock is affordable to households earning between 50% and 80% of AMI ($42,800-
$64,200 for a family of two and $53,500-$80,250 for a family of four).
Of Auburn’s ownership
units (using 2018 data), 38
percent were affordable to
households earning less
than 50% of AMI, 32
percent were affordable to
households earning 50-
80% of AMI, and 30
percent were affordable to
households earning 80% of
AMI or more.
Figure 18. Ownership Housing Units Affordable by AMI, Auburn,
2018
Source: PUMS (2018).
Figure 19 demonstrates the housing cost distribution of Auburn’s rental housing stock as it
relates to percent of AMI (this includes all rental housing types and sizes). Despite cost
increases over time, Auburn’s housing stock remains relatively affordable to lower income
households: 54 percent of rental housing units are affordable to households earning less than
50% of AMI ($42,800 for a family of two and $53,500 for a family of four). Another 35 percent of
the rental housing stock is affordable to households earning between 50% and 80% of AMI
($42,800-$64,200 for a family of two and $53,500-$80,250 for a family of four).
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Of Auburn’s rental units
(using 2018 data), 54
percent were affordable to
households earning less
than 50% of AMI, 35
percent were affordable to
households earning 50-
80% of AMI, and 11
percent were affordable to
households earning 80% of
AMI or more.
Figure 19. Rental Housing Units Affordable by AMI, Auburn, 2018
Source: PUMS (2018).
Regulated and Unregulated Affordable Housing
Importantly, Figure 19 also includes the regulated affordable rental housing stock in the City.
Regulated affordable housing is income or rent-restricted by certain county, state, or federal
agencies, to ensure that it is occupied by households earning a certain income. Regulations are
set according to the types of funding used to develop the housing, such as the Low-Income
Housing Tax Credit, or HUD funding. Most regulated affordable housing is restricted for
households earning under 60% of AMI, but these restrictions vary. Often, the only healthy,
quality housing that rents at prices affordable to households earning less than 30% of AMI is
this regulated housing stock.11
In 2020, Auburn had 2,784 regulated affordable housing units which are included in all analyses
of Auburn’s housing stock. For numerous reasons relating to the cost of building and operating
housing, cities across the country face a shortage of affordable housing units to meet demand.
Nationally, only 1-in-4 households who would qualify for Federal housing assistance, is able to
receive it. As a result, the majority of low-income households live in low-cost market rentals,
that are often referred to as “naturally occurring affordable housing” (NOAH) units.
Figure 20 below presents data on Auburn’s NOAH rental units. These units are defined as
NOAHs by virtue of being unregulated but affordable to lower-income households (either
households earning less than 50% of AMI or less than 80% of AMI). NOAH units are an
important part of a city’s housing stock, but can be at risk of substandard quality, neglect, or
dramatic price increases because they are not regulated. Auburn has few NOAH units that can
accommodate larger household sizes in 3- and 4-bedroom units.
11 Unregulated housing stock that may be affordable to households earning less than 30% of AMI may be
substandard quality. Households with these extremely low incomes may also find housing via HUD’s Housing
Choice Voucher program, where a subsidy pays the difference between the market rent and the price the household
can pay.
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Of Auburn’s 6,421 NOAH
units, 34 percent are
affordable to households
earning 50% of AMI or less
and 66 percent are
affordable to households
earning between 50-80%
of AMI.
Figure 20. Number of Naturally Occurring Affordable Rental Units,
by AMI Level, Auburn, 2012-2016
Source: ECONorthwest Analysis of Costar data.
Units Affordable at: 50% of AMI
or less
80% of AMI
or less
Studio units 87 230
1-bedroom units 1,029 2,477
2-bedroom units 952 3,139
3-bedroom units 103 471
4-bedroom units 12 104
Total 2,183 6,421
Housing Cost Burdening
When a household cannot find adequate housing (habitable, the appropriate size, in a desired
location) at a price that is considered to be affordable, it becomes “cost burdened.” As
mentioned, the typical standard used to determine housing affordability is that a household
should pay no more than 30 percent of its gross household income for housing, including
payments and interest or rent, utilities, and insurance. HUD guidelines indicate that households
paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing experience “cost burdening” and
households paying more than 50 percent of their income on housing experience “severe cost
burdening” (because those paying more than 50% on housing are by definition paying more
than 30% on housing, rates of “cost burden” include those considered “severely cost
burdened”). Cost burdening is an issue in that households may have too little income leftover
after paying for housing costs, to afford other necessities, such as transportation, food,
medicine, or childcare. Housing cost burdening is particularly important for low-income
households, who have very little income to begin with.
Policymakers typically focus on renters when assessing cost burdening.
It can signal a lack of affordable housing in a region. It is less of a focus
for homeowners, because a lender will assess a buyer’s ability to pay for
a mortgage before the household can buy a home, and because
mortgage payments are typically fixed and do not fluctuate with the
larger economy or housing market. Thus, homeowners are not as
vulnerable to price changes in the housing market.
In 2018, 88 percent of renters earning less than 30% of AMI were cost
burdened and 71 percent of renters earning between 30% to 50% of AMI
were cost burdened (see Figure 21). Cost burdening tends to decline as
incomes go up, because a household has more income to spend on
housing. In Auburn, 33 percent of renters earning between 50% and
80% of AMI were cost burdened.
Recalling the figures on
page 11, a four-person
household earning less
than 30% of AMI in 2018
could afford a maximum
monthly rent of $803. Yet
the average two-bedroom
apartment in Auburn was
nearly $1,400 in 2020.
With rents at this level,
extremely low-income
households are hard
pressed to find housing
that is affordable, and
often end up cost-
burdened.
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Of Auburn’s renter
households (earning 30%
of AMI or less), 88 percent
were cost burdened and 72
percent were severely cost
burdened.
Because those paying more
than 50% on housing are by
definition paying more than
30% on housing, rates of
“cost burden” include those
considered “severely cost
burdened.”
Figure 21. Cost Burdened and Severely Cost Burdened Renters,
Auburn, 2018
Source: PUMS (2018).
Housing Affordability, with Transportation Cost Considerations
The standard definition of cost burden does not factor transportation costs. However, today,
housing advocates and researchers stress the importance of considering transportation costs in
affordability analyses, because many households relocate to the outer edges of metro areas in
search of affordable housing, thereby increasing their transportation costs.
Center for Neighborhood Technology publishes a Housing + Transportation Affordability Index
(H&T Index) (most recently as of 2017), providing a ready-made data source for assessing the
possible transportation cost burdening of Auburn residents. The H+T Index calculates, through
a series of statistical models, the transportation and housing costs for the “regional typical” and
“regional moderate” household; “typical” meaning a household earning the regional AMI with
the regional average number of commuting workers and persons per household, and
“moderate” meaning a household earning 80% of AMI (but having the same number of workers
and persons per household).
For the Seattle metro region, the “regional typical” household has the following attributes
according to the H+T Model:
§ Income: $70,475
§ Commuters: 1.19 workers
§ Household Size: 2.54 people
While the index considers the “regional moderate” (80% of AMI) household as:
§ Income: $56,380
§ Commuters: 1.19 workers
§ Household Size: 2.54 people
In Auburn, the model estimates that a “typical” household would spend about 45 percent of its
income on housing and transportation costs, while a “moderate” household would spend about
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52 percent of its income on these necessities. This compares to 44 percent and 52 percent for
households in Kent, and 44 and 51 percent for households in Federal Way (see Figure 22).
Figure 22. 2017 Housing + Transportation Costs as a Percent of Household Income, South King
County Jurisdictions and Comparable Areas
Source: Center for Neighborhood Technology Housing + Transportation Affordability Index
Name H+T costs as % of income -
100% of AMI
H+T costs as % of income -
80% of AMI
Auburn 45% 52%
Bellevue 55% 65%
Burien 44% 52%
Federal Way 44% 51%
Kent 44% 52%
Renton 46% 54%
Seattle 46% 54%
Tukwila 39% 46%
Displacement Risk
As described in the demographics section above, Auburn has a very diverse population – by
age, race, ethnicity, and household composition (e.g., family or non-family household). The City
has included housing preservation as a key goal driving this Housing Action Plan, particularly
as it relates to preserving housing for low-income households. Housing preservation is an anti-
displacement effort, and can help to mitigate and minimize the negative effects that often arise
from new housing development.
Different Types of Displacement
Before determining recommendations to prevent against displacement, it is helpful to define
and unpack the meaning of displacement. Generally, there are three types of displacement:
§ Economic or indirect displacement. Economic displacement can occur if new
development or redevelopment in an area rents or sells at higher price points that
encourage owners of existing units to increase rents, and these increases exceed what
existing tenants can afford. The effects of (re)development renting at market rates may
spill over to lower-cost rental units, causing rents to rise and potentially displacing
existing residents. However, if supply is tight and high demand puts upward pressure
on rents, market changes could lead to displacement without any new development
occurring in an area.
§ Economic displacement can occur due to high demand and low supply of new
housing, with or without (re)development occurring. Economic insecurity and
displacement are very important for existing communities, but is difficult to measure
quantitatively.
§ Low-income households are at high risk of economic displacement as they have
fewer choices about where they can afford to live.
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§ Physical or direct displacement. When evaluating when, where, and what type of
project to build or rehabilitate, developers consider many factors, including market
rents, construction costs, local amenities, and transit access. In some cases, public
programs could encourage displacement by incenting a developer to rehabilitate or
replace older, less expensive (unregulated affordable) housing with newer, higher-
priced units. This could lead to the direct displacement of existing residents, who may
not be able to afford the higher rents in the new development.
§ Physical displacement occurs with the redevelopment of a specific parcel. This only
occurs when new development is feasible, and can be measured quantitatively.
§ In theory, any type of household could be at risk of physical displacement due to a
new development demolishing their current housing. But in reality, low-income
households, households of color, immigrant households, and other marginalized
populations are at higher risk of physical displacement. Wealthy or “powerful”
households are at lower risk of direct displacement, as they may not live in areas
experiencing new development, and they may hold sway over decision makers or
otherwise know how to exert influence in the process.
§ Cultural displacement occurs when people “choose” to move because their neighbors
and culturally-relevant businesses and institutions have left the area. The presence (or
absence) of these cultural assets can influence racial or ethnic minority households in
their decisions about where to live, more than for broader populations. While this is
difficult to measure, and one can argue whether these are true “choices” or whether this
is “forced” displacement, it is an important effect that can have broad equity
implications beyond physical or economic displacement alone.
§ Cultural displacement can occur with (re)development and includes business
displacement. While cultural displacement is very important for existing
communities, it is very difficult to measure quantitatively.
§ Marginalized communities – be they low-income, a specific race or ethnicity, or
another group of people – are at higher risk of cultural displacement than dominant
communities. When businesses and housing that serves these communities leave or
are removed, people can feel pushed out of their neighborhoods.
Displacement Risk
Given these different types of displacement, Figure 23 on the following page shows the Census
Block Groups within the City of Auburn that are most vulnerable to displacement, based on six
different demographic and socioeconomic variables. Some of the Census Block Groups used in
this analysis extend beyond Auburn’s city limits, however this does not influence or affect the
methodology. Any recommendations about preservation and anti-displacement measures will
be focused within Auburn’s city limits.
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Figure 23. Map of Displacement Vulnerability in Auburn, 2018
Source: ECONorthwest Analysis of ACS 2018 5-year data.
Note: The block group with an * in the SouthWest corner of the City is mostly
commercial and industrial areas and has few housing units. A mobile home park
located in this block group scored high on displacement vulnerability.
Variables Used to Estimate Displacement Risk
§ Percent of population that is a race other than non-Hispanic White
§ Percent of households that speak a language other than English at home
§ Percent of population over age 25 who lack a bachelor’s degree
§ Percent of households that are renters
§ Percent of households paying >30% or more of their gross income on housing
§ Per capita income
See the full methodology in Part 5 on page 45.
The data only goes so far
Actually measuring displacement is difficult, and not quantifiable from data. It requires qualitative
information from in-person engagement with people living near new development. Cultural displacement, in
particular can be very difficult to measure, as its effects are subtle and multifaceted.
*
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Block groups shown in purple and dark pink have the highest risk of displacement
vulnerability when considering these socioeconomic factors. These neighborhoods might be at
greater risk for economic displacement which can occur even without new development, if
market forces – such as an imbalance of housing supply and demand – work to increase rents.
It is important to keep in mind that this analysis does not consider development feasibility
layered in with displacement risk. All three forms of displacement – physical displacement,
economic displacement, and cultural displacement – can occur when new development occurs.
A deeper dive into economic displacement resulting from the spillover of new development
requires a robust analysis of new and existing rent trends, and this is beyond the scope of this
work. More analysis is needed to understand this risk.
When considering recommendations to boost housing production around the City, Auburn
should evaluate the displacement risk in each neighborhood, and act carefully to implement
policy changes. More discussion of policy changes, housing preservation, and other anti-
displacement efforts will be discussed in a forthcoming Recommendations memorandum
(expected in Spring 2021) and full Housing Action Plan.
Employment & Transportation
Based on data from the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), Auburn’s total employment
grew from 40,070 jobs in 2008 to 45,989 jobs in 2018—an increase of 5,919 jobs or 15 percent. This
analysis measures residents of Auburn who are employed (in a given sector), not the total
number of jobs located in Auburn.
In 2018, the top four largest industries, in terms of total employed Auburn residents were: (1)
Manufacturing with 8,764 people, (2) Retail Trade with 5,091 people, (3) Health Care and Social
Assistance with 4,925 people, and (4) Wholesale Trade with 4,308 people. Combined, these
industries represent 50 percent of Auburn’s total resident employment workforce.
Between 2008 and 2018, several industries lost Auburn residents. The four industries that lost
the greatest share of employed Auburn residents were: (1) Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas
Extraction with a 100 percent decline, (2) Utilities also with a 100 percent decline, (3) Retail with
a 13 percent decline, and (4) Public Administration with a 12 percent decline. Combined, these
industries represent a loss of 1,251 employment jobs.
Job losses in each of the industries mentioned above, and job gains in new industries, signify a
shift in Auburn’s employment profile between 2008 and 2018. For example, the five industries
which gained the greatest share of employment were: (1) Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and
Hunting with a 192 percent increase, 12 (2) Finance and Insurance with a 115 percent increase, (3)
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing with a 72 percent increase, (4) Health Care and Social
12 It is important to note that the large increase in Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting is an increase from 13 to
38 people between 2008 and 2018.
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Assistance with a 70 percent increase, and (5) Transportation and Warehousing with a 53
percent increase. Combined, these industries represent a gain of 3,784 employees.
Median salaries in 2018 also varied by industry. At opposite ends of the wage spectrum, the
Accommodation and Food Services industry had the lowest annual wages of $32,451, of which
this industry represented approximately five percent of Auburn’s total employment. On the
other, the Finance and Insurance industry had the highest annual wage of $79,375, representing
about 2 percent of Auburn’s total employment.
Figure 24 below shows how far an Auburn resident can travel to access employment in the
Puget Sound Region within a 45-minute drive time (blue) and a 45-minute transit trip (orange).
Figure 24. Access to Employment—Travel Shed, 2018
Source: ECONorthwest Analysis of 2018 PSRC Data.
Note: Departing at 8:00 AM, midweek
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Future Housing Needs
PSRC forecasts that by 2040, Auburn will grow to a population of 95,461 people, an increase of
14,846 people (or 18 percent) from its 2018 population estimate of 80,615 people. As Auburn is
forecast to grow at a faster rate than it has in the past, the City’s population growth will
continue to drive future demand for housing through 2040.13
Based on this forecast population growth, the City is projected to
need 10,429 new dwelling units between 2020 and 2040, at an
average trajectory of 521 new units per year through 2040. Of those
needed dwellings, 2,361 units are a result of housing
underproduction (see sidebar). The remaining 8,058 units are to
accommodate population growth. In total, this represents a sizable
increase in the number of housing units that need to be produced
each year (521 units), given the annual average of only 390 units
built per year from 2011 to 2019.
Figure 25. Housing Units Needed by AMI, Auburn, 2040
Source: OFM, 2019; PSRC, 2017; ECONorthwest Calculation.
AMI # of Units % of Units
0-30% 1,669 16%
30-50% 1,043 10%
50-80% 2,503 24%
80-100% 1,251 12%
100%+ 3,963 38%
Total 10,429 100%
As Figure 25 demonstrates, 38 percent of units needed between 2020 and 2040 should be
affordable to households earning more than 100% of the AMI. This is helpful since new market-
rate housing tends to be developed at prices and rents that are affordable to higher income
households. When an area does not have enough housing priced for higher income households,
these households “rent down” and occupy units that would be appropriately priced for lower-
income households, thereby increasing competition for low-cost housing units. All cities need a
range of housing choices – of different sizes, types, and prices – to accommodate the various
needs and incomes of residents.
13 See footnote 1 on page 2 for an explanation of King County 2040 Growth Targets.
Housing underproduction is
calculated based on the ratio of
housing units produced and new
households formed in Auburn
over time.
If too few housing units are
constructed relative to the
number of new households
formed, underproduction
occurs and contributes to price
increases.
Without including current
underproduction in calculations
of future need, the current
mismatch of housing units to
numbers of households will
continue into the future.
See more detailed methods in
Part 5 beginning on page 42.
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3) Market Conditions
This section presents information about market conditions and
development trends in Auburn’s housing market. Data includes
multifamily rents, vacancy rates, and recent developments
delivered to the market, as well as home price trends that should
be taken into consideration when evaluating future development
in Auburn. This section also includes comparisons of trends in
Auburn to other cities in South King County.
These data and market trends are important to consider as the
City works to encourage the development to reach the 10,429
units needed by 2040.
Rental Market Trends
As the housing inventory demonstrated, 3,511 total housing units
were developed between 2011 and 2018 (see Figure 2 on page 4). Roughly 60 percent of these
new units are ownership units, while about 40 percent are rentals.
In 2020, multifamily rents in Auburn reached a historic high of $1.68 per square foot, however,
rents are lower than the greater King County region where average rents are about $2.18 per
square foot. Vacancies also increased in 2020 due to a brand new 500-unit multifamily
apartment development that is still being absorbed into the market.14 Irrespective of this large
market delivery, historic vacancies in Auburn remain low at about 4.5 percent as demand for
multifamily apartments continues to increase.
From 2013 to 2019,
multifamily rents in
Auburn have
increased while
vacancy rates have
hovered around 4.5
percent.
The 2020 vacancy
spike came from a
large multifamily
delivery of about 500
units.
From 2010 to 2020,
multifamily rents
grew 47 percent
from $1.14 to $1.68
per square foot.
Figure 26. Multifamily Rent per Square Foot and Vacancy Rate, Auburn,
2008 through Q3 2020
Source: CoStar
14 Copper Gate apartments, located at 4750 Auburn Way N, construction with first occupancies in October 2020.
$1.68
11.0%
0.0%
1.5%
3.0%
4.5%
6.0%
7.5%
9.0%
10.5%
12.0%
$0.00
$0.25
$0.50
$0.75
$1.00
$1.25
$1.50
$1.75
$2.00
2008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020 Q3Vacancy RateDirect Rent per Sq. Ft.Rent per Sq. Ft.Vacancy (%)
To get a deeper look at housing
market trends in Auburn, this
section primarily relies on
proprietary data sources, such
as Zillow and CoStar, rather
than public sources like the
Office of Financial Management
or the US Census, which take
longer to be collected and
published.
The CoStar data presented here
focuses on market rate trends
and only shows multifamily
properties (with 4+ units) so
statistics here are a subset of
the full housing stock analyzed
in the Housing Inventory.
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The average rent for a two-bedroom unit in Auburn was $1,393 in 2020, and has grown 49
percent since 2010. As shown in Figure 27, Auburn’s rents have grown commensurate with its
neighboring cities, only surpassing that of Federal Way in about 2011. Unlike some cities,
Auburn’s rents did not decline in the post-recession housing crisis. By third quarter (Q3) 2020,
Auburn’s average rent was approaching that of Kent and Tukwila’s.
Figure 27. Multifamily Rent per Unit, South King County Cities & Tacoma, 2010-2020
Source: CoStar
Figure 28 below shows that net absorption15 has been mostly positive, indicating an increase
demand for multifamily housing in the City. According to CoStar data accessed in fall 2020,
Auburn has about 614 multifamily units under construction, with 63 percent of them (or 387
units) expected to be delivered by the end of 2020. The remaining 37 percent of units are
expected to be delivered by June 2021.
15 Net absorption measures the net change in supply of multifamily units in Auburn. A positive value indicates that
supply is being rented more than what has been delivered to market in a given year.
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
20102011201220132014201520162017201820192020Multifamily Effective Rent per UnitAuburn
Burien
Federal
Way
Kent
Renton
Tacoma
Tukwila
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Over the 2008 to
2020 Q3 period, net
absorption has been
mostly positive,
indicating demand
has continually
increased.
In 2020 Q3, net
absorption is
negative, though this
is likely due to the
recent multifamily
delivery of units that
has yet to be leased
to residents.
Figure 28. Multifamily Net Absorption, Auburn, 2008 through Q3 2020
Source: CoStar
Recent Rental Property Developments
Figure 29 shows examples of recently constructed market-rate and affordable multifamily
buildings in Auburn. These properties were selected to highlight the recent market trends in
design, size, and amenities being constructed in multifamily residential properties in Auburn.
Since 2008, ten multifamily properties were built. Typically, these new multifamily properties
are between three and five stories tall and mostly offer one- and two-bedroom units. Typical
amenities for new properties include clubhouses, fitness centers, laundry facilities, and game
rooms/media centers. Additionally, three of these properties are for senior living and six are
regulated affordable housing (including two of the senior properties). Three additional
multifamily properties are under construction with expected completion in 2021.
Figure 29. Examples of New Multifamily Apartment Buildings in Auburn
Source: CoStar
Trek Apartments
Type: Mid-Rise Apartments
Year Built: 2015
Description: The Trek Apartments is a 126-
unit, 5-story apartment building. It has
studio, 1-, and 2-bedroom units ranging in
size from 536 SF for studios and 650-833
SF for 1- and 2-bedrooms units. Rents are
market rate and range from $1,322 for
studios to $1,712 for 2-bedroom
apartments.
Unit amenities include a washer/dryer,
dishwasher, balcony, HVAC, and upper
level terrace, community room, and fitness
center. It is located in downtown Auburn.
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020 Q3UnitsPage 64 of 205
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Merrill Gardens at Auburn
Type: Low-Rise Apartments
Year Built: 2017
Description: Merrill Gardens is a 129-unit
4-story senior living apartment building
around the corner from Trek Apartments. It
has studio, 1-, and 2-bedroom units
ranging in size from 496 SF studios and
693-976 SF for 1- and 2-bedroom units.
Rents are market rate and range from
$2,923 for studios to $4,291 for 2-
bedroom apartments.
Unit amenities include HVAC with site
amenities such as community room, patio
and meal service.
The Reserve at Auburn
Type: Mid-Rise Apartments
Year Built: 2018
Description: The Reserve at Auburn is part
of a phased affordable mixed-use
development that contains 298 affordable
units for senior living. The second phase is
the Villas at Auburn which has 295
affordable family-sized units and
approximately 11,000 square feet of
ground floor commercial space. Both
multifamily buildings are 5-stories and
each contain their own separate amenity
space.
All units are 1- or 2-bedroom, averaging
547 SF ($1,303 asking rent) and 612 SF
($1,565 asking rent), respectively. The
Reserve is located just north of downtown
Auburn off of C St.
Ownership Market Trends
As indicated in the Housing Needs Analysis in Part 2, Auburn’s housing stock primarily
consists of ownership units (it has a 56 percent homeownership rate) compared to only about 44
percent of rental units. Due to demand outpacing the supply of homes in Auburn, prices have
been rising. Since 2010, home prices in Auburn rose by 88 percent, from a median sales price of
$222,750 in 2010 to $418,300 in 2020. Over this time, Auburn has seen somewhat lower median
home sales price growth than nearby cities (see Figure 30), and the median sales price in
Auburn did not overtake that of another city in the 2010-2020 time period.
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Figure 30. Median Home Sales Price Growth, South King County Cities & Tacoma, 2015-2020
Source: Zillow 2010, 2013, and 2020 Home Sales Price Data
Area Median Sales Price
2010 (or 2013 *)
Median Sales Price
2020
Percent Change
Auburn $222,750 $418,300 88% (10 years)
Burien* $233,450 $470,300 101% (7 years)
Federal Way $211,600 $414,700 96% (10 years)
Kent $237,750 $447,500 88% (10 years)
Renton $269,950 $516,800 91% (10 years)
Tukwila* $182,500 $412,000 126% (7 years)
Key Market Data Findings
Overall, Auburn’s housing market is characterized by strong growth in both the
homeownership and multifamily rental markets. These trends are important to consider as the
City works to encourage development to reach the 10,429 units needed by 2040. Key findings
include the following:
§ Multifamily rents in Auburn increased 47 percent from $1.14 per square foot in 2010 to
$1.68 in 2020 Q3. Auburn did not see a dip in rents in 2011-2013 like many of its peer
cities. In addition, thus far through 2020, multifamily rents are continuing to grow in
Auburn, approaching levels in Kent and Tukwila which have started to level off.
§ Auburn’s rental vacancy rates are low, indicating continued demand for housing.
Multifamily vacancy rates in Auburn increased by 2.7 percentage points from 8.3
percent in 2008 to 11.0 percent in 2020 Q3, spurred by the recent Copper Gate affordable
apartment complex, which added 500 units to Auburn’s housing market in late 2020.
Although this increase in vacancy is reflected by an influx of new multifamily units that
have yet to be rented, the mostly positive net absorption in the City over 2008 to 2019
indicates demand for multifamily housing is strong.
§ About 60 percent of the new units developed in Auburn between 2010 and 2018 are for
homeownership, while only about 40 percent are intended as rentals. These ownership
trends, coupled with strong price growth, indicate strength in the market.
§ Auburn has not been producing enough housing to meet its demand from household
formation (net in-migration and people forming new households, such as moving out of
a family home). Over the 2010-2019 time period, only 7.8 housing units (of all types and
sizes) were constructed for every 10 new households that formed. This translates into
housing underproduction, and is a contributor to Auburn’s rent and price increases.
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4) Housing Planning and Policy Evaluation
As demonstrated in the Housing Needs Analysis in Part 2, Auburn, like other cities in the
region, has grown over the years and this has led to increasing housing affordability challenges.
The lack of affordable housing is a common problem for many cities across the Puget Sound
region and a complex issue without an easy solution. Each policy, strategy and tool are unique
in its support and delivery of different levels of housing affordability; consequently,
communities benefit from developing a comprehensive toolkit with a variety of different
solutions designed to meet each community’s unique housing needs. Recognizing the guidance
offered by relevant state, regional, county, and city plans within Auburn’s planning context
helps to set the stage for housing actions and policy development.
This summary of existing plans and policies is divided into two sections: the first describes the
“planning pyramid” and the associated roles of the Growth Management Act, PSRC, and King
and Pierce Countywide Policies as it relates to comprehensive planning at the local level (the
City of Auburn is located in both counties). The next section provides a summary of Auburn’s
existing policies key to promoting housing goals.
The Planning Pyramid
The “planning pyramid” in Figure 31 below illustrates how the planning scale is broader and
less detailed at the top tiers of plans while at the bottom of the pyramid, the scale tends to be
smaller and the regulatory detail more extensive and specific.
While this Housing Action Plan and its associated implementation steps will be less binding
than the other types of planning documents listed in the pyramid, as a subject-focused plan, its
detail sits between a jurisdiction’s Comprehensive Plan and its Development Regulations (such
as zoning codes).
Growth Management Act
At the top of the pyramid is the role of the state. The Washington State Legislature adopted the
Growth Management Act (GMA, adopted in 1990, as amended) to plan for population and
employment growth by establishing urban growth areas and critical/natural resource areas to
avoid impacting. The GMA requires cities and counties to develop Comprehensive Plans to
coordinate urban growth and this plan should include a Housing Element (RCW 36.70A.070(2)).
Essentially, a Housing Element provides goals and policies for promoting the preservation and
improvement, and to provide for the development of housing and the identification of adequate
land for all housing needs. A jurisdiction’s Housing Element must include adequate provisions
for existing and projected housing needs of all the economic segments of the community and
these needs should be identified through an inventory and analysis of existing and projected
housing needs. Based on the analysis, strategies should be developed to meet the housing needs
and their performance should be measured to allow for continual adjustment to meet evolving
housing needs. In addition, the Washington State Growth Management Act requires that zoning
regulations and districts be consistent with Comprehensive Plans.
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Figure 31. The Growth Management “Planning Pyramid”
Source: ECONorthwest
PSRC Housing Planning Documents
At the regional level, PSRC has established multi-county housing policies in VISION 2050. The
cities and unincorporated areas within King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties are part of
the Puget Sound region and thus, are subject to VISION 2050 (adopted in 2020). VISION 2050
encourages local jurisdictions to adopt best practices and innovative techniques to advance the
delivery of affordable, healthy, and safe housing for all the region’s residents and includes
guidance on growth.
The newly adopted plan expects that by 2050 an additional 1.8 million people will move to the
region and that this population will be older, more diverse, and living in smaller households
than today’s regional population. The plan emphasizes advancing housing choices,
homeownership opportunities, and affordability particularly for lower income housing and
calls for cities to support the building of more diverse housing types, especially near transit,
services, and jobs.
A new aspect of this plan is the recognition of displacement risk (cultural, economic, and
physical) and the need for jurisdictions to mitigate and minimize displacement. PSRC expects to
update the new housing, job, and population targets by 2021 and after release, cities will need to
recalibrate their capacity to accommodate this expected growth.
Countywide Planning Documents
The King County Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs, amended June, 2016) advises cities in King
County to consider strategies to address affordable housing needs of all economic and
demographic groups, as well as strategies that can help overcome housing affordability barriers
HAP
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(policy H-7).16 The King County CPPs in the Housing Chapter emphasize that cities should
share in the responsibility of increasing the supply of housing affordable to households earning
less than 80% AMI (policy H-1), noting that housing for households earning less than 30% AMI
can be the most challenging to develop – often requiring interjurisdictional cooperation and
support from public agencies (policy H-2). Policy H-3 outlines the housing inventory and
existing and projected housing needs analysis requirements (mandated by statewide Growth
Management Act policies) for each local jurisdiction’s Comprehensive Plan Housing Element.
The remaining policies describe a range of strategies for meeting diverse housing needs.
Examples of these CPP strategies are listed below:
§ Within designated Urban Growth Areas, include sufficient zoning capacity to
accommodate the development requirements for a range of housing types and densities
in a way that supports attainment of overall housing targets (policy H-4),
§ Preserve, maintain, and rehabilitate the existing housing stock including affordable
housing to ensure housing conditions are safe and livable (policies H-6, H-11),
§ Adopt incentive programs to encourage the development of low-income housing,
§ Adopt strategies, regulations, and goals promoting housing diversity, affordability, and
supply (diversity in tenure, affordability, types, sizes, and accommodations for special
needs, universal design, sustainable development, policy H-5),
§ Plan for neighborhoods supporting the health and well-being of residents (policy H-12),
§ Plan for housing (particularly for middle-income households or lower) with reasonable
access to employment centers (policy H-9) and in coordination with transit, bicycle, and
pedestrian plans and investments (policy H-10), and
§ Promote fair housing to help meet the diverse needs of residents with a range of
abilities, ages, races, ethnicities, incomes, and characteristics (policy H-13).
A small southern section of the City of Auburn is located in Pierce County and as such, the area
is subject to the Pierce County Countywide Planning Policies. Pierce County’s CPPs (amended in
2018) offer similar guidance as King County particularly in adequately providing housing
affordable to all economic segments of the city population along with sufficiently providing
housing for special needs. In addition, Pierce County promotes innovative housing techniques
to promote higher-density affordable housing, the use of funding opportunities and incentives
to subsidize affordable housing development, and inclusionary zoning techniques.
In the CPPs, Pierce County also requires that jurisdictions set a goal to satisfy at a minimum,
25% of the growth allocation, through affordable housing (defined as earning up to 80% of the
county AMI). Pierce County’s 2006-2031 Housing Growth Target for Auburn, designated a core
city, is 3,634 net new housing units by 2030 (Table 1, Exhibit A to Ordinance No. 2017-24s,
Growth Targets 2008-2030, by Vision 2040 Regional Geography).
16 Source: King County Countywide Planning Policies. (2012, Amended June, 2016).
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Local Planning Documents
At the bottom of the “planning pyramid” sits local planning documents and policies, but their
location at the bottom belies their importance. This section steps through the most relevant
housing focused planning documents and highlights the goals and policies that are most
important to the Auburn Housing Action Plan.
Over the course of the past several decades and with annexations in the late 1990s and early
2000s, Auburn has grown from a small town to a mature city of regional significance. Auburn
has varied assets to build upon including many parks and trails, a solid business core and an
ideal location along the Sound Transit commuter line.
City of Auburn Comprehensive Plan
The City of Auburn Comprehensive Plan (referred to as Imagine Auburn, amended in 2015, first
adopted in 1986) meets the regional responsibilities to manage urban growth for current and
future residents between 2015 to 2035.17 This plan establishes a framework from which to
identify specific programmatic actions for affordable housing. Among the eight primary plan
elements, policy guidance within the Housing Element (Volume 2) was reviewed. Auburn’s
Comprehensive Plan lays out a roadmap for navigating its 20-year horizon by articulating a
vision and corresponding core values, policies to achieve the vision and actions to promote the
core values.
Auburn’s vision was based on seven value statements associated with
character, wellness, service, economy, celebration, environment, and
sustainability. Downtown Auburn, designated as an urban center, has
become the thriving heart of the community and is poised for
continued revitalization.
The Housing Element themes provided below summarize guidance
useful for the development of housing action strategies.
Comprehensive Plan Housing Element Themes
Essentially, the housing focused vision for Auburn is to gain attainable
housing in a variety of styles meeting the needs of all ages, abilities,
cultures, and incomes and establish safe and attractive neighborhoods. Managing the evolving
housing needs of Auburn’s communities is guided by a set of seven goal-oriented themes that
are summarized below.
Along with this summary, an assessment of progress in achieving Comprehensive Plan
goals/policies is provided for each theme along with an evaluation discussion to consider for
17 The Auburn Comprehensive Plan should be updated every eight years, by around 2024, as outlined in the periodic
update schedule, mandated by the Growth Management Act. King and Pierce County jurisdictions must complete a
review and evaluation of their “Buildable Lands Program” at least one year before the comprehensive plan update to
provide data that will be used for the comprehensive plan update, per RCW 36.70A.215(2)(b).
Auburn’s 2035 vision is to
be an exciting, vibrant
city attracting
businesses, residents,
and visitors and
“a city of connected and
cherished places, from a
vibrant downtown to
quiet open spaces and
everything in between,
where a community of
healthy, diverse, and
engaged people live,
work, visit, and thrive.”
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future action. The City of Auburn faces growth pressures and various challenges and
opportunities as it relates to housing development, some of which are newly emerging. This
makes it important to continually review current conditions and progress towards achieving
planning goals. As the City continues to grow and mature, creative approaches might be
needed to accommodate growth and support diverse community needs.
Figure 32. Auburn Housing Element Themes, Summary and Evaluation
Source: ECONorthwest Analysis of Auburn Comprehensive Plan Housing Element
1) Healthy Homes and Neighborhoods
This theme focuses on enhancing the safety and connections in Auburn’s neighborhoods along with
improving the streetscapes. This theme also recognizes the need to provide housing for Auburn’s
workforce to help balance the jobs-housing ratio. This theme also includes a policy objective to provide
for housing choices in downtown and other designated mixed-use centers where infrastructure is more
available or can be improved with regional and local funds.
Evaluation Discussion:
The jobs-to-housing ratio is another metric for describing the availability of housing for local workers.
King County uses the jobs-to-housing assessment to improve the jobs/housing balance within the
county, and as a factor in determining the allocation of residential and employment growth for different
jurisdictions. Auburn too recognizes the need to balance jobs to housing as a way to ensure the
attainment of an appropriate supply and mix of housing and affordability levels to meet the needs of
people who work and desire to live in the City. Auburn’s jobs to housing ratio is slightly tilted towards
jobs. In 2019, Auburn’s had around 1.5 jobs for each housing unit in the City. This metric is limited in
not accounting for the number of wage-earners and is not necessarily fully reflective of true housing
demand. However, it can generally be used to guide the planning of development to achieve efficient
transit networks. An employment to housing ratio in the range of 0.75 to 1.5 is considered beneficial
for reducing vehicle miles traveled (Cox, 2020). The ratio has slightly lowered overall in the last two
decades as Auburn transitions from a suburban town to a thriving city offering broader housing options.
Housing production should continue alongside job growth.
Auburn has been effective in encouraging a variety of multifamily housing and infill development in its
downtown area which could be partially attributed to Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) incentives
targeted for this area. As noted in the MFTE program review below approximately 680 market rate units
were created or rehabilitated since 2003. The City has made progress in providing for more housing
choices in the Downtown area; however other mixed-use areas with sufficient infrastructure in place or
capable of improvement should be reviewed to determine whether housing variety has improved,
particularly in terms of providing a range of housing at different price points.
2) Variety
This theme calls for the City to broaden housing options. Objective H-10 notes the need to integrate a
variety of land uses and densities for housing providers while other objectives support homeownership
opportunities; mixed-uses integrating residential uses in the downtown area; ADUs as an affordable
housing strategy; and manufactured, transitional, and multifamily housing in limited zones.
Evaluation Discussion:
Achieving a healthy mix of housing requires boosting housing production to broaden housing choices
where supplies are limited, in a way that aligns with housing demand considerations. This goal
promotes King County’s Regional Affordable Housing Task Force Goal 6 which supports greater
housing growth and diversity to achieve a variety of housing types at a range of affordability and to
improve the jobs/housing connections throughout King County. The majority of duplexes, triplexes and
quad-plex housing in Auburn was built prior to the 2000’s (comprising 16% of the total housing stock)
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and since 2010 single-family attached housing production has declined for this type of housing. About
23% of Auburn’s housing stock is characterized as multifamily, the majority of which was build pre-
1960, and in the 1990s and 2000s. Production of larger multifamily housing with over 100 units has
picked up during the last decade since 2010. Auburn should continue supporting production of single-
family attached and multifamily housing construction to continue integrating a variety of housing
options. By 2025, the number of seniors in King County will double to comprise 23 percent of the
population. Likely trends for the Baby Boomer generation: Household sizes will decrease (greater 1-
person households) and demand could grow for missing middle-housing options allowing for
“downsizing” and lower-maintenance living.
Rising housing prices are increasingly making homeownership more out of reach. Over the last decade,
housing prices have increased by 88%; consequently, more action could be needed to increase the
availability of moderate and middle-income housing such as cottages, condominiums, and townhomes.
Recent legislation passed reform to the state’s condominium liability law in support condo production.
The implications of this new law should be monitored to see if it truly encourages more condo
construction and associated homeownership.
Auburn has adopted code updates over the last decade to support increased Accessory Dwelling Unit
(ADU) production. The pace of ADU development has increased but is still somewhat low. The City
should continue to track ADU development as time progresses and possibly revisit and augment
actions promoting ADU affordable housing strategies.
3) Quality
This theme aims to improve the quality and maintenance of the housing stock to help preserve
affordable housing. Key objectives for this theme are to track rundown properties and improve code
enforcement, educate property managers, and promote improvements of affordable housing possibly
through possible tax exemptions. Objective H-21 includes specific steps to carry out home repairs and
rehabilitation such as through loans, participation in the Emergency Home Repair Program, and green
lending for improved energy efficiency. These home repair efforts can help preserve naturally occurring
affordable housing (NOAH) units. Objective H-22f calls for the consideration of creating an Auburn-
based Housing Authority.
Evaluation Discussion:
Affordable housing preservation strategies can range from increasing investments to preserve
affordable properties to repairing homes to help keep people in affordable housing. The City could
collect key data on rental housing to build a rental housing preservation inventory (including key
information such as the age of housing, rental rates, number of bedrooms, conditions such as the
CoStar housing condition star rating).
The King County Housing Repair Program: Eligible low-income homeowners can gain a deferred loan or
matching funds loan (up to $25,000) to cover housing repairs addressing health and safety concerns;
and emergency grants covering life-threatening repairs for owner-occupied homes (up to $6,000). For
renters with a disability, they also provide free financial assistance to make housing more accessible.
Between 2018 and the second quarter of 2020, 17 applicants totaling approximately $320,135 from
the City of Auburn participated in this program. Source: King County Housing Repair Program. This
program does not necessarily provide weatherization home repairs or energy efficiency audits. A local
energy-efficient, weatherization and rehabilitation grant program could help improve the livability and
energy efficiency of existing owner-occupied homes. This program should complement the existing King
County Housing Repair program.
The Washington State Department of Commerce administers a Weatherization Program to help
increase home energy efficiency for low-income families. This program is funding by the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Weatherization Program among other sources:
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https://www.commerce.wa.gov/growing-the-economy/energy/weatherization-and-energy-
efficiency/weatherization-program-documents/
4) Attainability
This theme addresses the need for affordable housing to accommodate Auburn’s changing
demographics and to meet the fair share housing objectives, outlined by King and Pierce Counties.
Objective H-24a outlines King County’s share of housing by income levels:
• Below 30% AMI (very low income) – 12% of total,
• 30-50% AMI (low income) – 12% of total, and
• 50-80% AMI (moderate income) – 16% of total housing supply.
The city also aspires to lead and find new funding strategies to build more low-income housing. Other
objectives include using surplus land (sales) for affordable housing, promoting fair housing laws,
streamlining development regulations, and exploring the use of density bonuses.
Evaluation Discussion:
The housing growth targets should align with the adopted King County countywide targets that are
being developed for the 2024 Comprehensive Plan update cycle and expected to be adopted by mid-
2021 (PSRC VISION 2050, King County, 2020). These housing production and income level targets for
2024 to 2044 could be adopted in mid 2021. In general, Auburn will likely need to increase annual
housing production to help increase housing availability.
As of 2020, Auburn has around 2,850 manufactured/mobile homes which is around 9% of the total
housing stock. This type of naturally occurring affordable housing tends to be accessible to low to
moderate-income households (earning less than 80% AMI). Consequently, housing preservation
strategies could be considered such as mobile home park preservation, repair (see above discussion
under theme 3), monitoring strategy, and assistance in establishing Mobile Home Parks into
cooperatives.
5) Special Needs
These policies call for the City’s support of programs that offer funding, housing, and supportive
services to keep persons with special needs housed. These populations include veterans, single-parent
households, seniors, disabled households, and those experiencing homelessness. Assisting low-
income persons displaced by redevelopment in accordance with relevant laws is also recognized under
this theme. Other policies support seniors aging in place (encouraging development to adhere to
universal design principles) and the availability of transitional housing and assisted living facilities.
Evaluation Discussion:
The existing conditions analysis highlighted gradation of displacement risk across the city and this
information could inform affordable housing preservation and anti-displacement measures. The City
likely will be updating its comprehensive plan by June 2024 and during this update process, the plan
policies will be reviewed to ensure they are consistent with state, regional, and countywide policies. A
new aspect of PSRC’s VISION 2050 plan is the recognition of displacement risk (cultural, economic,
and physical) and the need for jurisdictions to mitigate and minimize displacement. Consequently, the
City of Auburn should consider anti-displacement policy and code updates.
6) Supportive Services
This theme focuses on providing education, training, engagement opportunities, and human services
associated with affordable housing and homeownership.
Evaluation Discussion:
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There are a range of options in support of education and engagement associated with affordable
housing and homeownership. Here are a few education examples: Education on tenant rights, fair
housing laws, and homebuyer’s class/credit counseling training.
7) Partnership and Monitoring
This theme supports a variety of partnerships to collectively work on challenging topics such as
homelessness, affordable housing financing, and housing assistance. Policy H-50 calls for Auburn to
evaluate possible modifications to these housing policies and strategies every five years.
Evaluation Discussion:
The City of Auburn has joined a regional affordable housing consortium in partnership with various
other south King County cities (Burien, Covington, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Normandy Park,
Renton, and Tukwila) and King County. The South King Housing and Homelessness Partners (SKHHP)
was recently formed through an interlocal agreement to share resources to preserve and increase
access to affordable housing. Effective in 2019, the interlocal agreement outlines the role, purpose,
structure, and other details of SKHHP. Essentially, SKHHP will share technical information and
resources to promote sound housing policy, coordinate public resources to attract greater private and
public investment, and support advocacy. SKHHP has the potential to help the City of Auburn in a
variety of ways including possibly expanding housing assistance, facilitating greater partnerships, and
increasing the availability of affordable housing.
A list of Housing Element outcomes, indicators, and example tools that are useful for
monitoring progress is provided below (Auburn Comprehensive Plan, 2015). Revisiting the
progress (or lack thereof) towards achieving outcomes can help to lay the groundwork for
potential areas of improvement.
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Figure 33. Auburn Comprehensive Plan Housing Element Goal Outcomes and Indicators
Source: Auburn Comprehensive Plan Housing Element
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South King County Subregional Housing Action Framework
As noted, this report builds off the existing conditions work that was developed through the
South King County Subregional Housing Action Framework. The City of Auburn participated in this
regional effort, along with the cities of Burien, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, and Tukwila.
As part of the South King County Subregional Housing Action Framework, the following affordable
housing regulations and incentives were evaluated: Multifamily Tax Exemptions (MFTE),
Incentives for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Fee Waivers, Density and Height Bonuses,
and Planned Action Environmental Impact Statements.18
Figure 34 below builds on Evermost Consulting’s evaluation of these five affordable housing
incentive programs in the South King County Subregional Housing Action Framework, and assesses
Auburn’s success and possible areas of improvement.
18 This analysis of past planning policies was conducted by Evermost Consulting as part of the ECONorthwest
consulting team on the South King County Subregional Housing Action Framework.
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Figure 34. Evaluation of Key Existing Affordable Housing Incentive Programs in Auburn
Source: ECONorthwest building on Evermost Consulting, 2020, data provided by City of Auburn
Policy How it Works Auburn Findings Evaluation
Multifamily Tax
Exemptions
(MFTE)
RCW chapter 84.14, allows cities with
more than 15,000 people to establish
a multifamily tax exemption program
for 8-years or 12-years if the housing
development includes 20% of its units
as affordable housing. By waiving
taxes, housing developments have
lower operating costs, which affects
the project’s overall feasibility by
making it easier to build new units.
Programs can exempt eligible new
construction or rehabilitated housing
and the housing development must be
located in an urban center and include
at least four housing units.
Auburn established its program in 2003
and has had four contracts take advantage
of the tax waiver to date. These properties
created or rehabilitated 680 units under
the 8-year exemption.
The MFTE incentive is available only for
new construction or for the rehabilitation of
multifamily housing located in the
Downtown Urban Center. Tax exemptions
are available for 8 years for new multi-
family or rehabilitated housing units
constructed downtown (market-rate) or for
12 years for qualified affordable housing
units (Auburn City Code 3.94).
The 8-year exemption does not require
affordable housing units. At the time
when this program was adopted, the
Downtown Center area targeted for the
program was lacking market rate
housing. Unsurprisingly, this program
has not yet generated affordable housing
and the program has resulted in an
average of 40 units created/
rehabilitated per year for 17 years.
Accessory
Dwelling Units
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs)
provide an additional dwelling unit—
typically with its own sleeping, bathing,
and cooking facilities—on properties
with existing single-family homes. ADU
policies attempt to increase housing
density in ways that do not change the
character, look, and feel of existing
neighborhoods, and put more housing
in areas with access to amenities such
as jobs, schools, and retail centers. In
theory, because they are smaller than
single-family homes, ADUs can be
cheaper housing options – but this is
not always the case.
According to data provided by the city,
Auburn has issued 36 building permits for
ADUs since 2005. It is important to note
that this summary does not encompass
unpermitted ADUs (an estimate for Seattle
indicated that up to three-quarters of what
appeared to be ADUs was unpermitted).
In Auburn, ADUs are permitted outright in
all residential zones that allow single-family
homes. The homeowner must successfully
gain an ADU building permit. One attached
ADU or detached ADU is allowed on a
parcel and each ADU is limited to no more
than two bedrooms.
The style of the ADU should match the
primary residence and cannot exceed 50
percent of the primary unit or 950 square
feet, whichever is less.
Until recently, the City of Auburn was
requiring ADUs to pay school and traffic
impact fees along with utility system
development charges, which could have
contributed to lower development. Since
removing this requirement a few years
ago, the pace of ADU development has
increased but is still somewhat low.
Auburn’s Zoning Code has a fair amount
of flexibility for ADU construction and
density. The size, parking, and owner-
occupancy requirements are somewhat
restrictive but are not too burdensome.
Possible areas of improvement to
consider: pre-approved ADU/DADU plans
to streamline the process (Renton and
Seattle example), ADU guidebook
(Tacoma example), removal of owner-
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One additional parking space beyond what
is required for the single-family home must
be provided for the ADU. The home or ADU
must be the principal place of residence for
the homeowner. (Source: Auburn Code
Section 18.31.120, last amended in 2012
by Ord. 6419 § 4).
occupancy requirement in exchange for
affordability (below 80% AMI), and
opportunities to reduce fees and allow
shared/off-street parking.
ADU permitting requirements and ADU
development scenarios could be
analyzed for the accumulative effect of
layered requirements (including site
coverage) to identify possible areas to
add more flexibility.
In terms of providing housing options,
there is a level of uncertainty as to
whether these units are actually rented
long-term versus short-term or used for
off-market purposes such as for family
guests, if their rents are lower than other
units, and the extent that ADUs are
provided in amenity-rich locations. The
City could address short-term rental use
of ADUs by evaluating regulatory options
to limit potential conversions of ADUs
serving as long-term rentals (RCW 64.37
provides new Short-term Rentals
legislature to consider).
Fee Waivers The list of potential fees when entitling
a new building often includes, but is
not limited to, zoning application fees,
mitigation fees, building permit fees,
plan check review fees, utility
connection charges, building
inspection fees, and impact fees.
While these fees are important
funding sources for their respective
municipal departments and special
districts, they can add up and
Auburn had established several fee waiver
incentives. The City has fee waivers for the
Downtown Catalyst and Downtown Plan
Areas which were implemented in 2001
(more detail in Auburn Code Section
19.04). These fee waivers have all expired
and the last exemption for the Downtown
Catalyst area was extended through
Ordinance No. 6637 was scheduled to
The reinstatement of select fee waivers,
even over a temporary period of time,
could be considered when city revenue
sources are plentiful to target
underproduced housing and the
construction of more affordable housing.
Relaxing fees can help incentivize
affordable housing development in the
City. While careful calibration is needed
to ensure the public benefit of reduced
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effectively discourage new housing
development–particularly at lower
price points. Fee waivers for
affordable housing development or
other qualified development projects.
sunset on December 31, 2017. 19 These
fee waivers have been utilized in
conjunction with MFTE.
fees is offset by the lost revenue to the
City, these programs can meaningfully
reduce the cost of development and help
incentivize lower-cost housing.
Expedited
Permitting
Some cities such as Kirkland, Lacey
and Vancouver offer streamlined
review or expedited permitting
processes for qualified development
projects. The state of Washington
Local Project Review law (RCW
36.70B) supports the establishment of
a predictable and timely review
process by setting time limits on
application review and permit
decisions and a maximum time period
of 120 days unless the jurisdictions
makes written findings that additional
time is needed.
Auburn could define criteria for
qualification of expediting permitting
to include things such as rent or price
restricted affordable housing, projects
that utilize the 12-year MFTE program,
for targeted development types such
as infill development or podium
development, or for development
projects in specific areas such as the
Downtown area.
Concurrent review of preliminary plat and
civil plans is being explored by Auburn (with
the applicant assuming the risk). The
Master Builders Association (2020)
estimates that this could save up to a year
on the permit process.20
(See incentives described in the next row.)
Outside of this, Auburn does not have an
expedited permit review process for
affordable housing or qualified
development.
A common area of continuous
improvement for many cities is to adjust
the permitting processes to be more
predictable, efficient, accessible, and
transparent.
Possible areas of improvement to make
the process more predictable particularly
for affordable housing development
could be identified and examined for
trade-offs. A pilot program can be
implemented as a way to test out
different techniques and work out
process tweaks. A key area of
improvement is to examine ways to
reduce upfront fees and requirement
barriers such as the possibility of review
process efficiencies and/or integrating
payment deferment options.
Other measures to consider: Additional
online permitting and tracking
improvements to reduce trips to the
permit counter, cross-departmental
coordination enhancements,
ameliorating design review
19 “Downtown catalyst accessory area” means the area defined by the boundary of 1st Street NW to the south, “A” Street NW to the west, 2nd Street NW to the north,
and North Division Street to the east (Auburn Code Section 19.04.020 Definitions, GG: https://auburn.municipal.codes/ACC/19.04.020).
20 Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties Housing Toolkit, 2020: https://www.mbaks.com/docs/default-source/documents/advocacy/issue-
briefs/mbaks-housing-toolkit-2020.pdf
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Safeguards could be added to
expedited permitting measures such
as including negotiated deadlines for
the applicant and permitting staff to
each meet, respectively.
requirements, and enhanced staff
training.
The following cities enacted permitting
efficiencies: Kirkland and Tacoma.
Density and
Height Bonuses
Most cities offer some manner of
incentives or bonuses in exchange for
additional exactions on the developer;
these incentives can often result in
better design or substantially
advancing public interest while making
the project more profitable for the
developer.
Policies are often put in place when a
jurisdiction wants to encourage a type
of development that the market is not
delivering (for a variety of reasons), so
the jurisdiction makes it easier, less
costly, or more profitable to build the
desired type of project.
In the City of Auburn, development
standard bonus incentives may be
awarded to residential developers in
exchange for recognized public benefits
pursuant to Chapter 18.25 (infill
development) or 18.49 ACC (flexible
development alternatives).
Eligible infill development (section ACC
18.25.020 provides more guidance) can
gain density increases by up to 10 percent,
increased building height by up to five feet,
reduced/alternative setbacks, and a 10
percent reduction in the minimum on-site
parking when designed to be shared (Code
Section 18.25.040).
The flexible development alternative
(adopted in 2009) allocates incentives for
residential and mixed-use development
with features/ benefits such as
sustainability, urban design, neighborhood
safety features, housing, cultural/
historical, transportation/mobility, and
open space/recreational features and
benefits (Code Section 18.49).
The incentives range from expedited review
(90 days or less), density bonus (135 to
150 percent above base zoning), and
reduced parking by up to 25 percent.
These incentives are high along with the
The overall effectiveness of these
policies in spurring housing development
is yet to be seen. Additional analysis on
the types and uses of these incentives is
an area of further study.
Other opportunities for incentives should
be identified to help encourage
affordable housing development in the
City. The City should consider developing
policy incentives that are easy-to-
understand with low complexity.
Many local jurisdictions are also offering
incentives to encourage green building
such as Tacoma, Everett, and Kirkland.
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Policy How it Works Auburn Findings Evaluation
policy complexity for applicant
participation.
Planned Action
Environmental
Impact
Statements
Under the Washington State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), a
planned action—such as rezoning,
development agreement, subarea
plan, etc.—can pre-analyze the
predicted impacts of a certain level of
development. Jurisdictions may
implement these policies to encourage
development by allowing projects to
avoid costly SEPA analyses, by
increasing certainty around mitigation
requirements, and by avoiding lengthy
delays due to SEPA challenges.
According to data provided by the City in
spring 2020, Auburn has planned action
coverage for 708 residential dwelling units
in planned action environmental impact
statements, thereby helping to reduce the
cost of development (SEPA analysis), and
increase both the certainty and speed of
development.
While this coverage may expedite review
and increase certainty of development,
Auburn staff –along with most of the
South King County Cities – noted that
few SEPA challenges were filed so the
benefits of this program (reducing the
cost of development by avoiding a SEPA
analysis) are limited.
It is unclear how many units have been
developed under this program, and if it
has truly helped to incentivize market
rate or affordable housing.
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5) Methodology, Data Sources, and Assumptions
A) Housing Needs Analysis
Data Sources
To conduct this existing conditions assessment we primarily relied on 2019 data from the
Washington Office of Financial Management (OFM) to evaluate housing and demographic
trends. Where OFM data was unavailable we relied on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Public Use
Micro Sample (PUMS) data from 2012 through 2018 and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012-2016
Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) Data. To supplement OFM data on
housing trends and existing housing types by size, we supplemented this analysis with King
County Assessor data. For housing market data on rents and sales prices we relied on data from
the King County Assessor and CoStar. For the housing demand analysis we relied on Puget
Sound Regional Council’s 2040 population forecast for Auburn.
We used the best available data sources to assess the housing inventory and future needs,
analyze employment trends, and analyze demographic trends in Auburn. Because Auburn has
more than 65,000 people, it is surveyed in the American Community Survey every year and
thus has data in 1-year samples. The most recent survey data is for 2018.
To get more granular data on key variables of interest, we also rely on PUMS data. As noted in
footnote 7 on page 6, PUMS data are only available at the PUMA geography, which contain
about 100,000 people. The Auburn PUMA includes the City of Auburn and Lakeland.
Housing Needs Analysis Methodology
Future Housing Needs
We estimate Auburn’s future housing needs based on the forecasted household growth through
2040 from PSRC. PSRC does not forecast housing units, but instead forecasts the estimated
number of households. To calculate Auburn’s future housing need, we use a target ratio of
developing 1.14 housing units per new household. This ratio is the national average of housing
units to households in 2019. It is important to use a ratio greater than 1:1 since healthy housing
markets allow for vacancy, demolition, second/vacation homes, and broad absorption trends.
Use of the national ratio is a reasonable target, particularly for larger areas and regions. Using
this ratio suggests that at a minimum, jurisdiction should be hitting the national average and is
preferred as the existing regional ratio may capture existing issues in the housing market (such
as existing housing shortages).
Total Units Needed by Income
The next step is to allocate the needed units by income level. We first look at the most recent
distribution of households by income level (using PUMS to determine area median income or
“AMI”) in Auburn and the South King County subregion. This distribution is displayed for the
South King County subregion and King County as a whole in Figure 35, below. We then
account for current and future household sizes at the city level to better understand nuances of
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how housing need by income can shift over time as household sizes change and subsequent
changes to housing affordability.
Because forecasting incomes at the household level over time can be challenging at best, and
misleading at worst, this data evaluates housing need using current income distributions
forecast forward. The forecast housing need by income category at both the city level and at the
subregion is likely to vary depending on policy choices made over the next 20 years. That is to
say that if cities choose to take less action on increasing housing production, and affordability
worsens due to demand outpacing supply, the forecast need for lower income households is
likely to be less because those low income households that are most at risk from housing price
changes are more likely to be displaced from the subregion. The ultimate income distribution in
2040 will be the result of regional housing trends and policy decisions made at the local level.
Figure 35. Household Income Distribution in Auburn, South King County Subregion, and King County
Source: ECONorthwest analysis of 2018 Census 1-year PUMS data
AMI Level Auburn South King County King County
0-30% of AMI 17% 18% 18%
31-50% of AMI 16% 16% 15%
51-80% of AMI 25% 23% 16%
81% of AMI 11% 12% 11%
100%+ of AMI 30% 31% 40%
17%16%
25%
11%
30%
18%
16%
23%
12%
31%
18%
15%16%
11%
40%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
0-30% of AMI 31-50% of AMI 51-80% of AMI 81-100% of
AMI
100%+ of AMI
Auburn South King County King County
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We then apply Auburn’s distribution of households by income (right column) to the total units
needed to get the share of new units needed by income level.
Figure 36. Total Units Needed by 2040 by Area Median Income Distribution in Auburn and South
King County
Source: ECONorthwest analysis of 2018 Census 1-year PUMS data
AMI Level Auburn Total Units
Needed by 2040
South King County Total Units Needed
by 2040
0-30% of AMI 16% 1,669 18% 11,207
31-50% of AMI 10% 1,043 16% 10,288
51-80% of AMI 24% 2,503 23% 14,552
81-100% of AMI 12% 1,251 12% 7,603
100%+ AMI 38% 3,963 31% 19,440
TOTAL 100% 10,429 100% 63,090
As shown in Figure 36, the City has the highest need over the period for units that are
affordable to households earning more than 100% of AMI, and the next greatest need for units
affordable at the 51%-80% of AMI level.
B) Employment Analysis
An employment analysis and an analysis of trends in job growth by industry are requirements
for local housing action plans. We developed city-level employment estimates by 2-digit North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes using a combination of the U.S. Census
Bureau’s Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) Origin-Destination
Employment Statistics (LODES) data, and PSRC’s Covered Employment Estimates. The
employment estimates show the total number of Auburn residents working in different 2-digit
NAICS industries, the change in employment in that industry since 2008, and the 2018 median
wages for Auburn residents in that sector.
Access to Employment
We measured access to employment for both transit and auto use, using a preset limit of 45
minutes to generate isochrones (travel sheds). We used ESRI Services to create drive-time
isochrones, simulating traffic conditions typical of 8:00AM, Wednesday. We created transit
isochrones using OpenTripPlanner and the consolidated Puget Sound General Transit Feed
Specification (GTFS) database that is created and maintained by Sound Transit. This GFTS
database allows users to model possible transfers between the region’s multiple transit agencies.
For each 2-digit NAICS industry, the data summarize the share of jobs across the four-county
region that are accessible within a 45-minute transit or auto commute from Auburn.
Transit Isochrones
We created isochrones originating from every transit stop within the jurisdiction. Each transit
stop was also weighted by the population within a half-mile distance (straight-line). These
isochrones were then joined to LODES job points at the Census Block Level, and the total
number of jobs by NAICS industry was calculated for each isochrone. The total number of jobs
Page 84 of 205
Auburn Housing Action Plan – DRAFT Existing Conditions
ECONorthwest 45
reachable by transit (and walking) within 45 minutes was calculated as the weighted mean
number of jobs within the isochrones, using the transit-stop population as weights.
Auto Isochrones
For drive-time isochrones, we used a similar method as the transit isochrones. Instead of transit
stops, however, we used block group centroids as the isochrone origin points, and the
associated block group population estimates provided the weights with which we calculated
the average number of jobs reachable by the “average resident.”
Number of Jobs
We derived the number of jobs by industry from PSRC’s Covered Employment Estimates for
2018 and 2008. PSRC provides job totals by city and NAICS 2-digit industry categories, but will
censor an estimate if that number represents fewer than three reporting firms, or when a single
employer accounts for more than 80 percent of jobs in an industry within a jurisdiction. In these
instances, we have provided an internally calculated estimate of employment in that industry
based on the uncensored totals for each industry. Average wages by industry were calculated
using the 2018 5-yr ACS estimates at the city level.
Caveats
The auto isochrones may be overly optimistic in terms of traffic. Since we are limited in terms of
other tools that even claim to model travel sheds with traffic congestion, there are few
alternative options.
Wage estimates by industry from ACS are not available for every industry, usually due to low
numbers of survey samples. Many of these estimates, especially for industries with low
numbers of workers, show relatively high margins of error and should be treated as rough
approximations.
C) Displacement Risk Analysis
The displacement risk analysis on page 16 was modeled after PSRC’s Displacement Risk
Mapping Tool. PSRC’s tool compiles 15 different demographic and socioeconomic datasets
(using ACS 5-year tract-level data), standardizes and weights them equally, compiling them
into a composite, three-tiered index score (“high”, “medium”, and “low”) for every tract in the
four-county Puget Sound region. However, this tool is only available at the Census Tract level,
which is not granular enough for this analysis. This analysis builds off the PSRC tool, using the
following variables which were available at the Census Block Group level, to estimate
displacement risk in Auburn.
1. Percent of population that is a race other than non-Hispanic White
2. Percent of households that speak a language other than English at home
3. Percent of population ≥25 who lack a bachelor’s degree
4. Percent of households that are renters
5. Percent of households paying >30% or more of their gross income on housing
Page 85 of 205
Auburn Housing Action Plan – DRAFT Existing Conditions
ECONorthwest 46
6. Per capita income
In Figure 23 on page 18, the color palette of the map visualizes the six levels of displacement
vulnerability based on how many variables were present in each block group.
Page 86 of 205
AUBURN
SOUTH KING COUNTY SUB-REGIONAL
HOUSING ACTION PLAN FRAMEWORK
2020
Page 87 of 205
2 City of Auburn | South King County Sub-Regional Housing Action Plan Framework
This document provides trends in demographic,
employment, housing, and housing affordability
along with housing projections for the City of
Auburn. Auburn is a participant of the South
King County Sub-regional cities who are
coordinating a comprehensive Housing Action
Plan Framework for South King County which
includes the cities of:
• Auburn
• Burien
• Federal Way
• Kent
• Renton
• Tukwila
Given that the participating communities are
impacted by many common market trends and
demands, cooperation is necessary to address
these issues. Providing for the sub-regional
coordination of Housing Action Plans through a
common Framework will allow all the partners
to address housing issues holistically and
ensure housing-related burdens are not simply
shifted around between cities.
The sub-region differs from East King County
and Seattle, where housing markets and income
levels significantly skew the Area Median
Income as it relates to how affordability is
defined, and therefore how successful south
King County cities are in providing affordable
housing for their communities. A sub-regional
framework that captures broad factors
impacting housing choice, cost burden, and
existing conditions of housing stock in South
King County will set the stage to evaluate and
incorporate appropriate policies, tools and
incentives for increasing residential capacity.
This document and analyses were produced by:
Page 88 of 205
South King County Sub-Regional Housing Action Plan Framework | City of Auburn 3
Executive Summary
› Auburn needs 10,429 new housing units by
2040 when its population is expected to reach
more than 95,000 people (see page 7).
› Auburn needs to produce about 521 units
per year to reach this goal (pg. 7). This is a
significant increase from the 390 units produced
annually over the 2011-2019 timeframe (pg. 4).
› In the 2010-2019 timeframe, Auburn only
produced 7.8 housing units for every 10 new
households that formed in the city. The majority
of these new units were built at the end of this
development cycle - in 2017, 2018 and 2019
(pg. 4).
› Average 2-bedroom rents increased about
50% since 2010, and home prices increased 88%
between 2010 and 2020 (pg. 6).
› In 2018, 88% of renters and 80% of
homeowners earning less than 30% of AMI were
cost burdened, along with 71% of renters and
60% of homeowners earning between 30% and
50% of AMI (pg. 6).
› Auburn appears to have received an influx
of high-income renters living alone while
the numbers of large households and lower-
income households have declined (pg. 5). This
corresponds to Auburn’s large increase in new
multifamily units in recent years (pg. 4), which
have trended smaller throughout the region.
› As a result of these new households, the
median renter household income grew by 46%
between 2012 and 2018 while the median
homeowner income only grew 17% (pg. 5), far
below the rise in median home sales prices.
› Still, Auburn’s renter households have much
lower incomes than its homeowners. In 2018,
82% of renter households earned less than 80%
of AMI compared to 44% of homeowners (pg. 5).
› Auburn saw a decline in the number of
households earning less than 50% of AMI
between 2012 and 2018, while the number of
households earning between 50% and 80% of
AMI grew (pg. 5).
› The majority of new households are small:
Auburn saw a 21% increase in households, but
only a 13% increase in population from 2012 to
2018. This included about 5,140 new 1-person
households (pg. 5).
› As a result of Auburn’s changing
demographics, the bulk of the housing units
needed by 2040 are needed at the 50%-80% AMI
and over 100% AMI affordability ranges (pg. 7).
Results and data are for City of Auburn inclusive
of areas in King County and Pierce County.
The 2018 HUD Area Median Income (AMI)
for King County is $103,400 for a 4-person
household. Data discussing “% AMI” are
proportioned off of this median and are also for
4-person households.
Page 89 of 205
4 City of Auburn | South King County Sub-Regional Housing Action Plan Framework
Housing Trends
Number of Units Built Per Year, 2011-2019
Source: OFM, 2019
Source: King County Assessor’s Office, 2020
Housing Units Built by
Decade, 1960-2020
Decade % of Units
Before 1960’s 11%
1960’s 15%
1970’s 9%
1980’s 14%
1990’s 20%
2000’s 18%
2010’s 12%
31,345
Number of total housing
units in 2018
Source: OFM, 2019
3,511
Number of housing units
built since 2011
Source: OFM, 2019
390
New housing units built on
average every year since 2011
Source: OFM, 2019
7.8
New housing units per every
10 new households› Between 2010-2019
Source: OFM, 2019, ECONorthwest
calculations
Scale of Housing Built by Decade, 1960-2020
Source: King County Assessor’s Office, 2020
Page 90 of 205
South King County Sub-Regional Housing Action Plan Framework | City of Auburn 5
Change in Household Type, 2012 & 2018
Income Distribution by AMI, 2012 & 2018
Income Distribution by AMI and Tenure, 2018
2010 2018
Population 70,180 80,615
2012 2018
Households 36,191 43,665
2012 2018
Median
Income $34,347 $50,250
2012 2018
Median
Income $77,079 $90,186
Demographics
Source: PUMS (2012, 2018)
Source: PUMS (2012, 2018)
Source: PUMS (2012, 2018)
Source: PUMS (2012, 2018)
Source: OFM, 2019
Source: PUMS (2012, 2018)
Source: PUMS, 2018
15%
Change in population › Between 2010 and 2018
21%
Change in number of households› Between 2012 and 2018
46%
Change in median renter
household income› Between 2012 and 2018
17%
Change in median owner
household income› Between 2012 and 2018
Page 91 of 205
6 City of Auburn | South King County Sub-Regional Housing Action Plan Framework
Cost Burdened› A household who pays more
than 30% of their income
on housing (inclusive of
households with severe cost
burdening).
Severely Cost Burdened› A household who pays more
than 50% of their income on
housing.
Cost Burdened and Severely Cost Burdened by
Tenure, 2018
Housing Units Affordable by AMI and Tenure, 2018
2010 2020
Average
Rent $934 $1,393
2010 2020
Median
Sales Price $222,750 $418,300
Source: PUMS, 2018
Source: PUMS, 2018
Source: Costar
Source: Zillow
49%
Change in average rent for
2-bedroom apartment› Between 2010 and 2020
88%
Change in median home
sales price› Between 2010 and 2020
Housing Affordability
2,784
Number of income restricted
units› Total units as of 2020
Source: ECONorthwest analysis of public
affordable housing data
Page 92 of 205
South King County Sub-Regional Housing Action Plan Framework | City of Auburn 7
Housing Need Forecast
95,461
Projected population by
2040
703
Average annual population
growth projected through 2040
10,429
Projected number of units
needed by 2040
521
Average number of new
units needed per year
through 2040
34%
Increase in annual housing
production to reach 2040
housing need target
Housing Units Needed Through 2040
Housing Units Needed as a Share of Existing Stock
Housing Units Needed by AMI, 2040
HUD Affordability Level by Housing Type, 2018
Underproduction Future Need Housing Need
2,361 8,068 10,429
Existing Units Housing Need % of Existing Units
31,345 10,429 33%
AMI # of Units % of Units
0-30%1,669 16%
30-50%1,043 10%
50-80%2,503 24%
80-100% 1,251 12%
100%+3,963 38%
AMI Studio 1-bed 2-bed
30%$542 $582 $698
50%$904 $970 $1,164
80%$1,448 $1,552 $1,862
100%$1,810 $1,938 $2,326
Source: OFM, 2019; PSRC, 2017; ECONorthwest Calculation
Source: OFM, 2019; PSRC, 2017; ECONorthwest Calculation
Source: OFM, 2019; PSRC, 2017; ECONorthwest Calculation
Source: HUD, 2018
Source: PSRC, 2017
Source: PSRC, 2017, ECONorthwest
calculations
Source: OFM, 2019; PSRC, 2017;
ECONorthwest Calculation
Source: OFM, 2019; PSRC, 2017;
ECONorthwest Calculation
Source: ECONorthwest calculation
Underproduction › Housing units needed to satisfy existing households today.
Future Need › PSRC 2040 population forecast translated into housing units.
Page 93 of 205
8 City of Auburn | South King County Sub-Regional Housing Action Plan Framework
Employment Profile
Source: PSRC, ECONorthwest
Auburn Employment Numbers Regional Access to
Employment
Industry (2-digit NAICS Code)Employees
(2018)
# Change
(2008-2018)
% Change
(2008-2018)
Median Salary
(2018)
% Jobs by
Auto
% Jobs by
Transit
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and
Hunting 38 25 192%$37,612 24%1%
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas
Extraction 0 -14 100%NA 52%4%
Utilities 0 -21 -100%$110,841 22%1%
Construction 4,091 848 26%$51,862 43%2%
Manufacturing 8,764 136 2%$60,862 44%2%
Wholesale Trade 4,308 943 28%$44,896 50%3%
Retail Trade 5,091 -761 -13%$41,658 36%3%
Transportation and Warehousing 2,983 1,034 53%$54,195 63%1%
Information 548 13 2%$62,540 7%0%
Finance and Insurance 824 440 115%$79,375 24%2%
Real Estate and Rental and
Leasing 604 252 72%$49,524 33%1%
Professional, Scientific, and
Technical Services 761 -4 -1%$66,150 14%1%
Management of Companies and
Enterprises 136 6 5%$60,938 27%1%
Administrative and Support
and Waste Management and
Remediation services
1,672 566 51%$36,250 37%3%
Educational Services 3,446 465 16%$56,393 35%3%
Health Care and Social Assistance 4,925 2,033 70%$49,320 36%2%
Arts, Entertainment, and
Recreation 665 2 0%$44,708 35%2%
Accommodation and Food
Services 2,329 322 16%$32,451 36%2%
Other Service 1,490 89 6%$36,831 33%2%
Public Administration 3,314 -455 -12%$74,804 36%3%
Page 94 of 205
South King County Sub-Regional Housing Action Plan Framework | City of Auburn 9
* Transit and drive time of 45 minutes, departing at 8:00 AM, midweek
Source: PSRC, ECONorthwest Access to Employment*
Employment Profile
These city-level employment estimates by
2-digit NAICS codes were derived using a
combination of the U.S. Census Bureau’s
Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics
(LEHD) Origin-Destination Employment
Statistics (LODES) data, and Puget Sound
Regional Council’s Covered Employment
Estimates. These employment estimates show
the total number of residents working in each
2-digit NAICS sector in that city, the change
in employment in that sector in that city since
2008, and the 2018 median wages for the
residents in that city in that sector.
Transit and auto access to regional employment
was derived using 45-minute travel sheds for
each mode. We calculated the number of jobs
available within these travel sheds in each
2-digit NAICS category for the four-county
region (King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap).
Page 95 of 205
AGENDA BILL APPROVAL FORM
Agenda Subject:
Police Advisory Committee Update (O'Neil)(15 Minutes)
Date:
February 17, 2021
Department:
Police
Attachments:
PAC update
PAC ques tions
Budget Impact:
Current Budget: $0
Proposed Revision: $0
Revised Budget: $0
Administrativ e Recommendation:
For discussion only.
Background Summary:
Chief O'Neil will review the 5 Police Advisory Committee (PAC) meetings held to-date, review
the questions discussed with the PAC in February and then open the floor f or discussion.
Rev iewed by Council Committees:
Councilmember:Staff:O'Neil
Meeting Date:February 22, 2021 Item Number:
Page 96 of 205
Police Advisory Committee •Committee Positions:•Filled 24 of 25 positions•Still looking for a member to fill the LGBTQIA+•Goals:•To provide recommendations to the Chief of Police based on community concerns related to homelessness. •To provide recommendations to the Chief of Police based on community concerns related to repeated crimes committed against businesses in the community. •To provide recommendations to the Chief of police based on community concerns related to officers involved shootings, with an end goal of 0 officer involved shootings. Courage Honor Integrity ProfessionalismPage 97 of 205
Police Advisory Committee •First meeting‐October: •Introductions•Committee rules •Expectations Courage Honor Integrity ProfessionalismPage 98 of 205
Police Advisory Committee •Second meeting‐November:•Overview of the Auburn Police Department•Homework (What do you want from your police department) •Common themes: neighborhood safety, homelessness, vandalism to businesses, crime rates, and overall community safety. Courage Honor Integrity ProfessionalismPage 99 of 205
Police Advisory Committee •Third meeting‐December:•Police Accountability Presentation •Q&A on Questions Submitted by PAC members •Does APD have Qualified Immunity? •Is APD part of a union?•Is APD self‐insured or through an insurance company?•What is available for mental health support for APD and what is being done to reduce the stigma of seeking it?•How often are the academy and other trainings evaluated to make sure they are based in research and facts, not how things have always been done?•Does APD training have a fear based or militaristic focus? •Example every traffic stop may be the last stop of your life, you have to be ready to kill someone or you’re in the wrong line of work, rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6, number one job is to make it home? •Is diversity a priority in hiring with APD? If so, what does it look like? •Is there a reward system in APD based on numbers? Like promotions based on numbers of arrests, expected number of traffic tickets each month, etc? •How much training do APD officers get in grappling (like Brazilian Jujitsu) submission compared to weapons training? Courage Honor Integrity ProfessionalismPage 100 of 205
Police Advisory Committee •Fourth meeting‐January:•The PAC identified their top three priorities. 1) Homelessness2) Protecting our businesses 3) A goal of 0 Officer Involved Shootings •Briefed on the December OIS •Discussed court filing guidelines, resources for individuals suffering form homelessness, addiction, and mental health issues. Courage Honor Integrity ProfessionalismPage 101 of 205
Police Advisory Committee •Fifth meeting‐February:•Kent Hay presented information about homelessness, resources available, and the strategy to address this community issue. Kent Hay also discussed the City’s Consolidated Resource Center•Harry Boesche presented the court process for charging and resolving criminal cases involving trespass, theft, shoplift, and drug paraphernalia. Harry also provided a presentation on community court and the resources that will be available at the All in Once Center. •City Attorney Comeau presented information about litigation and the King County Inquest. •The PAC was briefed recently completed internal investigations. •PAC members began signing up to attend APD Training Courage Honor Integrity ProfessionalismPage 102 of 205
Police Advisory Committee •Next steps:•Continue recruiting to fill the open LGBTQIA+ position. •More engagement and information sharing to incorporate the PIO (newsletter). •Posting member names and position held on PAC website. •Posting an E‐Mail address for the community to ask questions to the PAC. •PAC members to present to Council outside of police representation. Courage Honor Integrity ProfessionalismPage 103 of 205
PAC Questions
Does APD have qualified immunity?
Qualified immunity was created by the United States Supreme Court in 1982, to make
sure government officials are not deterred from acting in split-second situations and that
government officials do not face financial harms from a flood of insubstantial and
frivolous lawsuits. Therefore it applies to all local, state, and federal law enforcement
officers. This is not specific to any agency or state. Qualified immunity is also afforded
to, mayors, governors, medical officials, prison guards, and school administrators and
many other government professions. If an officer is granted qualified immunity, which
isn’t common, it just means that the courts haven’t ruled on a similar circumstance and
they are not personally liability for damages. A claim and or lawsuit still proceeds but the
city or employer is responsible for damages.
Is APD part of a union?
The State of Washington is not a right to work state, there for there is union protections
afforded to employees. Law Enforcement in Washington has unions, guilds, and
associations. Regardless of classification, they serve the same purpose. The Auburn
Police Officers belong to the Auburn Police Officers Guild, Auburn Police Sergeants
Association and the Auburn Police Management Association. Each union then contracts
for legal services. The officers and sergeants are members of the Fraternal Order of
Police, who provide legal representation during the disciplinary process, labor
management, and collective bargaining. The commanders represent themselves and
contract for legal services when they are needed. The Assistant Chief has civil service
protection. As the chief, I am an at will employee. The non-commissioned employees are
all part of the IAM union.
Is APD self-insured or through an insurance company
The City of Auburn is not self-insured. We are part of the Washington City Insurance
Authority.
What is available for mental health support for APD and what is being done to
reduce the stigma of seeking it?
All City of Auburn Employees have access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
All calls to the EAP are confidential and entitle an employee to three free meetings with
a counselor. If an employee needs assistance beyond that, they will be referred to a
professional who accepts the cities medical insurance. The Auburn Police Department
has a peer support team, which consists of approximately 10 employees who are
certified by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) in both individual
and group support. All contacts and interactions are 100% confidential unless it is
determined that there is a safety concern to an employee or someone else. The Auburn
Police Department also has a gym for officers to work out and a Spousal Support Group
Page 104 of 205
to support the families of police officers. Additionally, in earl 2021 all officers will be
ABLE trained and the Auburn Police Department will be an able certified police agency.
ABLE stands for Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement. This program provides
training for law enforcement officers on how to intervene with their co-workers when they
observe an employee starting to operate outside the lines of what acceptable or normal.
How often are the academy and other trainings evaluated to make sure they are
based in research and facts, not how things have always been done?
Washington State is one of three states in the country that has a state certified academy.
All law enforcement officers in WA State either attend the Criminal Justice Training
Commission (CJTC) basic law enforcement academy or the Washington State Patrol
Academy. CJTC is a model for law enforcement training across the county and often
sets the standard for law enforcement training. CJTC was the first for incorporate Crisis
Intervention Training into the basic academy, followed by Blue Courage, which focuses
on officer wellness and the nobility of policing. While Auburn PD is becoming an ABLE
Certified agency, WA State is the only academy in the country making plans to make
ABLE part of the basic academy. Additionally, there are 24 hours of required training
every year for every law enforcement officer. This training includes Crisis Intervention
Refresher and BIAS Based Policing training. Additionally, Officer are also required to get
an additional 40 hours of training every three years related to patrol tactics and de-
escalation. CJTC has employees dedicated to curriculum development, who are
constantly reviewing trends in law enforcement making improvements to training. We will
talk more about Auburn PD training in future sessions.
Does APD training have a fear based or militaristic focus? Examples: Every traffic
stop may be the last stop of your life, you have to be ready to kill someone or
you’re in the wrong line of work, rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6, number
one job is to make it home?
I am not aware of any law enforcement training in the State of Washington that uses this
focus. The primary of focus of everything a police officer does is focused on the safety
and security of others. When we train for tactical situations, active shooter, we have
priorities in our decisions making. The first being hostages or citizens in danger not free
to leave, unarmed citizens, officers, suspects. As you can see police officers put the
safety of citizens above themselves.
Is diversity a priority in hiring with APD? If so, what does that look like?
Hiring police officers has been a challenge in recent years. While the economy has been
good, it has been difficult to find applicants who want to become police officers. Given
the current climate, I suspect it is going to be even harder in the years to come. It has
been difficult to find applicants who meet the basic qualifications. Around 2016, the City
of Auburn hired a firm to develop a recruiting platform to focus on recruiting and hiring
for diversity. Currently, we omit the names, race, and gender from applications before
they are reviewed by the police department. We also established a mentoring program
which we will talk more about later. Since becoming Chief, I have hired 14 people, 10 of
Page 105 of 205
which are for commissioned positions. Of the 14 positions (2 Hispanic Males, 4 White
Females, 1 Asian Female, 1 Black Male, and 6 White Males.) Currently there is a black
male lateral and a black male entry level candidate in the final stages of the hiring
process. Additionally, I promoted the first nonwhite male to the command staff, selected
the first female patrol dog handler, and sent the first female in the history of the
department to SWAT basic. I also talked about the desire to create a scholarship
program to improve diversity and recruit form within the Auburn Community. I think that
the PAC can help us improve in this area and look forward to the ideas and suggestions.
Is there a reward system in APD based on numbers? Like promotions based on
number of arrests, expected number of traffic tickets each month, etc.
Quotas are illegal and unconstitutional. There is no reward system at Auburn PD related
to numbers. Officers are expected to make 911 response their top priority followed by
traffic, extra patrols, and community interaction. There are three E’s associated with
traffic enforcement (Education, Engineering, and Enforcement). A traffic stop doesn’t
always equal a ticket.
How much training do APD officers get in grappling (like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)
submission compared to weapons training?
Post academy, Auburn Officers attend four sessions of defensive tactics. Each training is
2 hours each for a total of 8 hours each year. The training is a blend of martial arts.
Officers also have 8 hours of firearms training each year which includes qualifications.
Page 106 of 205
AGENDA BILL APPROVAL FORM
Agenda Subject:
Domestic Violence Presentation (O'Neil/Comeau)(30 Minutes)
Date:
February 16, 2021
Department:
PD/City Attorney
Attachments:
Domes tic Violence pres entation
2020 Council Memo DV Human S ervices
Budget Impact:
Current Budget: $0
Proposed Revision: $0
Revised Budget: $0
Administrativ e Recommendation:
For discussion only.
Background Summary:
Detective Charlene Hoch will give a presentation on Domestic Violence(DV). The
presentation will provide a meaning for Domestic Violence, statistics f or 2018-2020 DV
cases in Auburn, Covid impact on cases 2019-2020 by quarter and highlight the involvement
with firearms/weapons.
Rev iewed by Council Committees:
Councilmember:Staff:O'Neil/Comeau
Meeting Date:February 22, 2021 Item Number:
Page 107 of 205
Domestic Violence2018‐2020Detective Charlene HochPage 108 of 205
What is a domestic violence? •"Domestic violence" means: (a) Physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury or assault, sexual assault, or stalking as defined in RCW9A.46.110of one intimate partner by another intimate partner; or (b) physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury or assault, sexual assault, or stalking as defined in RCW9A.46.110of one family or household member by another family or household member.Page 109 of 205
Relationship?•Family relations (related by blood or marriage)•Intimate relationship (dating/marriage ages sixteen years and older)•Persons who are residing together (roommates)Page 110 of 205
6673553127282634458152006120100200300400500600700800900Total Charged DeclinedAuburn Prosecutor’s OfficeDV Cases2018‐2020201820192020Page 111 of 205
COVID impact on cases1581771941992111862191790501001502002501st quarter 2nd quarter 3rd quarter 4th quarter2019‐2020 by quarter20192020Page 112 of 205
Firearms and Domestic Violence•Quick Facts from The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence 20191) About 4.5 million women in the US have been threatened with a gun and nearly 1 million women have been shot or shot at by an intimate partner.2) A woman is five times more likely to be murdered when her abuser has access to a gun.Page 113 of 205
Firearm Domestic Violence Laws•Domestic Violence Order:•Defendant: Do not obtain, own, possess or control a firearm (RCW 9.41.040). •Do not obtain or possess a firearm, other dangerous weapon, or concealed pistol license (RCW 9.41.088)•Shall immediately surrender all firearms and other dangerous weapons within the defendant’s possession or control and any concealed pistol license. Comply with the Order to Surrender Weapons filed separately (RCW 9.41.800).Page 114 of 205
Order to Surrender Weapons•The court orders the defendant must: •Not obtain or possess any firearms, other dangerous weapons, or concealed pistol license and•Turn in any firearms, other dangerous weapons and concealed pistol license as stated in this order.The order has information on how to surrender weapons to the local police department and if no firearms or license is owned, sign a Declaration of Non‐Surrender form.Page 115 of 205
Firearms removed for safekeeping•Patrol officers ask if there are firearms at domestic violence calls. If firearms are present, they are taken for safekeeping until the case and orders are resolved.•Extreme Risk Protection Orders may also be obtained but rarely needed as DV orders are normally issued.•Conviction for a domestic violence crime (assault fourth degree, coercion, stalking, reckless endangerment, criminal trespass first degree, violation of a no‐contact order) committed on or after July 1, 1993, or harassment after June 7, 2018.Page 116 of 205
Auburn Police Firearms180358812922010203040506070Surrender Safekeeping CPLChart Title201820192020Page 117 of 205
Dangerous Weapons•Also surrendered were several BB guns and compound bows.Page 118 of 205
DV Cases 2018‐20201,0242261112,101862179761,935925176691,99905001,0001,5002,0002,500Verbal Domestic Order Violation Felony Order Violation All DV CasesDomestic Violence Cases201820192020Page 119 of 205
MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council Members
FROM: Joy Scott, Community Services Manager,
Department of Community Development
DATE: February 22, 2021
SUBJECT: 2020 Human Services Program Accomplishments for Agencies
Providing Domestic Violence Services
PURPOSE
Provide City Council with information regarding Domestic Violence services made available
through the Human Services Grant Program to Auburn residents in 2020.
BACKGROUND
The Human Services program, through a competitive application process, allocates funding to
nonprofit agencies to provide direct services to community members. The Human Services
Program funded five programs in 2020 to provide case management, support groups, and other
Domestic Violence advocacy services to Auburn residents. In 2020, these programs provided
over 2,400 hours of services to 116 residents. Below is a snapshot of program client
demographics across all five programs.
66%8%
4%
3%19%
Income Level
Very Low Low
Moderate Above Moderate
Unknown
6%
18%
5%
7%20%
41%
3%
Age
0 to 5 6 to 12 13 to 17 18 to 24
25 to 34 35 to 54 55 to 74
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In addition to submitting demographic and service unit data reports, agencies are also asked to
share narrative reports on a quarterly basis of progress, challenges, and/or client stories. The
following are excerpts from Domestic Violence Agency narrative reports submitted during
2020:
Here is a story of a survivor’s progress and resilience in the middle of a pandemic. MB shared
that she has been in an abusive relationship for a very long time. She said that she thought it
20%
80%
Gender
Male Female
24%
76%
Disability
Has a Disability Does Not Have a Disability
2%
2%
23%
25%
38%
8%
1%1%
Race
Alaska Native/American Indian/Native American Asian/Asian American
Black/African American Latino
White Other
Multi Racial Unknown
Page 121 of 205
was normal for him to treat her that way. Her husband would put her down and push her for no
reason. When and if they go out, he always made sure to be nice to her, so individuals could say
how nice he was towards her and how she was lucky to have a very attentive husband. Once
they were home, he would become the mean person he has always been towards her.
She asked him to teach her how to drive- he said that she did not need to learn because he was
there to take her around if she needed to go anywhere. One day MB got tired of her husband’s
treatment, so she decided to look for help and reached out to Consejo do develop a safety plan
and exit strategy. Client MB has regularly been attending Support Group meetings and received
mental health counseling. Staff has noticed how much progress she has made now that she and
her children have separated from her husband.
Due to additional stress, lack of normal community and social supports for partners, children
learning from home, and adults working remotely, survivors have indicated they are hesitant to
reach out for support if they are still in their relationship even if abuse is escalating. We are
working on to address this gap between DV happening and survivors reaching us, through some
targeted outreach to healthcare and county-wide partners. We will also hold the first facilitation
training for group facilitators as we ramp up our new model and folks get used to the dynamics
of virtual groups.
Over the summer we rolled out a new contact-less system for advocates to drop pre-made bags
of food into the trunk of survivors’ cars. This has worked really well with the fluctuations of
donations we are receiving. We have had very successful Adopt a family campaign this
December! We had over 110 families adopted this year and distributed all the gifts out in 6
days!
We have continued outreach to different partners with multiple agencies in the SKC areas to
offer our support services and various resources virtually. Since meeting with families via
telephone and Zoom, it is possible for program staff to observe the chil d in their home
environment and connect with their siblings and parents. Staff is able to help the family build
skills that work for their specific situation.
Many black and brown school age kids are struggling with remote learning, and many did not
have the tools/equipment to complete their school work; laptops, food, space etc. We heard
from the communities, that it was more important for families during this time to, “pay rent,
provide food, keep utilities working, and stay connected to the outside world with
laptops/internet”.
For those survivors who are isolated with their abusive partner, and many that are trying to flee,
providing tools on how to safety plan with her children in the home is critical. We are able to
provide safe housing for many survivors and their children fleeing from intimate danger. YWCA
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was able to support survivor’s with rental assistance, utilities assistance, food, legal assistance,
navigating many of resources and systems, and trauma informed advocacy.
Many survivors are utilizing services available to them such as support groups, counseling and
therapy via Zoom and continued use of advocacy services. Advocates continue working with
survivors over the phone providing counseling, referrals for rental assistance and food delivery
services. Thanks to the generosity of local donors and food banks, advocates were able to
provide survivors with much needed and appreciated food donation boxes. DSHS survivors
received an additional $399.00 in food stamps to assist with food needs of children at home.
There is a continued need by clients, for rental, utility, and food assistance. During 4th Quarter
several clients were able to secure safe and permanent housing with the assistance of advocacy
and funding resources provided by advocates. We continued communicating with clients
virtually and in-person. We saw many clients in need of assistance with housing and living costs.
One survivor recently became employed; however, she did not yet have a steady income that
would allow her to pay her move-in costs. Our agency was able to assist her with move-in cost
and first month’s rent.
INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENT DATA
Consejo Counseling and Referral Service:
Domestic Violence Community Advocate Program
Consejo’s Domestic Violence Advocacy Program provides outreach & engagement, information
& referral services, advocacy-based counseling, safety planning, legal advocacy and support
groups for Latina survivors of domestic violence. Services are designed to understan d the
complex needs of survivors, many of whom are Spanish-speaking/monolingual
immigrants/refugees. Consejo’s services build on clients’ cultural beliefs, values and traditions to
help them transition from crisis to self-sufficiency.
Consejo’s Community Advocate program utilizes City of Auburn funds to provide domestic
violence services that include: outreach and engagement, information and referral services,
advocacy-based counseling, safety planning, legal advocacy and support groups for Latina
survivors of domestic violence.
Contract Performance Measures:
• Unduplicated Auburn Residents Served
o 2020 Goal: 7
o 2020 Actual: 19
o 2019 Actual: 19
• Service Units:
o Advocacy goal: 26 hours of advocacy services per year
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▪ 2020 Actual: 197 hours
▪ 2019 Actual: 345 hours
o Counseling goal: 20 hours of counseling services per year
▪ 2020 Actual: 114 hours
▪ 2019 Actual: 97 hours
o Support groups goal: 3 hours of support group services per year
▪ 2020 Actual: 20 hours
▪ 2019 Actual: 93 hours
• How the Agency Measures Outcomes:
o Upon intake, survivors and their advocate work together to determine client
goals including short term crisis intervention, long term plans for achieving self -
sufficiency and how to increase knowledge of domestic violence as well as
resources in the community. On a quarterly basis, clients complete a survey that
reflects each output. In support groups, the facilitator conducts pre and post
surveys to determine knowledge and understanding of domestic violence. Client
Service Plans, Pre/Post Surveys, and Client Observations are used to evaluate
how clients are progressing to achieving goals.
Domestic Abuse Women’s Network (DAWN)
Community Advocates Program
DAWN shelters and empowers survivors of domestic violence. DAWN provides trauma informed
advocacy to help with safety planning, housing needs, legal aid, and any services necessary to
assist an individual or family in crisis due to abuse. Most clients are from the most marginalized
populations, and living at or below the poverty level. DAWN has been doing this w ork in King
County since 1980.
DAWN’s Community Advocates program utilizes City of Auburn funds to provide domestic
violence services that include: providing trauma informed advocacy to help with planning,
household needs, legal aid, and other services necessary to assist an individual or family in crisis
due to abuse.
Contract Performance Measures:
• Unduplicated Auburn Residents Served:
o 2020 Goal: 29
o 2020 Actual: 34
o 2019 Actual: 2941
1 An additional note from the agency about 2019 vs 2020 data collection methodology: Through our intake process, we do
record the city where the survivor is coming from or the last permanent address if not the same. We have noticed some
instances when the survivor/caller does not want to disclose the city or state they are homeless. The address protection
program, at times, requires us to document as city unknown when calling for community advocacy. We do have instances
where we will receive a call, but the service decides to no-show; or decide to decline services at this time. This pattern was
noticeable at the beginning of the pandemic and continued through 2020. Survivors found themselves needing to reach out in
shorter time frames, or in intermittent process, because of lack of safety due to isolation.
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• Service Units:
o Case management goal: 36 hours of case management advocacy services per
year
o 2020 Actual: 1,424 hours
o 2019 Actual: 1,620 hours
• How the Program Measures Outcomes:
o DAWN utilizes performance measures and outcomes identified by the Family
Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to measure safety and well-being.
DAWN has seen strong results in this area. Outcomes are measured each quarter
using a time sampling method. Both indicators must be achieved in order for it
to be a positive outcome. Additionally, DAWN measures how adult survivors of
domestic violence feel about the resources they have. Clients are asked if they
know more about community resources, including if they know how to access
those resources. This is done after the survivor has had several meetings with an
advocate.
Prevention/Children’s Programming
The KIDS program offered at DAWN is a psycho-educational curriculum based program offered
to families impacted by domestic violence. The goals of this program include safety planning,
understanding domestic violence, conflict resolution skills building, emotion coaching, boundary
setting, healthy relationships, and on-going post separation advocacy for the adult survivor.
Flexibility is built into this program and it can be offered in-home or in a small group format.
DAWN’s Prevention program utilizes City of Auburn funds to provide children’s domestic
violence services that include: psycho-educational curriculum-based programming to families
impacted by domestic violence.
Contract Performance Measures:
• Unduplicated Auburn Residents Served:
o 2020 Goal: 20
o 2020 Actual: 11
o 2019 Actual: 21
• Service Units:
o Counseling goal: 25 hours of counseling services per year
o 2020 Actual: 58 hours
o 2019 Actual: 52 hours
• How the Program Measures Outcomes:
o DAWN will conduct a pre and post program survey to measure the non-abusing
parent's perception of the relationship between themselves and each child. For
success in these areas DAWN will look for an increase in the areas of closeness,
trust, and support. The advocate works with each child and the non-abusing
parent to create a safety plan that works best for their family. Each member of
the family will have their own distinct role based on the individual’s ability and
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need. Methods allow for each family member to verbalize their plan and a
written copy will be kept in DAWN's secured files.
YWCA Seattle King Snohomish
Children’s Domestic Violence Program
The Children’s Domestic Violence Program (CDVP) is the only one of its kind in Washington
State. CDVP Advocates work on an individualized level with each child and their non-abusive
caregiver during 1:1 home visits. The program includes a culturally- specific, 10-week curriculum
composed of activities specifically designed to help children heal from the effects of witnessing
domestic violence. Program staffed are based out of YWCA’s South King County Regional Center.
The YWCA’s Children’s Domestic Violence program utilizes City of Auburn funds to provide
services that include: culturally-specific curriculum to assist children in healing from the effects
of witnessing domestic violence.
Contract Performance Measures:
• Unduplicated Auburn Residents Served:
o 2020 Goal: 7
o 2020 Actual: 12
o 2019 Actual: 8
• Service Units:
o Advocacy goal: 105 hours of individualized counseling per year
o 2020 Actual: 148 hours
o 2019 Actual: 124 hours
• How the Program Measures Outcomes:
o While it is not realistic to estimate that 100% of participants will always be able
to achieve the intended program outcome, YWCA staff always strive to help
every survivor in need. The YWCA aims to help clients improve their
understanding of domestic violence, increase access to resources, and increase
safety by creating safety plans. This data is collected in an internal database
(Client Track) which involves advocates completing an intake and exit form for all
household members, which track participant demographics and outcomes.
Domestic Violence Services
The YWCA Domestic Violence Program provides community advocacy, legal advocacy, support
groups, and financial education services to adults and youth who are survivors of domestic or
dating violence. The program includes culturally relevant services for African-American
households and households of color. Part of the Specialized and Integrated Services division of
the YWCA, the program operates throughout South King County.
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The YWCA’s Domestic Violence program utilizes City of Auburn funds to provide domestic
violence services that include: advocacy services for adults and youth who are survivors or
domestic or dating violence.
Contract Performance Measures:
• Unduplicated Auburn Residents Served:
o 2020 Goal: 40
o 2020 Actual: 40
o 2019 Actual: 45
• Service Units:
o Advocacy goal: 400 hours of client DV advocacy provided
o 2020 Actual: 448 hours
o 2019 Actual: 529 hours
• Outcomes:
o While it is not realistic to estimate that 100% of participants will always be able
to achieve the intended program outcome, YWCA staff always strive to help
every survivor in need. The YWCA aims to help clients improve their
understanding of domestic violence, increase access to resources, and increase
safety by creating safety plans. This data is collected in an internal database
(Client Track) which involves advocates completing an intake and exit form for all
household members, which track participant demographics and outcomes.
*Note: Many agencies are funded by the City of Auburn for programs that provide a range of services that
support survivors of domestic violence, including legal, mental health, and culturally - and linguistically-specific
programs. These agencies are not included in this summary.
Page 127 of 205
AGENDA BILL APPROVAL FORM
Agenda Subject:
Ordinance No. 6814 (Thomas)(60 Minutes)
Date:
February 8, 2021
Department:
Finance
Attachments:
Draft B&O Tax Code
Budget Impact:
Administrativ e Recommendation:
For discussion only.
Background Summary:
I n February 2020, BERK Consulting gave the City Council a presentation on the City’s
General Fund eight-year forecast, and identif ied some of the fiscal sustainability issues. In
March 2020 the council participated in a council retreat where they explored the reasons for
the sustainability issues BERK presented. They studied, in depth, several different strategies
to remain f inancially proactive. Based on the Council’s analysis, several strategies were
identified and were built into the City’s 2021-2022 Biennial Budget, which was adopted on
November 16, 2020. Strategies imbedded in the budget include: cost recovery analysis,
utility rate increases for city utilities, and revenue from a new business and occupation (B&O)
tax. While the budget was balanced and adopted with estimated revenue from a B&O tax, a
code and related ordinance to actually implement the B&O tax had not been adopted. The
Council asked staf f to move f orward with meeting with the business community and drafting a
B&O code for further analysis and review.
This presentation is the Council’s first review of the draft B&O code. Comments and
suggestions received from Council and the business community have been imbedded in the
draft code and those will be highlighted and discussed. The purpose of this meeting is to
review and discuss the:
1. Proposed tax rates and reporting thresholds;
2. Proposed square f ootage tax;
3. Proposed tax credits;
4. Required language (RCW ) vs. the optional language addressing the exemptions and
deductions that best suit Auburn’s needs.
Rev iewed by Council Committees:
Councilmember:Staff:Thomas
Meeting Date:February 22, 2021 Item Numb er:
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DRAFT COA B&O CODE – 2/8/21
1
CHAPTER 1
BUSINESS AND OCCUPATION TAX
CODE
SECTION:
1.1.1. : Exercise Of Revenue License Power
1.1.2. : Administrative Provisions
1.1.3. : Definitions
1.1.4. : Agency – Sales And Services By Agent, Consignee, Bailee, Factor Or Auctioneer
1.1.5. : Imposition Of The Tax – Tax Or Fee Levied; Business License Fee Exemption
1.1.6. : Multiple Activities Credit When Activities Take Place In One Or More Cities With Eligible
Gross Receipt Taxes
1.1.7. : Deductions To Prevent Multiple Taxation Of Manufacturing Activities And Prior To
January 1, 2008, Transactions Involving More Than One City With An Eligible Gross
Receipts Tax
1.1.8. : Assignment Of Gross Income Derived From Intangibles
1.1.9. : Allocation And Apportionment Of Income When Activities Take Place In More Than One
Jurisdiction
1.1.10. : Allocation And Apportionment Of Printing And Publishing Income When Activities Take
Place In More Than One Jurisdiction
1.1.11. : Exemptions
1.1.12. : Deductions
1.1.13. : Tax Credits
1.1.14. : Tax Part Of Overhead
1.1.15. : Administrative Provisions
1.1.16. : Severability Clause
1-1-1 EXERCISE OF REVENUE LICENSE POWER:
The provisions of this chapter shall be deemed an exercise of the power of the City to license for
revenue. The provisions of this chapter are subject to periodic statutory or administrative rule
changes or judicial interpretations of the ordinances or rules. The responsibility rests solely with
the licensee or taxpayer to reconfirm tax computation procedures and remain in compliance with
the City code.
1-1-2 ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
The administrative provisions contained in Chapter 1.2 ACC shall be fully applicable to the provisions
of this chapter except as expressly stated to the contrary herein.
1-1-3 DEFINITIONS:
In construing the provisions of this chapter, the following definitions shall be applied. Words in
the singular number shall include the plural, and the plural shall include the singular. In the
event that a word, term or phrase defined in this section shall conflict with a word, term or
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DRAFT COA B&O CODE – 2/8/21
2
phrase as defined in this title, this chapter shall control to the extent of the conflict.
A. “Agricultural product”, “farmer”
1. “Agricultural product” means any product of plant cultivation or animal husbandry including, but
not limited to: a product of horticulture, grain cultivation, vermiculture, viticulture, or aquaculture
as defined in RCW 15.85.020; plantation Christmas trees; turf; or any animal including but not
limited to an animal that is a private sector cultured aquatic product as defined in RCW
15.85.020, or a bird, or insect, or the substances obtained from such animal. “Agricultural
product” does not include animals intended to be pets.
2. “Farmer” means any person engaged in the business of growing or producing, upon the person’s
own lands in which the person has a present right of possession, any agricultural product
whatsoever for sale. “Farmer” does not include a person using such products as ingredients in
a manufacturing process, or a person growing or producing such products for the person’s own
consumption. “Farmer” does not include a person selling any animal or substance obtained
therefrom in connection with the person’s business of operating a stockyard or a slaughter or
packing house. “Farmer” does not include any person in respect to the business of taking,
cultivating, or raising timber.
B. “Artistic or cultural organization,” as used in this chapter means the following:
1. The organization is organized and operated exclusively for the purpose of providing
artistic or cultural exhibitions, presentations, or performances or cultural or art education
programs, as defined in subsection 10 of this section, for viewing or attendance by the
general public.
2. The organization must be a not-for-profit corporation under RCW Chapter 2 4.03.
3. The organization must be managed by a governing board of not less than eight (8)
individuals none of whom is a paid employee of the organization or by a corporation under
RCW Chapter 24.12.
4. No part of its income may be paid directly or indirectly to its members, stockholders,
officers, directors, or trustees except in the form of services rendered by the corporation in
accordance with its purposes and bylaws.
5. Salary or compensation paid to its officers and executives must be only for actual
services rendered, and at levels comparable to the salary or compensation of like positions
within the state.
6. Assets of the corporation must be irrevocably dedicated to the activities for which the
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DRAFT COA B&O CODE – 2/8/21
3
exemption is granted and, on the liquidation, dissolution, or abandonment by the corporation,
may not inure directly or indirectly to the benefit of any member or individual except a non-
profit organization, association, or corporation which also would be entitled to the exemption.
7. The corporation must be duly licensed or certified when licensing or certification is required
by law or regulation.
8. The amounts received that qualify for exemption must be used for the activities for which
the exemption is granted.
9. Services must be available regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion,
age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, or the presence of any mental or physical
disability.
10. The term “artistic or cultural exhibitions, presentations, or performances or cultural or
art education programs” is limited to:
a. An exhibition or presentation of works of art or objects of cultural or historical
significance, such as those commonly displayed in art or history museums;
b. A musical or dramatic performance or series of performances; or
c. An educational seminar or program, or series of such programs, offered by the
organization to the general public on an artistic, cultural, or historical subject.
C. “Business” includes all activities engaged in with the purpose of gain, benefit, or advantage to
the taxpayer or to another person or class, directly or indirectly.
D. “Business and occupation tax” or “gross receipts tax” means a tax imposed on or measured
by the value of products, the gross income of the business, or the gross proceeds of sales, as
the case may be, and that is the legal liability of the business.
E. “Commercial or industrial use” means the following uses of products, including by-
products, by the extractor or manufacturer of the products:
1. Any use as a consumer; and
2. The manufacturing of products including articles, substances or commodities.
F. “Delivery” means the transfer of possession of tangible personal property between the seller
and the buyer or the buyer’s representative. Delivery to an employee of a buyer is considered
delivery to the buyer. Transfer of possession of tangible personal property occurs when the buyer
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DRAFT COA B&O CODE – 2/8/21
4
or the buyer’s representative first takes physical control of the property or exercises dominion and
control over the property. Dominion and control means the buyer has the ability to possess, use,
convey or dispose the property as the buyer chooses. It means the buyer or the buyer’s
representative has made the final decision to accept or reject the property, and the seller has no
further right to possession of the property and the buyer has no right to return the property to the
seller, other than under a warranty contract. A buyer does not exercise dominion and control over
tangible personal property merely by arranging for shipment of the property from the seller to itself.
A buyer’s representative is a person, other than an employee of the buyer, who has the buyer’s
written authorization to receive tangible personal property and take dominion and control by
making the final decision to accept or reject the property. Neither a shipping company nor a seller
can serve as a buyer’s representative. It is immaterial where the contract of sale is negotiated or
where the buyer obtains title to the property. Delivery terms and other provisions of the Uniform
Commercial Code (RCW Title 6 2A) do not determine when or where delivery of tangible personal
property occurs for purposes of taxation.
G. “Digital automated service”, “digital code” and “digital goods” have the same meaning as in
RCW 82.04.192, Digital products definition.
H. “Director” means the finance director of the city or any officer, agent or employee of the city
designated to act on the director’s behalf.
I. “Digital automated service,” “digital code,” and “digital goods” have the same meaning as
in RCW 8 2.04.192, Digital products definitions.
J. “Digital products” means digital goods, digital codes, digital automated services, and the
services described in RCW 8 2.04.050(2)(g) and (6)(b), “Sale at retail,” “retail sale.”
K. Eligible gross receipts tax:
The term “eligible gross receipts tax” means a tax which:
1. Is imposed on the act or privilege of engaging in business activities within section ACC 1-1-
5; and
2. Is measured by the gross volume of business, in terms of gross receipts and is not an
income tax or value-added tax (VAT); and
3. Is not, pursuant to law or custom, separately stated from the sales price; and
4. Is not a sales or use tax, business license fee, franchise fee, royalty or severance tax
measured by volume or weight, or concession charge, or payment for the use and
enjoyment of property, property right or a privilege; and
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5
5. Is a tax imposed by a local jurisdiction, whether within or without the State of
Washington, and not by a country, state, province, or any other non-local jurisdiction
above the county level.
L. Engaging in business:
1. The term “engaging in business” means commencing, conducting, or continuing in
business, and also the exercise of corporate or franchise powers, as well as liquidating a
business when the liquidators hold themselves out to the public as conducting such
business.
2. This section sets forth examples of activities that constitute engaging in business in the
City, and establishes safe harbors for certain activities so that a person who meets the criteria
may engage in de minimis business activities in the City without having to register and obtain
a business license or pay City business and occupation taxes. The activities listed in this
section are illustrative only and are not intended to narrow the definition of “engaging in
business” in subsection 1. If an activity is not listed, whether it constitutes engaging in
business in the City shall be determined by considering all the facts and circumstances and
applicable law.
3. Without being all-inclusive, any one of the following activities conducted within the
City by a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor, broker
or another person acting on its behalf constitutes engaging in business and requires a
person to register and obtain a business license:
a. Owning, renting, leasing, maintaining, or having the right to use, or using, tangible
personal property, intangible personal property, or real property permanently or
temporarily located in the City.
b. Owning, renting, leasing, using, or maintaining, an office, place of business, or other
establishment in the City.
c. Soliciting sales.
d. Making repairs or providing maintenance or service to real or tangible personal
property, including warranty work and property maintenance.
e. Providing technical assistance or service, including quality control, product
inspections, warranty work, or similar services on or in connection with tangible
personal property sold by the person or on its behalf.
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6
f. Installing, constructing, or supervising installation or construction of, real or tangible
personal property.
g. Soliciting, negotiating, or approving franchise, license, or other similar agreements.
h. Collecting current or delinquent accounts.
i. Picking up and transporting tangible personal property, solid waste, construction debris,
or excavated materials.
j. Providing disinfecting and pest control services, employment and labor pool
services, home nursing care, janitorial services, appraising, landscape architectural
services, security system services, surveying, and real estate services including the
listing of homes and managing real property.
k. Rendering professional services such as those provided by accountants,
architects, attorneys, auctioneers, consultants, engineers, professional athletes,
barbers, baseball clubs and other sports organizations, chemists, consultants,
psychologists, court reporters, dentists, doctors, detectives, laboratory operators,
teachers, veterinarians.
l. Meeting with customers or potential customers, even when no sales or orders are
solicited at the meetings.
m. Training or recruiting agents, representatives, independent contractors, brokers
or others, domiciled or operating on a job in the City, acting on its behalf, or for
customers or potential customers.
n. Investigating, resolving, or otherwise assisting in resolving customer complaints.
o. In-store stocking or manipulating products or goods, sold to and owned by a
customer, regardless of where sale and delivery of the goods took place.
p. Delivering goods in vehicles owned, rented, leased, used, or maintained by the
person or another person acting on its behalf.
4. If a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor, broker or
another person acting on the person’s behalf, engages in no other activities in or with the
City but the following, it need not register and obtain a business license and pay tax:
a. Meeting with suppliers of goods and services as a customer.
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b. Meeting with government representatives in their official capacity, other than those
performing contracting or purchasing functions.
c. Attending meetings, such as board meetings, retreats, seminars, and conferences, or
other meetings wherein the person does not provide training in connection with tangible
personal property sold by the person or on its behalf. This provision does not apply to
any board of director member or attendee engaging in business such as a member of a
board of directors who attends a board meeting.
d. Renting tangible or intangible property as a customer when the property is not used in
the City.
e. Attending, but not participating in a “trade show” or “multiple vendor events”.
Persons participating at a trade show shall review ACC Chapter 2.23 Special Event
Permits.
f. Conducting advertising through the mail.
g. Soliciting sales by phone from a location outside the City.
5. A seller located outside the City merely delivering goods into the City by means of
common carrier is not required to register and obtain a business license, provided that it
engages in no other business activities in the City. Such activities do not include those in
subsection 4.
6. The City expressly intends that engaging in business includes any activity sufficient to
establish nexus for purposes of applying the tax under the law and the constitutions of the
United States and the State of Washington. Nexus is presumed to continue as long as the
taxpayer benefits from the activity that constituted the original nexus generating contact or
subsequent contacts.
M. “Extracting” is the activity engaged in by an extractor and is reportable under the extracting
classification.
N. “Extractor” means every person who from that person’s land or from the land of another under
a right or license granted by lease or contract, either directly or by contracting with others for the
necessary labor or mechanical services, for sale or for commercial or industrial use, mines,
quarries, takes or produces coal, oil, natural gas, ore, stone, sand, gravel, clay, mineral or other
natural resource product; or fells, cuts or takes timber, Christmas trees, other than plantation
Christmas trees, or other natural products; or takes fish, shellfish, or other sea or inland water
foods or products. “Extractor” does not include persons performing under contract the necessary
labor or mechanical services for others; or persons meeting the definition of farmer.
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O. “Extractor for hire” means a person who performs under contract necessary labor or
mechanical services for an extractor.
P. “Gross income of the business” means the value proceeding or accruing by reason of the
transaction of the business engaged in and includes gross proceeds of sales, compensation for
the rendition of services, gains realized from trading in stocks, bonds, or other evidences of
indebtedness, interest, discount, rents, royalties, fees, commissions, dividends, and other
emoluments however designated, all without any deduction on account of the cost of tangible
property sold, the cost of materials used, labor costs, interest, discount, delivery costs, taxes, or
any other expense whatsoever paid or accrued and without any deduction on account of losses.
Q. “Gross proceeds of sales” means the value proceeding or accruing from the sale of tangible
personal property, digital goods, digital codes, digital automated services or for other services
rendered, without any deduction on account of the cost of property sold, the cost of materials
used, labor costs, interest, discount paid, delivery costs, taxes, or any other expense paid or
accrued and without any deduction on account of losses.
R. “Inflation Adjustment” shall be an amount equal to the amount and direction of change
determined by the Settle-Tacoma- Bremerton Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) for each twelve (12)-month period ending on August 31st as
published by the United States Department of Labor. To calculate this adjustment, the current rate
will be multiplied by one (1) plus or minus, as the case may be, the annual change in the CPI-W.
S. “Manufacturing” means the activity conducted by a manufacturer and is reported under the
manufacturing classification.
T. Manufacture, to manufacture:
1. “Manufacturer” means every person who, either directly or by contracting with others
for the necessary labor or mechanical services, manufactures for sale or for commercial or
industrial use from the person’s own materials or ingredients any products. When the
owner of equipment or facilities furnishes, or sells to the customer prior to manufacture,
materials or ingredients equal to less than twenty percent (20%) of the total value of all
materials or ingredients that become a part of the finished product, the owner of the
equipment or facilities will be deemed to be a processor for hire, and not a manufacturer. A
business not located in this City that is the owner of materials or ingredients processed for
it in this City by a processor for hire shall be deemed to be engaged in business as a
manufacturer in this City.
2. “To manufacture” means all activities of a commercial or industrial nature requiring the
use of labor or skill, by hand or machinery, to materials or ingredients resulting in a new,
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different or useful product for sale or commercial or industrial use, and shall include:
a. The production of special made or custom made articles;
b. The production of dental appliances, devices, restorations, substitutes, or other dental
laboratory products by a dental laboratory or dental technician;
c. Crushing and/or blending of rock, sand, stone, gravel, or ore; and
d. The producing of articles for sale, or for commercial or industrial use from raw
materials or prepared materials by giving such materials, articles, and substances of
trade or commerce new forms, qualities, properties or combinations including, but not
limited to, such activities as making, fabricating, processing, refining, mixing,
slaughtering, packing, aging, curing, mild curing, preserving, canning, and the preparing
and freezing of fresh fruits and vegetables.
“To manufacture” shall not include the production of digital goods or the production of
computer software if the computer software is delivered from the seller to the purchaser by
means other than tangible storage media, including the delivery by use of a tangible storage
media where the tangible storage media is not physically transferred to the purchaser.
U. “Non-profit organization” means a corporation or organization in which no part of the income
can be distributed to its members, directors, or officers and that holds a current tax exempt status
as provided under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 501(c), or is specifically exempted from the
requirement to apply for tax exempt status under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 501(c). Where the
term “non-profit organization” is used, it is meant to include a non-profit corporation.
V. “Office” or “place of business” means a fixed location or permanent facility where the regular
business of the person is conducted and which is either owned by the person or over which the person
exercises legal dominion and control. The regular business of the person is presumed conducted at
a location:
1. Whose address the person uses as its business mailing address;
2. Where the place of primary use is shown on a telephone billing of a location containing a
telephone line listed in public telephone directory or other similar publication under the business
name;
3. Where the person holds itself out to the general public as conducting its regular business
through signage or other means; and
4. Where the person is required to obtain any appropriate state and local business license or
registration unless they are exempted by law from such requirement.
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A vehicle such as a pick-up, van, truck, boat, or other motor vehicle is not an office or place of
business. A post office box is not an office or place of business.
If a person has on office or place of business, the person’s home is not an office or place of
business unless it meets the criteria for office or place of business above. If a person has no
office or place of business, the person’s home or apartment within the city will be deemed the
place of business.
W. “Person” means any individual, receiver, administrator, executor, assignee, trustee in
bankruptcy, trust, estate, firm, co- partnership, joint venture, club, company, joint stock company,
business trust, municipal corporation, political subdivision of the State of Washington,
corporation, limited liability company, association, society, or any group of individuals acting as a
unit, whether mutual, cooperative, fraternal, non-profit, or otherwise and the United States of
America or any of its instrumentalities.
X. “Product” means tangible personal property, including articles, substances, or commodities
created, brought forth, extracted, or manufactured by human or mechanical effort. “Byproduct”
means any additional product, other than the principal or intended product, which results from
extracting or manufacturing activities and which has a market value without regard to whether or
no such additional product was an expected or intended result of the extracting or manufacturing
activities.
Y. “Processor for hire” means the performance of labor and mechanical services upon materials
or ingredients belonging to others so that as a result a new, different or useful product is produced
for sale, or commercial or industrial use. A processor for hire is any person who would be a
manufacturer if that person were performing the labor and mechanical services upon that person’s
own materials or ingredients. If a person furnishes, or sells to the customer prior to manufacture,
materials or ingredients equal to twenty percent (20%) or more of the total value of all materials or
ingredients that become part of the finished product the person will be deemed the manufacturer
and not a processor for hire.
Z. “Retailing” means the activity of engaging in making sales at retail and is reported under the
retailing classification.
AA. “Retail service” shall include the sale of or charge made for personal, business, or
professional services including amounts designated as interest, rents, fees, admission, and
other service emoluments however designated, received by persons engaging in the following
business activities:
1. Amusement and recreation services including but not limited to golf, pool, billiards,
skating, bowling, swimming, bungee jumping, ski lifts and tows, basketball, racquet ball,
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handball, squash, tennis, batting cages, day trips for sightseeing purposes, and others, when
provided to consumers. “Amusement and recreation services” also include the provision of
related facilities such as basketball courts, tennis courts, handball courts, swimming pools,
and charges made for providing the opportunity to dance. The term “amusement and
recreation services” does not include instructional lessons to learn a particular activity such
as tennis lessons, swimming lessons, or archery lessons.
2. Abstract, title insurance, and escrow services;
3. Credit bureau services;
4. Automobile parking and storage garage services;
5. Landscape maintenance and horticultural services but excluding (a) horticultural services
provided to farmers and (b) pruning, trimming, repairing, removing, and clearing of trees and
brush near electric transmission or distribution lines or equipment, if performed by or at the
direction of an electric utility;
6. Service charges associated with tickets to professional sporting events; and
7. The following personal services: Physical fitness services, tanning salon services, tattoo
parlor services, steam bath services, Turkish bath services, escort services, and dating
services.
8. The term shall also include the renting or leasing of tangible personal property to
consumers and the rental of equipment with an operator.
BB. Sale, casual or isolated sale:
1. “Sale” means any transfer of the ownership of, title to, right to control, or possession of,
property for a valuable consideration and includes any activity classified as a “sale at retail,”
“retail sale,” or “retail service.” It includes renting or leasing, conditional sale contracts, leases
with option to purchase, and any contract under which possession of the property is given to
the purchaser but title is retained by the vendor as security for the payment of the purchase
price. It also includes the furnishing of food, drink, or meals for compensation whether
consumed upon the premises or not.
2. “Casual or isolated sale” means a sale made by a person who is not engaged in the
business of selling the type of property involved on a routine or continuous basis.
CC. Sale at retail, retail sale:
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1. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” means every sale of tangible personal property (including
articles produced, fabricated, or imprinted) to all persons irrespective of the nature of their
business and including but not limited to, persons who install, repair, clean, alter, improve,
construct, or decorate real or personal property of or for consumers, other than a sale to a
person who presents a resale certificate under RCW 8 2.04.470, and who:
a. Purchases for the purpose of resale as tangible personal property in the regular
course of business without intervening use by such person; or
b. Installs, repairs, cleans, alters, imprints, improves, constructs, or decorates real or
personal property of or for consumers, if such tangible personal property becomes an
ingredient or component of such real or personal property without intervening use by
such person; or
c. Purchases for the purpose of consuming the property purchased in producing for sale
a new article of tangible personal property or substance, of which such property becomes
an ingredient or component or is a chemical used in processing, when the primary
purpose of such chemical is to create a chemical reaction directly through contact with an
ingredient of a new article being produced for sale; or
d. Purchases for the purpose of consuming the property purchased in producing
ferrosilicon which is subsequently used in producing magnesium for sale, if the
primary purpose of such property is to create a chemical reaction directly through
contact with an ingredient of ferrosilicon; or
e. Purchases for the purpose of providing the property to consumers as part of
competitive telephone service, as defined in RCW 8 2.04.065. The term shall include
every sale of tangible personal property which is used or consumed or to be used or
consumed in the performance of any activity classified as a “sale at retail” or “retail sale”
even though such property is resold or utilized as provided in a through e of this
subsection following such use.
f. Purchases for the purpose of satisfying the person’s obligations under an extended
warranty as defined in subsection 7 of this section, if such tangible personal property
replaces or becomes an ingredient or component of property covered by the extended
warranty without intervening use by such person.
2. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” also means every sale of tangible personal property to
persons engaged in any business activity which is taxable under this chapter.
3. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” shall include the sale of or charge made for tangible
personal property consumed and/or for labor and services rendered in respect to the
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following:
a. The installing, repairing, cleaning, altering, imprinting, or improving of tangible
personal property of or for consumers, including charges made for the mere use of
facilities, but excluding charges made for the use of coin- operated laundry facilities when
such facilities are situated in and for the exclusive use of tenants of an apartment house,
rooming house, or mobile home park, and also excluding sales of laundry service to
nonprofit health care facilities, and excluding services rendered in respect to live
animals, birds and insects;
b. The constructing, repairing, decorating, or improving of new or existing buildings or
other structures under, upon, or above real property of or for consumers, including the
installing or attaching of any tangible personal property, whether or not such personal
property becomes a part of the realty by virtue of installation, and shall also include the
sale of services or charges made for the clearing of land and the moving of earth
excepting the mere leveling of land used in commercial farming or agriculture;
c. The charge for labor and services rendered in respect to constructing, repairing, or
improving any structure upon, above, or under any real property owned by an owner who
conveys the property by title, possession, or any other means to the person performing
such construction, repair, or improvement for the purpose of performing such
construction, repair, or improvement and the property is then reconveyed by title,
possession, or any other means to the original owner;
d. The sale of or charge made for labor and services rendered in respect to the
cleaning, fumigating, razing or moving of existing buildings or structures, but shall not
include the charge made for janitorial services; and for purposes of this section the term
“janitorial services” shall mean those cleaning and caretaking services ordinarily
performed by commercial janitor service businesses including, but not limited to, wall
and window washing, floor cleaning and waxing, and the cleaning in place of rugs,
drapes and upholstery. The term “janitorial services” does not include painting, papering,
repairing, furnace or septic tank cleaning, snow removal or sandblasting;
e. The sale of or charge made for labor and services rendered in respect to
automobile towing and similar automotive transportation services, but not in respect
to those required to report and pay taxes under RCW Chapter 8 2.16, Public Utility
Tax;
f. The sale of and charge made for the furnishing of lodging and all other services,
except telephone business and cable service, by a hotel, rooming house, tourist court,
motel, trailer camp, and the granting of any similar license to use real property, as
distinguished from the renting or leasing of real property, and it shall be presumed that the
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occupancy of real property for a continuous period of one (1) month or more constitutes a
rental or lease of real property and not a mere license to use or enjoy the same. For the
purposes of this subsection, it shall be presumed that the sale of and charge made for the
furnishing of lodging for a continuous period of one (1) month or more to a person is a
rental or lease of real property and not a mere license to enjoy the same;
g. The installing, repairing, altering, or improving of digital goods for consumers;
h. The sale of or charge made for tangible personal property, labor and services to
persons taxable under a through g of this subsection when such sales or charges are
for property, labor and services which are used or consumed in whole or in part by such
persons in the performance of any activity defined as a “sale at retail” or “retail sale”
even though such property, labor and services may be resold after such use or
consumption. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed to modify
subsection 1 of this section and nothing contained in subsection 1 of this section shall
be construed to modify this subsection.
4. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” shall also include the providing of competitive telephone
service to consumers.
5. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale”:
a. shall also include the sale of prewritten software other than a sale to a person who
presents a resale certificate under RCW 8 2.04.470, regardless of the method of delivery
to the end user. For purposes of this subsection 5.a the sale of prewritten computer
software includes the sale of or charge made for a key or an enabling or activation code,
where the key or code is required to activate prewritten computer software and use the
software. There is no separate sale of the key or code from the prewritten computer
software, regardless of how the sale may characterized by the vendor or by the
purchaser.
The term “sale at retail” or “retail sale” does not include the sale of or charge made for:
i. Custom software; or
ii. The customization of prewritten software.
b. i. The term also includes the charge made to consumers for the right to access and
use prewritten computer software, where possession of the software is maintained by the
seller or a third-party, regardless of whether the charge for the service is on a per use,
per user, per license, subscription, or some other basis.
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ii. (a) The service described in b.i of this subsection 5 includes the right to access
and use prewritten software to perform data processing.
(b) For purposes of this subsection b.ii “data processing” means the systematic
performance of operations on data to extract the required information in an
appropriate form or to convert the data to usable information. Data processing
includes check processing, image processing, form processing, survey
processing, payroll processing, claim processing, and similar activities.
6. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” shall also include the sale of or charge made for labor and
services rendered in respect to the building, repairing, or improving of any street, place, road,
highway, easement, right of way, mass public transportation terminal or parking facility,
bridge, tunnel, or trestle which is owned by a municipal corporation or political subdivision of
the state, the State of Washington, or the United States of America and which is used or to
be used primarily for foot or vehicular traffic including mass transportation vehicles of any
kind (public road construction).
7. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” shall also include the sale of or charge made for an extended
warranty to a consumer. For purposes of this subsection, “extended warranty” means an
agreement for a specified duration to perform the replacement or repair of tangible personal
property at no additional charge or a reduced charge for tangible personal property, labor, or
both, or to provide indemnification for the replacement or repair of tangible personal property,
based on the occurrence of specified events. The term “extended warranty” does not include
an agreement, otherwise meeting the definition of extended warranty in this subsection, if no
separate charge is made for the agreement and the value of the agreement is included in the
sales price of the tangible personal property covered by the agreement.
8. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” shall also include the sale of or charge made for labor and
services rendered in respect to the constructing, repairing, decorating, or improving of new or
existing buildings or other structures under, upon, or above real property of or for the United
States, any instrumentality thereof, or a county or city housing authority created pursuant to
RCW Chapter 3 5.82, including the installing, or attaching of any article of tangible personal
property, whether or not such personal property becomes a part of the real property by virtue
of installation (government contracting).
9. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” shall not include the sale of services or charges made for the
clearing of land and the moving of earth of or for the United States of America, or any of its
instrumentality, or a county or city housing authority. The term does not include the sale of
services or charges made for cleaning up for the United States of America, or any of its
instrumentalities, radioactive waste and other byproducts of weapons production and nuclear
research and development. (This should be reported under the service and other classification
as defined under ACC Chapter 1-1-5.A.7.)
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10. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” shall not include the sale of or charge made for labor and
services rendered for environmental remedial action. (This should be reported under the
service and other classification as defined under ACC Chapter 1-1-5.A.7.)
11. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” shall also include the following sales to consumers of
digital goods, digital codes, and digital automated services:
a. Sales in which the seller has granted the purchaser the right of permanent use;
b. Sales in which the seller has granted the purchaser a right of use that is less than
permanent;
c. Sales in which the purchaser is not obligated to make continued payment as a condition
of the sale; and
d. Sales in which the purchaser is obligated to make continued payment as a condition of
the sale.
A retail sale of digital goods, digital codes, or digital automated services under this
subsection Y.11 includes any services provided by the seller exclusively in connection
with the digital goods, digital codes, or digital automated services, whether or not a
separate charge is made for such services.
For purposes of this subsection, “permanent” means perpetual or for an indefinite or
unspecified length of time. A right of permanent use is presumed to have been granted
unless the agreement between the seller and the purchaser specifies or the circumstances
surrounding the transaction suggest or indicate that the right to use terminates on the
occurrence of a condition subsequent.
12. “Sale at retail” or “retail sale” shall also include the installing, repairing, altering, or
improving of digital goods for consumers.
DD. “Sale at wholesale” or “wholesale sale” means any sale of tangible personal property, digital
goods, digital codes, digital automated services, prewritten computer software, or services
described in subsection Y.5.b.i, “Sale at retail”, which is not a retail sale, and any charge made for
labor and services rendered for persons who are not consumers, in respect to real or personal
property and retail services, if such charge is expressly defined as a retail sale or retail service when
rendered to or for consumers. Sale at wholesale also includes the sale of telephone business to
another telecommunications company as defined in RCW 8 0.04.010 for the purpose of resale, as
contemplated by RCW 35.21.715.
EE. “Service” means any sale or charge made for personal, business or professional service,
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including amounts designated as rents, fees, or admissions, not otherwise included within any other
tax classification defined herein; provided that, the term “service” excludes retail or wholesale
services.
FF. Software, prewritten software, custom software, customization of canned software, master
copies, retained rights
1. Prewritten software or canned software means computer software, including prewritten
upgrades, that is not designed and developed by the author or other creator to the specifications of
a specific purchaser. The combining of two or more prewritten computer software programs or
prewritten portions thereof does not cause the combination to be other than prewritten computer
software. Prewritten computer software includes software designed and developed by the author or
other creator to the specifications of a specific purchaser when it is sold to a person other than such
purchaser. Where a person modifies or enhances computer software of which such person is not
the author or creator, the person shall be deemed to be the author or creator only of the person’s
modifications or enhancements. Prewritten computer software or a prewritten portion thereof that is
modified or enhanced to any degree, where such modification or enhancement is designed and
developed to the specifications of a specific purchaser, remains prewritten computer software;
however, where there is a reasonable, separately stated charge or an invoice or other statement of
the price given to the purchaser for the modification or enhancement, the modification or
enhancement shall not constitute prewritten computer software.
2. Custom software means software created for a single person.
3. Customization of canned software means any alteration, modification, or development of
applications using or incorporating canned software to specific individualized requirements of a
single person. Customization of canned software includes individualized configuration of software to
work with other software and computer hardware but does not include routine installation.
Customization of canned software does not change the underlying character or taxability of the
original canned software.
4. Master copies of software means copies of software from which a software developer, author,
inventor, publisher, licensor, sublicensor, or distributor makes copies for sale or license. The
software encoded on a master copy and the media upon which the software resides are both
ingredients of the master copy.
5. Retained rights means any and all rights, including intellectual property rights such as those
rights arising from copyrights, patents, and trade secret laws, that are owned or are held under
contract or license by a software developer, author, inventor, publisher, licensor, sublicensor, or
distributor.
6. Software means any information, program, or routine, or any set of one or more programs,
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routines, or collections of information, used, or intended for use, to convey information that causes
one or more computers or pieces of computer-related peripheral equipment, or any combination
thereof, to perform a task or set of tasks. “Software” includes the associated documentation,
materials, or ingredients, regardless of the media upon which that documentation is provided, that
describe the code and its use, operation, and maintenance and that typically are delivered with the
code to the consumer. All software is classified as either canned or custom.
GG. “Taxpayer” means any “person”, as defined in subsection T, required to have a business
license under this chapter or liable for the collection of any tax or fee under this chapter, or who
engages in any business or who performs any act for which a tax or fee is imposed by this chapter.
HH. “Tuition” includes library, laboratory, health service, and other special fees, and amounts charged
for room and board by an educational institution when the property or service for which such charges are
made is furnished exclusively to the students or faculty of such institution. Educational institution, as
used in this section, means only those institutions created or generally accredited as such by the state
and includes educational programs that such educational institution cosponsors with a nonprofit
organization, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), as hereafter amended, if such
educational institution grants college credit for coursework successfully completed through the
educational program, or an approved branch campus of a foreign degree-granting institution in
compliance with Chapter 28B.90 RCW, and in accordance with RCW 82.04.4332 or defined as a
degree-granting institution under RCW 28B.85.010(3) and accredited by an accrediting association
recognized by the United States Secretary of Education, and offering to students an educational
program of a general academic nature or those institutions which are not operated for profit and which
are privately endowed under a deed of trust to offer instruction in trade, industry, and agriculture, but not
including specialty schools, business colleges, other trade schools, or similar institutions.
II. “Value proceeding or accruing” means the consideration, whether money, credits, rights, or other
property expressed in terms of money, a person is entitled to receive or which is actually received or
accrued. The term shall be applied, in each case, on a cash receipts or accrual basis according to
which method of accounting is regularly employed in keeping the books of the taxpayer.
JJ. Value of products:
1. The value of products, including by-products, extracted or manufactured, shall be
determined by the gross proceeds derived from the sale of those products, whether such sale
is at wholesale or at retail, to which shall be added all subsidies and bonuses received from
the purchaser or from any other person with respect to the extraction, manufacture, or sale of
such products or by-products by the seller.
2. Where such products, including by-products, are extracted or manufactured for
commercial or industrial use; and where such products, including by-products, are shipped,
transported or transferred out of the City, or to another person, without prior sale or are sold
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under circumstances such that the gross proceeds from the sale are not indicative of the true
value of the subject matter of the sale; the value shall correspond as nearly as possible to the
gross proceeds from sales in this state of similar products of like quality and character, and in
similar quantities by other taxpayers, plus the amount of subsidies or bonuses ordinarily
payable by the purchaser or by any third person with respect to the extraction, manufacture,
or sale of such products. In the absence of sales of similar products as a guide to value, such
value may be determined upon a cost basis. In such cases, there shall be included every
item of cost attributable to the particular article or article extracted or manufactured, including
direct and indirect overhead costs. The Administrator may prescribe rules for the purpose of
ascertaining such values.
3. Notwithstanding subsection 2 above, the value of a product manufactured or produced for
purposes of serving as a prototype for the development of a new or improved product shall
correspond to (a) the retail selling price of such new or improved product when first offered
for sale; or (b) the value of materials incorporated into the prototype in cases in which the
new or improved product is not offered for sale.
EE. “Wholesaling” means engaging in the activity of making sales at wholesale, and is reported
under the wholesaling classification.
1-1-4 AGENCY – SALES AND SERVICES BY AGENT, CONSIGNEE, BAILEE, FACTOR OR
AUCTIONEER:
A. Sales in Own Name – Sales or Purchases as Agent: Consistent with RCW 8 2.04.480, every
person, including agents, consignees, bailees, factors or auctioneers having either actual or
constructive possession of tangible personal property or having possession of the documents of
title, with power to sell such tangible personal property in the person’s own name and actually so
selling, shall be deemed the seller of such tangible personal property within the meaning of this
chapter. Furthermore, the consignor, bailor, principal, or owner is deemed a seller of such property
to the consignee, bailee, factor, or auctioneer.
The burden shall be solely upon the taxpayer in every case to establish the fact that such
taxpayer is not engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property but is acting merely
as broker or agent in promoting sales or making purchases for a principal. Such claim will be
recognized only when the contract or agreement between such persons clearly establishes the
relationship of principal and agent and when the following conditions are complied with:
1. The books and records of the broker or agent show the transactions were made in the
name and for the account of the principal, and show the name of the actual owner of the
property for whom the sale was made, or the actual buyer for whom the purchase was made.
2. The books and records show the amount of the principal’s gross sales, the amount of
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commissions and any other incidental income derived by the broker or agent from such
sales. The principal’s gross sales must not be reflected as the agent’s income on any of the
agent’s books and records. Commissions must be computed according to a set percentage
or amount, which is agreed upon in the agency agreement.
3. No ownership rights may be conferred to the agent unless the principal refuses to pay, or
refuses to abide by the agency agreement. Sales or purchases of any goods by a person who
has any ownership rights in such goods shall be taxed as retail or wholesale sales.
4. Bulk goods sold or purchased on behalf of a principal must not be commingled with goods
belonging to another principal or lose their identity as belonging to the particular principal.
Sales or purchases of any goods which have been commingled or lost their identity as
belonging to the principal shall be taxed as retail or wholesale sales.
B. If the above requirements are not met the consignor, bailor, principal or other shall be
deemed a seller of such property to the agent, consignee, bailee, factor or auctioneer.
C. Services in Own Name – Procuring Services as Agent: For purposes of this subsection, an
agent is a person who acts under the direction and control of the principal in procuring services
on behalf of the principal that the person could not itself render or supply. Amounts received by
an agent for the account of its principal as advances or reimbursements are exempted from the
measure of the tax only when the agent is not primarily or secondarily liable to pay for the
services procured.
Any person who claims to be acting merely as agent in obtaining services for a principal will have
such claim recognized only when the contract or agreement between such persons clearly
establishes the relationship of principal and agent and when the following conditions are
complied with:
1. The books and records of the agent show that the services were obtained in the name
and for the account of the principal, and show the actual principal for whom the purchase
was made.
2. The books and records show the amount of the service that was obtained for the
principal, the amount of commissions and any other income derived by the agent for acting
as such. Amounts received from the principal as advances and reimbursements must not
be reflected as the agent’s income on any of the agent’s books and records. Commissions
must be computed according to a set percentage or amount, which is agreed upon in the
agency agreement.
D. A consignee, bailee, factor, agent or auctioneer, as used in this section, refers to one who
has either actual or constructive possession of tangible personal property, the actual ownership of
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such property being in another, or one calling for bids on such property. The term “constructive
possession” means possession of the power to pass title to tangible personal property of others.
1-1-5 IMPOSITION OF THE TAX – TAX OR FEE LEVIED; BUSINESS LICENSE FEE
EXEMPTION:
Except as provided in ACC 1-1-5.C (Tax Thresholds) and 1-1-5.D (Amounts in Excess of Cap),
effective January 1, 2022 at 12:01 a.m. there is levied upon and shall be collected from every
person a tax for the act or privilege of engaging in business activities in the City of Auburn,
whether the person’s office or place of business be within or without the City. The tax shall be in
amounts to be determined by application of rates against gross proceeds of sale, gross income of
business, or value of products, including by-products, as the case may be, as follows:
A. Gross receipts tax
1. Upon every person engaging within the City in business as an extractor; as to such
persons, the amount of the tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the value of
the products, including by-products, extracted within the City for sale or for commercial or
industrial use, multiplied by the rate of .100 of one percent (.001). The measure of the tax is
the value of the products, including by-products, so extracted, regardless of the place of sale
or the fact that deliveries may be made to points outside the City.
2. Upon every person engaging within the City in business as a manufacturer; as to such
persons, the amount of the tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the value of
the products, including by-products, manufactured within the City, multiplied by the rate of
.100 of one percent (.001). The measure of the tax is the value of the products, including by-
products, so manufactured, regardless of the place of sale or the fact that deliveries may be
made to points outside the City.
3. Upon every person engaging within the City in the business of making sales at
wholesale; as to such persons, the amount of tax with respect to such business shall be
equal to the gross proceeds of such sales of the business without regard to the place of
delivery of articles, commodities or merchandise sold, multiplied by the rate of .180 of one
percent (.0018).
4. Upon every person engaging within the City in the business of making sales at retail; as
to such persons, the amount of tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the gross
proceeds of such sales of the business, without regard to the place of delivery of articles,
commodities or merchandise sold, multiplied by the rate of .050 of one percent (.00050).
5. Upon every person engaging within the City in the business of (a) printing, (b) both
printing and publishing newspapers, magazines, periodicals, books, music, and other printed
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items, (c) publishing newspapers, magazines and periodicals, (d) extracting for hire, and (e)
processing for hire; as to such persons, the amount of tax on such business shall be equal to
the gross income of the business multiplied by the rate of .100 of one percent (.001).
6. Upon every person engaging within the City in the business of sales of retail services; as
to such persons, the amount of tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the gross
proceeds of sales multiplied by the rate of .150 of one percent (.0015).
7. Upon every other person engaging within the City in any business activity other than or in
addition to those enumerated in the above subsections; as to such persons, the amount of tax
on account of such activities shall be equal to the gross income of the business multiplied by
the rate of .100 of one percent (.001). This subsection includes, among others, and without
limitation whether or not title to material used in the performance of such business passes to
another by accession, merger or other than by outright sale, persons engaged in the business
of developing, or producing custom software or of customizing canned software, producing
royalties or commissions, and persons engaged in the business of rendering any type of
service which does not constitute a sale at retail, a sale at wholesale, or a retail service.
B. Square footage tax
1. Upon every person who leases, owns, occupies, or otherwise maintains a an office, warehouse or
outdoor warehouse, or other place of business within the city for purposes of engaging in business
activities in the city there shall be a tax measured by the number of square feet of business
warehouse floor space or outdoor warehouse space. The amount of the tax shall be equal to
$0.10 for each quarterly period of a calendar year for each square foot of warehouse or outdoor
warehouse floor space , or other business floor space for each office, or other place of business
that is leased, owned, occupied, or otherwise maintained within the city during the reporting
period, calculated to the nearest square foot.
2. For purposes of this section, warehouse means a building or structure, or any part thereof, in which
goods, wares, merchandise, or commodities are received or stored, whether or not for
compensation, in furtherance of engaging in business.
3. For purposes of this section, outdoor warehouse means an area that is outdoors and is primarily
used for the transloading of goods, wares, merchandise, or commodities on property for purposes
of switching modes or vehicles of conveyance for the primary purpose of wholesaling, distributing,
or reorganizing goods, wares, merchandise, or commodities en route to final destinations of sale or
other transaction. Transloading generally involves the transfer of goods from one mode of
transportation to another en route to an ultimate destination and, for purposes of the square footage
tax, includes areas used for crossdocking, waylaying, temporary embarkment, and other similar
activities.
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4. For purposes of this section, other business floor space means the floor space of an office or place
of business, other than a business warehouse or outdoor warehouse.
5. For purposes of this section, the square footage of a business warehouse and other business floor
space shall be computed by measuring to the inside finish of permanent outer building walls and
shall include space used by columns and projections necessary to the building. Square footage
shall not include stairs, elevator shafts, flues, pipe shafts, vertical ducts, heating or ventilation
shafts, janitor closets, and electrical or utility closets.
6. For purposes of this section, the square footage of an outdoor warehouse shall only include those
areas used for the receipt or storage of goods, wares, merchandise, or commodities that are being
received and temporarily stored for transloading, whether or not for compensation, in furtherance of
engaging in business. Such areas will typically include those areas where goods, wares,
merchandise, and commodities, in transit to their ultimate destination, are parked, packaged, or
stored after transloading, waylaying, or crossdocking. Square footage shall not include areas used
only for employee, customer, or visitor parking, dock high loading areas used primarily for a
business warehouse, buildings, areas used only for direct sales or rentals to consumers,
landscaped areas, stormwater facilities, maneuvering areas and drive aisles, areas used only for
garbage or recycling pickup, rights-of-way, or other areas clearly not used for the temporary storage
of goods, wares, merchandise, and commodities in transit. Outdoor areas used for storage of
agricultural products or for ancillary storage of materials utilized in, or products resulting from, onsite
manufacturing operations are not considered outdoor warehouses.
7. Persons with more than one office, business warehouse or outdoor warehouse or other place of
business within the city must include all business warehouse floor space and outdoor warehouse
space, and other business floor space for all locations within the city. When a person rents space to
another person, the person occupying the rental space is responsible for the square footage
business tax on that rental space only if the renter has exclusive right of possession in the space as
against the landlord. Space rented for the storage of goods in a warehouse or outdoor warehouse
where no walls or other barriers separate the goods, and where the exclusive right of possession in
the space is not held by the person to whom the space is rented, shall be included in the business
warehouse floor space of the person that operates the business warehouse, and not by the person
renting the warehouse space.
8. If the square footage tax imposed in this subsection (B) is less than or equal to the gross receipts
tax imposed in subsection (A) of this section, no square footage tax will be due; if the square
footage tax imposed in this subsection (B) exceeds the gross receipts tax imposed in subsection (A)
of this section, the taxpayer shall also remit the excess over the gross receipts tax payable under
subsection (A) of this section.
C. Gross receipt and square footage tax thresholds
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1. Gross receipts threshold: This chapter shall not apply to any person engaging in any one (1) or
more business activities which are otherwise taxable pursuant to ACC 1-1-5 .A, whose value of
products, including by-products, gross proceeds of sales, and gross income of the business,
less any deductions, as the case may be, from all activities conducted during any calendar
year, is less than or equal to the threshold amount of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).
2. Square footage threshold: The square footage tax imposed in subsection (B) of this section shall
not apply to any person unless that person’s total area of business space within the city exceeds
one of the following thresholds:
a. Four thousand taxable square feet of business warehouse space; or
b. Two hundred sixty-one thousand three hundred sixty taxable square feet (six acres) of outdoor
warehouse space;
If the square footage tax applies, it applies to all business space leased, owned, occupied, or otherwise
maintained by the taxpayer during the applicable reporting period.
D. Annual Tax Cap: The tax imposed under this chapter shall not exceed four million two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($4,250,000) during any calendar year. The cap set forth in this subsection shall
be administratively adjusted by the Administrator on January 1st of each year, beginning on
January 1, 2023, to reflect the inflation adjustment, as defined and calculated pursuant to ACC 1-1-
3 Q. The amount of the cap so calculated shall be rounded to the nearest ten dollars ($10).
1-1-6 MULTIPLE ACTIVITIES CREDIT WHEN ACTIVITIES TAKE PLACE IN ONE OR MORE
CITIES WITH ELIGIBLE GROSS RECEIPT TAXES:
A. Persons who engage in business activities that are within the purview of two (2) or more
subsections of ACC 1-1-5. A shall be taxable under each applicable subsection.
B. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, if the Administrator finds that the imposition of
the City’s tax would place an undue burden upon interstate commerce or violate constitutional
requirements, a taxpayer shall be allowed a credit to the extent necessary to preserve the validity
of the City’s tax, and still apply the City tax to as much of the taxpayer’s activities as may be
subject to the City’s taxing authority.
C. To take the credit authorized by this section, a taxpayer must be able to document that the
amount of tax sought to be credited was paid upon the same gross receipts used in computing
the tax against which the credit is applied.
D. Credit for Persons That Sell in the City Products That They Extract or Manufacture. Persons
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taxable under the retailing or wholesaling classification with respect to selling products in this City
shall be allowed a credit against those taxes for any eligible gross receipts taxes paid (1) with
respect to the manufacturing of the products sold in the City, and (2) with respect to the extracting
of the products, or the ingredients used in the products, sold in the City. The amount of the credit
shall not exceed the tax liability arising under this chapter with respect to the sale of those
products.
E. Credit for persons that manufacture products in the City using ingredients they extract.
Persons taxable under the manufacturing classification with respect to manufacturing products in
this City shall be allowed a credit against those taxes for any eligible gross receipts tax paid with
respect to extracting the ingredients of the products manufactured in the City. The amount of the
credit shall not exceed the tax liability arising under this chapter with respect to the manufacturing
of those products.
F. Credit for persons that sell within the City products that they print, or publish and print.
Persons taxable under the retailing or wholesaling classification with respect to selling products in
this City shall be allowed a credit against those taxes for any eligible gross receipts taxes paid with
respect to the printing, or the printing and publishing, of the products sold within the City. The
amount of the credit shall not exceed the tax liability arising under this chapter with respect to the
sale of those products
1-1-7 DEDUCTIONS TO PREVENT MULTIPLE TAXATION OF MANUFACTURING ACTIVITIES
AND PRIOR TO JANUARY 1, 2008, TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING MORE THAN ONE
CITY WITH AN ELIGIBLE GROSS RECEIPTS TAX:
A. Amounts Subject to an Eligible Gross Receipts Tax in Another City That Also Maintains
Nexus Over the Same Activity: For taxes due prior to January 1, 2008, a taxpayer that is subject
to an eligible gross receipts tax on the same activity in more than one (1) jurisdiction may be
entitled to a deduction as follows:
1. A taxpayer that has paid an eligible gross receipts tax, with respect to a sale of goods or
services, to a jurisdiction in which the goods are delivered or the services are provided may
deduct an amount equal to the gross receipts used to measure that tax from the measure of
the tax owed to the City.
2. Notwithstanding the above, a person that is subject to an eligible gross receipts tax in
more than one (1) jurisdiction on the gross income derived from intangibles such as royalties,
trademarks, patents, or goodwill shall assign those gross receipts to the jurisdiction where the
person is domiciled (its headquarters is located).
3. A taxpayer that has paid an eligible gross receipts tax on the privilege of accepting or
executing a contract with another city may deduct an amount equal to the contract price
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used to measure the tax due to the other city from the measure of the tax owed to the City.
B. Person Manufacturing Products Within and Without: A person manufacturing products
within the City using products manufactured by the same person outside the City may deduct
from the measure of the manufacturing tax the value of products manufactured outside the
City and included in the measure of an eligible gross receipts tax paid to the other jurisdiction
with respect to manufacturing such products.
1-1-8 ASSIGNMENT OF GROSS INCOME DERIVED FROM INTANGIBLES:
Gross income derived from the sale of intangibles such as royalties, trademarks, patents, or
goodwill shall be assigned to the jurisdiction where the person is domiciled (its headquarters is
located).
1-1-9 ALLOCATION AND APPORTIONMENT OF INCOME WHEN ACTIVITIES TAKE
PLACE IN MORE THAN ONE JURISDICTION:
Gross income, other than persons subject to the provisions of RCW Chapter 8 2.14A, shall be
allocated and apportioned as follows:
A. Gross income derived from all activities other than those taxed as service or royalties under
ACC 1-1-5.A.7 shall be allocated to the location where the activity takes place.
B. In the case of sales of tangible personal property, the activity takes place where delivery to the
buyer occurs.
C. In the case of sales of digital products, the activity takes place where delivery to the buyer
occurs. The delivery of digital products will be deemed to occur at:
1. The seller’s place of business if the purchaser receives the digital product at the seller’s
place of business;
2. If not received at the seller’s place of business, the location where the purchaser or the
purchaser’s donee, designated as such by the purchaser, receives the digital product,
including the location indicated by instructions for delivery to the purchaser or donee,
known to the seller;
3. If the location where the purchaser or the purchaser’s donee receives the digital
product is not known, the purchaser’s address maintained in the ordinary course of the
seller’s business when use of this address does not constitute bad faith;
4. If no address for the purchaser is maintained in the ordinary course of the seller’s
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business, the purchaser’s address obtained during the consummation of the sale, including
the address of a purchaser’s payment instrument, if no other address is available, when use
of this address does not constitute bad faith; and
5. If no address for the purchaser is obtained during the consummation of the sale, the
address where the digital good or digital code is first made available for transmission by
the seller or the address from which the digital automated service or service described in
RCW 8 2.04.050(2)(g) or (6)(b) was provided, disregarding for these purposes any
location that merely provided the digital transfer of the product sold.
D. If none of the methods in ACC 1-1-9.C for determining where the delivery of digital products
occurs are available after a good faith effort by the taxpayer to apply the methods provided in
ACC 1-1-19C.1 through 5, then the City and the taxpayer may mutually agree to employ any
other method to effectuate an equitable allocation of income from the sale of digital products. The
taxpayer will be responsible for petitioning the City to use an alternative method under ACC 1-1-9
.D. The City may employ an alternative method for allocating the income from the sale of digital
products if the methods provided in ACC1-1-9.C.1 through 5 are not available and the taxpayer
and the City are unable to mutually agree on an alternative method to effectuate an equitable
allocation of income from the sale of digital products.
E. For purposes of ACC 1-1-9.C.1 through 5, the following definitions apply:
1. “Digital automated services,” “digital codes,” and “digital goods” have the same meaning as
in RCW 8 2.04.192;
2. “Digital products” means digital goods, digital codes, digital automated services, and
the services described in RCW 8 2.04.050 (2)(g) and (6)(c); and
3. “Receive” has the same meaning as in RCW 8 2.32.730.
F. Effective January 1, 2020, gross income derived from activities taxed as services and other
activities taxed under ACC 1-1-5.A.7 shall be apportioned to the City by multiplying apportionable
income by a fraction, the numerator of which is the payroll factor plus the service-income factor
and the denominator of which is two (2).
1. The payroll factor is a fraction, the numerator of which is the total amount paid in the City
during the tax period by the taxpayer for compensation and the denominator of which is the
total compensation paid everywhere during the tax period. Compensation is paid in the City
if:
a. The individual is primarily assigned within the City;
b. The individual is not primarily assigned to any place of business for the tax period and
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the employee performs fifty percent (50%) or more of his or her service for the tax period
in the City; or
c. The individual is not primarily assigned to any place of business for the tax period,
the individual does not perform fifty percent (50%) or more of his or her service in any
city and the employee resides in the City.
2. The service income factor is a fraction, the numerator of which is the total service income
of the taxpayer in the City during the tax period, and the denominator of which is the total
service income of the taxpayer everywhere during the tax period. Service income is in the City
if the customer location is in the City.
3. Gross income of the business from engaging in an apportionable activity must be
excluded from the denominator of the service income factor if, in respect to such activity, at
least some of the activity is performed in the City, and the gross income is attributable under
subsection F.2 to a city or unincorporated area of a county within the United States or to a
foreign country in which the taxpayer is not taxable. For purposes of this subsection F.3, "not
taxable" means that the taxpayer is not subject to a business activities tax by that city or
county within the United States or by that foreign country, except that a taxpayer is taxable in
a city or county within the United States or in a foreign country in which it would be deemed to
have a substantial nexus with the city or county within the United States or with the foreign
country under the standards in RCW 3 5.102.050 regardless of whether that city or county
within the United States or that foreign country imposes such a tax.
4. If the allocation and apportionment provisions of this subsection F do not fairly represent
the extent of the taxpayer’s business activity in the City , the taxpayer may petition for or the
tax administrator may require, in respect to all or any part of the taxpayer’s business activity,
if reasonable:
a. Separate accounting;
b. The exclusion of any one (1) or more of the factors;
c. The inclusion of one (1) or more additional factors that will fairly represent the
taxpayer’s business activity in the City; or
d. The employment of any other method to effectuate an equitable allocation and
apportionment of the taxpayer’s income.
5. The party petitioning for, or the tax administrator requiring, the use of any method to
effectuate an equitable allocation and apportionment of the taxpayer’s income pursuant to
subsection F.4 must prove by a preponderance of the evidence:
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a. That the allocation and apportionment provisions of this subsection F do not fairly
represent the extent of the taxpayer’s business activity in the City; and
b. That the alternative to such provisions is reasonable.
The same burden of proof shall apply whether the taxpayer is petitioning for, or the tax
administrator is requiring, the use of an alternative, reasonable method to effectuate an
equitable allocation and apportionment of the taxpayer’s income.
6. If the tax administrator requires any method to effectuate an equitable allocation and
apportionment of the taxpayer’s income, the tax administrator cannot impose any civil or
criminal penalty with reference to the tax due that is attributable to the taxpayer’s reasonable
reliance solely on the allocation and apportionment provisions of this subsection F.
7. A taxpayer that has received written permission from the tax administrator to use a
reasonable method to effectuate an equitable allocation and apportionment of the taxpayer’s
income shall not have that permission revoked with respect to transactions and activities that
have already occurred unless there has been a material change in, or a material
misrepresentation of, the facts provided by the taxpayer upon which the tax administrator
reasonably relied in approving a reasonable alternative method.
G. The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section:
1. “Apportionable income” means the gross income of the business taxable under the service
classifications of a city’s gross receipts tax, including income received from activities outside
the City if the income would be taxable under the service classification if received from
activities within the City, less any exemptions or deductions available.
2. “Business activities tax” means a tax measured by the amount of, or economic results of,
business activity conducted in a city or county within the United States or within a foreign
country. The term includes taxes measured in whole or in part on net income or gross
income or receipts. “Business activities tax” does not include a sales tax, use tax, or a similar
transaction tax, imposed on the sale or acquisition of goods or services, whether or not
denominated a gross receipts tax or a tax imposed on the privilege of doing business.
3. “Compensation” means wages, salaries, commissions, and any other form of
remuneration paid to individuals for personal services that are or would be included in the
individual’s gross income under the federal internal revenue code.
4. “Customer” means a person or entity to whom the taxpayer makes a sale or renders
services or from whom the taxpayer otherwise receives gross income of the business.
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5. “Customer location” means the following:
a. For a customer not engaged in business, if the service requires the customer to be
physically present, where the service is performed.
b. For a customer not engaged in business, if the service does not require the customer to
be physically present:
i. The customer’s residence; or
ii. If the customer’s residence is not known, the customer’s billing/mailing address.
c. For a customer engaged in business:
i. Where the services are ordered from;
ii. At the customer’s billing/mailing address if the location from which the services
are ordered is not known; or
iii. At the customer’s commercial domicile if none of the above are known.
6. “Individual” means any individual who, under the usual common law rules applicable in
determining the employer- employee relationship, has the status of an employee of that
taxpayer.
7. “Primarily assigned” means the business location of the taxpayer where the individual
performs his or her duties.
8. “Service-taxable income” or “service income” means gross income of the business
subject to tax under either the service or royalty classification.
9. “Tax period” means the calendar year during which tax liability is accrued. If taxes are
reported by a taxpayer on a basis more frequent than once per year, taxpayers shall calculate
the factors for the previous calendar year for reporting in the current calendar year and
correct the reporting for the previous year when the factors are calculated for that year, but
not later than the end of the first quarter of the following year.
H. Assignment or apportionment of revenue under this section shall be made in accordance
with and in full compliance with the provisions of the interstate commerce clause of the United
States Constitution where applicable.
1-1-10 ALLOCATION AND APPORTIONMENT OF PRINTING AND PUBLISHING INCOME
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WHEN ACTIVITIES TAKE PLACE IN MORE THAN ONE JURISDICTION:
Notwithstanding RCW 3 5.102.130, effective January 1, 2008, gross income from the activities of
printing, and of publishing newspapers, periodicals, or magazines, shall be allocated to the principal
place in this state from which the taxpayer’s business is directed or managed. As used in this
section, the activities of printing, and of publishing newspapers, periodicals, or magazines, have the
same meanings as attributed to those terms in RCW 8 2.04.280(1) by the Department of Revenue.
1-1-11 EXEMPTIONS:
A. Adult Family Homes: This chapter does not apply to adult family homes which are
licensed as such, or which are specifically exempt from licensing, under rules of the
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
B. Day Care Provided By Churches: This chapter shall not apply to amounts derived by a
church that is exempt from property tax under RCW 8 4.36.020 from the provision of care for
children for periods of less than twenty-four (24) hours.
C. Child Care Resource and Referral Services by Nonprofit Organizations: This chapter
does not apply to nonprofit organizations in respect to amounts derived from the provision
of child-care resource and referral services.
D. Non-Profit Organizations That are Guarantee Agencies, Issue Debt, or Provide Guarantees
for Student Loans: This chapter does not apply to gross income received by non-profit
organizations exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3),
that:
1. Are guarantee agencies under the federal guaranteed student loan program or that issue
debt to provide or acquire student loans; or
2. Provide guarantees for student loans made through programs other than the federal
guaranteed student loan program.
E. Nonprofit Organizations—Credit and Debt Services: This chapter does not apply to nonprofit
organizations in respect to amounts derived from provision of the following services:
1. Presenting individual and community credit education programs including credit and debt
counseling;
2. Obtaining creditor cooperation allowing a debtor to repay debt in an orderly manner;
3. Establishing and administering negotiated repayment programs for debtors; or
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4. Providing advice or assistance to a debtor with regard to 1, 2, or 3, above, of this
subsection E.
F. Certain fraternal and beneficiary organizations: This chapter shall not apply to fraternal
benefit societies or fraternal fire insurance associations, as described in Title 4 8 RCW; nor to
beneficiary corporations or societies organized under and existing by virtue of RCW Title 2 4, if
such beneficiary corporations or societies provide in their bylaws for the payment of death
benefits. This exemption is limited, however, to gross income from premiums, fees,
assessments, dues or other charges directly attributable to the insurance or death benefits
provided by such societies, associations, or corporations.
G. Certain Corporations Furnishing Aid and Relief: This chapter shall not apply to the gross
sales or the gross income received by corporations which have been incorporated under any act
of the congress of the United States of America and whose principal purposes are to furnish
volunteer aid to the United States of America armed force members and also to carry on a system
of national and international relief and to apply the same in mitigating the sufferings caused by
pestilence, famine, fire, floods, and other national calamities and to devise and carry on
measures for preventing the same.
H. Operation of Sheltered Workshops: This chapter shall not apply to income received from the
Department of Social and Health Services for the cost of care, maintenance, support and training
of persons with developmental disabilities at nonprofit group training homes as defined by RCW
Chapter 7 1A.22 or to the business activities of nonprofit organizations from the operation of
sheltered workshops. For the purposes of this subsection, ACC 1-1-11.H, “the operation of
sheltered workshops” means performance of business activities of any kind on or off the premises
of such nonprofit organizations which are performed for the primary purpose of:
1. Providing gainful employment or rehabilitation services to the handicapped or disabled
as an interim step in the rehabilitation process for those who cannot be readily absorbed in
the competitive labor market or during such time as employment opportunities for them in the
competitive labor market do not exist; or
2. Providing evaluation and work adjustment services for handicapped or disabled individuals.
I. Investments—Dividends From Subsidiary Corporations: This chapter shall not apply to
amounts derived by persons, other than those engaging in banking, loan, security or other
financial businesses, from investments or the use of money as such, and also amounts derived
as dividends by a parent from its subsidiary corporations.
J. The City of Auburn is exempt from the tax levied by this chapter.
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K. Gross Receipts Taxed Under Other Auburn City Code (ACC) Sections: This chapter shall not
apply to:
1. Any person in respect to a business activity with respect to which tax liability is
specifically imposed under the provisions of ACC Chapter 3-88 (Utility Tax); or
2. Any person in respect to a business activity with respect to which tax liability is
specifically imposed under the provisions of ACC Chapter 3-80 (Gambling Tax).
L. Credit Unions: This chapter shall not apply to the gross income of credit unions organized
under the laws of this state, any other state, or the United States.
M. International Banking Facilities: This chapter shall not apply to the gross receipts of an
international banking facility. As used in this subsection, ACC 1-1-11.M, an “international banking
facility” means a facility represented by a set of asset and liability accounts segregated on the
books and records of a commercial bank, the principal office of which is located in this state, and
which is incorporated and doing business under the laws of the United States of America or of this
state, a United States branch or agency of a foreign bank, an Edge corporation organized under
Section 25(A) of the Federal Reserve Act,1 2 United States Code 6 11-631, or an Agreement
corporation having an agreement or undertaking with the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System under Section 25 of the Federal Reserve Act, 1 2 United States Code 1 1 601-
604(a), that includes only international banking facility time deposits (as defined in subsection
(a)(2) of Section 204.8 of Regulation D (12 CFR Part 2 04), as promulgated by the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System), and international banking facility extensions of credit
(as defined in subsection (a)(3) of Section 204.8 of Regulation D).
N. Insurance Business: This chapter shall not apply to amounts received by any person who is
an insurer or their appointed insurance producer upon which a tax based on gross premiums is
paid to the state pursuant to RCW 4 8.14.020, and provided further, that the provisions of this
subsection shall not exempt any bonding company from tax with respect to gross income
derived from the completion of any contract as to which it is a surety, or as to any liability as
successor to the liability of the defaulting contractor.
O. Farmers – Agriculture: This chapter shall not apply to any farmer in respect to amounts
received from selling fruits, vegetables, berries, butter, eggs, fish, milk, poultry, meats or any
other agricultural product that is raised, caught, produced or manufactured by such persons.
“Agricultural product” does not include animals intended to be pets, marijuana, or marijuana
infused products as defined by RCW 6 9.50.101(t) and (x). “Farmer” does not include any person
engaged in the business of growing, producing, processing, selling or distributing marijuana.
P. Athletic Exhibitions: This chapter shall not apply to any person in respect to the business of
conducting boxing contests and sparring or wrestling matches and exhibitions for the conduct of
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which a license must be secured from the State Boxing Commission.
Q. Racing: This chapter shall not apply to any person in respect to the business of conducting
race meets for the conduct of which a license must be secured from the Washington State Horse
Racing Commission.
R. Ride Sharing: This chapter does not apply to any funds received in the course of commuter
ride sharing or ride sharing for persons with special transportation needs in accordance with RCW
4 6.74.010.
S. Employees: This chapter shall not apply to any person in respect to his or her employment
in the capacity as an employee or servant as distinguished from that of an independent
contractor. For the purposes of this subsection, ACC1-1-11.S the definition of employee shall
include those persons that are defined in section 3121(d)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code,
as hereafter amended. For purposes of this chapter, a booth renter, as defined by RCW 1
8.16.020, is an independent contractor.
T. Amounts Derived from Sale of Real Estate: This chapter shall not apply to gross proceeds
derived from the sale of real estate. This, however, shall not be construed to allow an exemption
of amounts received as commissions from the sale of real estate, nor as fees, handling charges,
discounts, interest or similar financial charges resulting from, or relating to, real estate
transactions. This chapter shall also not apply to amounts received for the rental of real estate if
the rental income is derived from a contract to rent for a continuous period of thirty (30) calendar
days or longer.
U. Mortgage Brokers’ Third-Party Provider Services Trust Accounts: This chapter shall not apply
to amounts received from trust accounts to mortgage brokers for the payment of third-party costs
if the accounts are operated in a manner consistent with RCW 1 9.146.050 and any rules adopted
by the director of financial institutions.
V. Amounts Derived From Manufacturing, Selling or Distributing Motor Vehicle Fuel: This
chapter shall not apply to the manufacturing, selling or distributing motor vehicle fuel, as the
term “motor vehicle fuel” is defined in RCW 8 2.38.020 and exempt under RCW 8 2.38.280,
provided that any fuel not subjected to the state fuel excise tax, or any other applicable
deduction or exemption, will be taxable under this chapter.
W. Amounts Derived From Liquor, and the Sale or Distribution of Liquor: This chapter shall not
apply to liquor as defined in RCW 6 6.04.010 and exempted in RCW 6 6.08.120.
X. Casual and Isolated Sales: This chapter shall not apply to the gross proceeds derived from
casual or isolated sales.
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Y. Accommodation Sales: This chapter shall not apply to sales for resale by persons regularly
engaged in the business of making retail sales of the type of property so sold to other persons
similarly engaged in the business of selling such property where:
1. The amount paid by the buyer does not exceed the amount paid by the seller to his
vendor in the acquisition of the article; and
2. The sale is made as an accommodation to the buyer to enable the buyer to fill a bona
fide existing order of a customer or is made within fourteen (14) calendar days to
reimburse in kind a previous accommodation sale by the buyer to the seller.
Provided, that where the seller holds himself or herself out as being regularly engaged in the
business of making sales at wholesale of such property, such sales shall be included in his
principal business activity, and not exempt from tax.
Z. Real Estate Brokers and Associated Brokers, Agents, or Salesmen: This chapter does not
apply to that portion of a real estate commission assigned to another brokerage office pursuant to
the division of revenue between the originating brokerage office and a cooperating brokerage
office on a particular transaction. Each brokerage office shall pay the tax upon its respective
revenue share of the transaction. Furthermore, where a brokerage office has paid the business
and occupation tax on the gross commission earned by that brokerage office, associate brokers,
salesmen or agents within the same office shall not be required to pay the tax upon their share of
the commission from the same transaction.
AA. Taxes Collected as Trust Funds: This chapter shall not apply to amounts collected by the
taxpayer from third-parties to satisfy third party obligations to pay taxes such as the retail sales tax,
use tax, commercial parking tax, and admission tax.
BB. Health Maintenance Organization, Health Care Service Contractor, Certified Health Plan:
This chapter does not apply to any health maintenance organization, health care service
contractor, or certified health plan with respect to premiums or prepayments that are taxable
under RCW 48.14.0201.
1-1-12 DEDUCTIONS:
In computing the license fee or tax, there may be deducted from the measure of tax the following
items:
A. Membership Fees and Certain Service Fees By Non-Profit Youth Organization: For
purposes of this subsection, “non- profit youth organization” means a non-profit organization
engaged in character building of youth which is exempt from property tax under RCW 8
4.36.030. In computing tax due under this chapter, there may be deducted from the measure of
tax all amounts received by a non-profit youth organization:
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1. As membership fees or dues, irrespective of the fact that the payment of the
membership fees or dues to the organization may entitle its members, in addition to other
rights or privileges, to receive services from the organization or to use the organization’s
facilities; or
2. From members of the organization for camping and recreational services provided by
the organization or for the use of the organization’s camping and recreational facilities.
B. Bona-Fide Initiation Fees, Dues, and Certain Charges Received by Non-Profit
Organizations: In computing tax, a non- profit organization may deduct from the measure of tax
amounts derived from bona-fide:
1. Initiation fees;
2. Dues;
3. Contributions;
4. Donations;
5. Tuition fees or charges made for operation of non-profit kindergartens;
6. Charges made by a non-profit trade or professional organization for attending or
occupying space at a trade show, convention, or educational seminar sponsored by the non-
profit trade or professional organization, which trade show, convention, or educational
seminar is not open to the general public; and
7. Endowment funds.
Except as specified in subsection A above, this subsection shall not be construed to exempt
any non-profit organization, association, or society from tax liability upon selling tangible
personal property or upon providing facilities or services for which a special charge is made to
members or others. If dues are in exchange for any significant amount of goods or services
rendered by the recipient to members without any additional charge to the member, or if the
dues are graduated upon the amount of goods or services rendered, the value of such goods
or services shall not be considered as a deduction under this subsection.
C. Artistic and Cultural Organizations - Income From Business Activities: In computing tax, there
may be deducted from the measure of tax those amounts received by artistic or cultural
organizations, as defined in this chapter, which represent:
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1. Income derived from business activities conducted by the organization, provided that this
deduction does not apply to retail sales made by artistic and cultural organizations;
2. Amounts received from the United States of America or any of its instrumentalities or from
the State of Washington or any municipal corporation or subdivision thereof as compensation
for; or to support, artistic or cultural exhibitions, performances, or programs provided by an
artistic or cultural organization for attendance or viewing by the general public; or
3. Amounts received as tuition charges collected for the privilege of attending artistic or
cultural education programs.
D. Artistic or Cultural Organization - Deduction For Tax Under the Manufacturing Classification -
Value of Articles For Use In Displaying Art Objects or Presenting Artistic or Cultural Exhibitions,
Performances, or Programs: In computing tax, there may be deducted from the measure of tax
by persons subject to payment of the tax under the manufacturing classification, the value of
articles to the extent manufacturing activities are undertaken by an artistic or cultural organization,
as defined in this chapter, solely for the purpose of manufacturing articles for use by the
organization in displaying art objects or presenting artistic or cultural exhibitions, performances,
or programs for attendance or viewing by the general public.
E. Day Care Activities: In computing tax, there may be deducted from the measure of tax
amounts derived from day care activities by any organization organized and operated for
charitable, educational, or other purposes which is exempt from taxation pursuant to Internal
Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), provided, however, that amounts derived from selling, altering or
repairing tangible personal property shall not be deductible.
F. Compensation from public entities for health or social welfare services – Deduction: In computing
tax, there may be deducted from the measure of tax amounts received from the United States or any
instrumentality thereof or from the state of Washington or any municipal corporation or political
subdivision thereof as compensation for, or to support, health or social welfare services rendered by a
health or social welfare organization (as defined in RCW 82.04.431) or by a municipal corporation or
political subdivision, except deductions are not allowed under this subsection for amounts that are
received under an employee benefit plan. For purposes of this subsection, “employee benefit plan”
includes the military benefits program authorized in 10 U.S.C. Section 1071 et seq., as amended, or
amounts payable pursuant thereto.
G. Interest on Investments or Loans Secured By Mortgages or Deeds of Trust: In computing tax,
to the extent permitted by RCW Chapter 8 2.14A, there may be deducted from the measure of tax
by those engaged in banking, loan, security or other financial businesses, amounts derived from
interest received on investments or loans primarily secured by first mortgages or trust deeds on non-
transient residential properties.
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H. Interest on Obligations of the State, its Political Subdivisions, and Municipal Corporations: In
computing tax, there may be deducted from the measure of tax by those engaged in banking,
loan, security or other financial businesses, amounts derived from interest paid on all obligations
of the State of Washington, its political subdivisions, and municipal corporations.
I. Interest on Loans to Farmers and Ranchers, Producers or Harvesters of Aquatic Products, or
Their Cooperatives: In computing tax, there may be deducted from the measure of tax amounts
derived as interest on loans to bona fide farmers and ranchers, producers or harvesters of aquatic
products, or their cooperatives by a lending institution which is owned exclusively by its borrowers
or members and which is engaged solely in the business of making loans and providing finance-
related services to bona fide farmers and ranchers, producers or harvesters of aquatic products,
their cooperatives, rural residents for housing, or persons engaged in furnishing farm-related or
aquatic-related services to these individuals or entities.
J. Receipts From Tangible Personal Property Delivered Outside the State: In computing tax,
there may be deducted from the measure of tax under retailing or wholesaling amounts derived
from the sale of tangible personal property that is delivered by the seller to the buyer or the
buyer’s representative at a location outside the state of Washington.
K. Cash Discount Taken by Purchaser: In computing tax, there may be deducted from the
measure of tax the cash discount amounts actually taken by the purchaser. This deduction is not
allowed in arriving at the taxable amount under the extracting or manufacturing classifications with
respect to articles produced or manufactured, the reported values of which, for the purposes of
this tax, have been computed according to the “value of product” provisions.
L. Credit Losses of Accrual Basis Taxpayers: In computing tax, there may be deducted from the
measure of tax the amount of credit losses actually sustained by taxpayers whose regular books
of account are kept upon an accrual basis.
M. Repair, Maintenance, Replacement, Etc., of Residential Structures and Commonly
Held Property – Eligible Organizations:
1. In computing tax, there may be deducted from the measure of tax amounts used solely
for repair, maintenance, replacement, management, or improvement of the residential
structures and commonly held property, but excluding property where fees or charges are
made for use by the public who are not guests accompanied by a member, which are
derived by:
a. A cooperative housing association, corporation, or partnership from a person who
resides in a structure owned by the cooperative housing association, corporation, or
partnership;
b. An association of owners of property as defined in RCW 6 4.32.010, as now or
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hereafter amended, from a person who is an apartment owner as defined in RCW 6
4.32.010; or
c. An association of owners of residential property from a person who is a member of
the association. “Association of owners of residential property” means any organization of
all the owners of residential property in a defined area who all hold the same property in
common within the area.
2. For the purposes of this subsection “commonly held property” includes areas required for
common access such as reception areas, halls, stairways, parking, etc., and may include
recreation rooms, swimming pools and small parks or recreation areas; but is not intended to
include more grounds than are normally required in a residential area, or to include such
extensive areas as required for golf courses, campgrounds, hiking and riding areas, boating
areas, etc.
3. To qualify for the deductions under this subsection:
a. The salary or compensation paid to officers, managers, or employees must be only
for actual services rendered and at levels comparable to the salary or compensation of
like positions within the county wherein the property is located;
b. Dues, fees, or assessments in excess of amounts needed for the purposes for which
the deduction is allowed must be refunded to the members of the association;
c. Assets of the association or organization must be distributable to all members and
must not inure to the benefit of any single member or group of members.
N. Radio and Television Broadcasting - Advertising Agency Fees - National, Regional, and
Network Advertising - Interstate Allocations: In computing tax, there may be deducted from the
measure of tax by radio and television broadcasters amounts representing the following:
1. Advertising agencies’ fees when such fees or allowances are shown as a discount or
price reduction in the billing or that the billing is on a net basis, i.e., less the discount;
2. Actual gross receipts from national network, and regional advertising or a “standard
deduction” as provided by RCW 8 2.04.280; and
3. Local advertising revenue that represent advertising which is intended to reach potential
customers of the advertiser who are located outside the State of Washington. The
Administrator may issue a rule that provides detailed guidance as to how these deductions
are to be calculated.
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O. Constitutional and Statutory Prohibitions: In computing tax, there may be deducted from
the measure of the tax amounts derived from business which the City is prohibited from
taxing under the Constitution or laws of the State of Washington or the United States of
America.
P. Receipts From The Sale of Tangible Personal Property and Retail Services Delivered Outside
the City But Within Washington: Effective January 1, 2008, amounts included in the gross
receipts reported on the tax return derived from the sale of tangible personal property delivered to
the buyer or the buyer’s representative outside the City but within the State of Washington may be
deducted from the measure of tax under the retailing, retail services, or wholesaling classification.
Q. Professional Employer Services: In computing the tax, a professional employer organization
may deduct from the calculation of gross income the gross income of the business derived from
performing professional employer services that is equal to the portion of the fee charged to a
client that represents the actual cost of wages and salaries, benefits, workers’ compensation,
payroll taxes, withholding, or other assessments paid to or on behalf of a covered employee by
the professional employer organization under a professional employer agreement.
1-1-13 TAX CREDITS:
A. New business tax credit
1. Purpose: The City believes that providing a temporary tax credit relating to new businesses is
a meaningful method of fostering such new businesses to establish a solid financial
foundation during its start-up process. Further, the City finds that a credit related to the
creation of of fifty (50) or more new full-time equivalent (“FTE”) employees within the City will
benefit other local businesses.
2. There may be credited against the tax imposed by ACC Chapter 1-1-5, the amount up to one
thousand dollars ($1,000) per FTE position in the City of Auburn per quarter. To take the credit
authorized by this section, a taxpayer must be able to document all of the following:
• The taxpayer has not, for any period of time, engaged in business in the City of
Auburn within the five (5) years preceding application of the tax credit;
• The taxpayer employs twenty (20) or more full-time equivalent positions in Auburn.
An FTE position is defined as each one thousand nine hundred and twenty (1,920)
worker hours per calendar year; and
• The taxpayer may be required to submit its payroll information and/or other
documentation in support of such employee hours worked in the City.
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• The taxpayer must report, on each return filed, the taxpayer’s total number of
full-time employment positions created and positions currently filled.
3. The tax credit can be taken for the first twelve (12) consecutive reporting quarters or three (3)
reporting years.
4. This credit is not considered a payment of taxes for purposes of seeking a refund of
overpayment of tax pursuant to the provisions contained in ACC Chapter 1-2 Tax
Administrative Code, or any other purpose. As such, unused credit amounts will not be
refunded, carried over from reporting period(s) to reporting period(s), and will not accrue
interest.
5. The Administrator is authorized to promulgate rules implementing, interpreting, and
enforcing the provisions of this section.
B. Auburn business area improvement assessment credit
1. Purpose: Certain businesses operating within the Business Area Improvement (BIA)
boundaries, as identified in ACC Chapter 2.98, are subject to an annual assessment. The
purpose of the assessment is to enhance trade, economic vitality, and livability within the
City of Auburn. The City believes that providing business and occupation tax relief to local
businesses that are subject to the BIA assessment helps ensure their continued downtown
presence, which contributes towards a vibrant downtown core and further benefits other local
businesses not subject to the BIA assessment.
2. There may be credited against the tax imposed by ACC Chapter 1-1-5, an amount equal to
the BIA assessment fee paid as imposed by ACC Chapter 2.98.
3. This credit is not considered a payment of taxes for purposes of seeking a refund of
overpayment of tax pursuant to the provisions contained in ACC Chapter 1-2 Tax
Administrative Code, or any other purpose. As such, unused credit amounts will not be
refunded, carried over from reporting period(s) to reporting period(s), and will not accrue
interest.
4. The Administrator is authorized to promulgate rules implementing, interpreting, and
enforcing the provisions of this section.
1-1-14 TAX PART OF OVERHEAD:
It is not the intention of this chapter that the taxes or fees herein levied upon persons engaging in
business be construed as taxes or fees upon the purchasers or customer, but that such taxes or
fees shall be levied upon, and collectible from, the person engaging in the business activities
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herein designated and that such taxes or fees shall constitute a part of the cost of doing business
of such persons.
1-1-15 ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
The provisions contained in Chapter 1-2, Tax Administrative Code, shall be fully applicable to the
provisions of this chapter except as expressly stated to the contrary herein.
1-1-16 SEVERABILITY CLAUSE:
If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the chapter or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances shall
not be affected.
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AGENDA BILL APPROVAL FORM
Agenda Subject:
Capital Projects Status Report and Feature Project (Gaub)(20
Minutes)
Date:
February 16, 2021
Department:
Public Works
Attachments:
Capital Projects Status Report
Presentation
Budget Impact:
Current Budget: $0
Proposed Revision: $0
Revised Budget: $0
Administrativ e Recommendation:
For discussion only.
Background Summary:
The purpose of this discussion is to inf orm the Council and Public of the overall status of the
City’s Capital Project program managed by the Engineering Services Division and to present
the 2021 first quarter feature capital project, the Academy Pump Station 1 Replacement
project (Project No. CP1916). This Project will demolish and replace the existing Pump
Station 1 f acility at the site and repurpose the existing Pump Station 2 facility into a storage
f acility. Construction of this project is anticipated to start in April 2021 and be complete in May
2022.
T he Capital Project Group of Engineering Services is currently managing 35 projects, totaling
approximately $60 million in total project costs.
Rev iewed by Council Committees:
Councilmember:Staff:Gaub
Meeting Date:February 22, 2021 Item Number:
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AGENDA BILL APPROVAL FORM
Agenda Subject:
Update of Bridges Annexation (Tate)(10 Minutes)
Date:
February 17, 2021
Department:
Community Development
Attachments:
Memo to Council - The Bridges Overview
Budget Impact:
Current Budget: $0
Proposed Revision: $0
Revised Budget: $0
Administrativ e Recommendation:
For discussion only.
Background Summary:
On February 24, 2020 City of Auburn staf f provided an overview of the Bridges annexation
conversation to City Council during a Study Session meeting. Attached is the memo that was
provided to City Council f or that Study Session. Staff will be providing an update of
discussions and decisions since February of 2020.
Rev iewed by Council Committees:
Councilmember:Staff:Tate
Meeting Date:February 22, 2021 Item Numb er:
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Memorandum
To: City Council Members
From: Jeff Tate, Director of Community Development
CC: Mayor Nancy Backus
Date: February 14, 2020
Re: Bridges Overview
Bridges – General Description
The Bridges is a community located on Lea Hill that is within the municipal limits of the City of
Kent but entirely surrounding by the City of Auburn. It is identified in the below map.
Vicinity Map
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Overview of parcel layout 2017 Aerial Image
The City of Kent annexed this area in 1987, prior to the City of Auburn’s annexation of Lea Hill
in 2008. Prior to Auburn’s annexation The Bridges was simply a portion of Kent that was not
contiguous to its city boundaries. Auburn’s annexation of Lea Hill is the action that created this
island of Kent surrounded by Auburn.
Bridges – Overview
The Bridges community is defined as a Planned Unit Development (PUD) that includes 386
single family residential lots, 55.87 acres of open space and active recreation space, and a
13.21 acre yet to be developed area that allows for an assisted living facility, retail, commercial
and office uses. Of the 386 single family residential lots, there only remain 2 to 3 dozen
undeveloped properties. The community includes 9 access tracts, 4 sensitive area tracts, 3
detention pond tracts, 21 landscape tracts, 8 recreation tracts, and 2 open space tracts.
49.67 acre open space tract 6.20 acre open space tract
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The Bridges community receives sewer service from the City of Auburn and water service from
the City of Kent. The community also receives direct police service from the City of Kent and
fire service from Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority (although mutual aid agreements exist
that might result in a response by the Auburn Police Department or Valley Regional Fire
Authority).
Annexation Discussion
When viewing a map of the City it is commonly asked why there is an island within Auburn, why
this island is part of the City of Kent, and why the island isn’t simply annexed into Auburn in
order to eliminate this anomaly.
In early 2019 the City of Kent and City of Auburn began discussing the merits of annexing the
Bridges community into the City of Auburn. This discussion expanded to also include
representatives of Oakpointe, the owner of the yet to be developed 13.21 acre southeast corner
of the community that is currently designated for a future mix of non-residential activity.
There are a number of moving parts associated with this kind of conversation, several of which
will be brought forward to City Council for future presentation, discussion and potential action.
These include:
• Future development concepts related to the yet to be developed property owned by
Oakpointe and whether the uses allowed under the Kent PUD are appropriate for
Auburn.
• Determining the development standards that would apply within the PUD given that it
was approved in Kent and Auburn’s rules are different. Understanding this matter will
help define vesting rules, the process to change the standards and/or the PUD in the
future, and how to memorialize these details within City code.
• Understanding the management needs and requirements for the open space tract. The
open space tract was dedicated to the City of Kent which means that an annexation
would transfer the property to the City of Auburn. While open space is generally
intended to remain undisturbed there are times when dangerous trees need to be
removed, invasive weeds eradicated, garbage from illegal dumping to be picked up, etc.
• Evaluation of the condition of infrastructure within the PUD. This evaluation includes a
look at the physical condition of public roads, sidewalks, bridges, signage, street lights,
storm ponds, public landscaping and open space, etc. It also includes a review of
inspection records related to storm water facilities, bridge infrastructure, and roadway
infrastructure etc.
• Engagement with the residents who currently live within this community. What is the
impact to their property taxes, utility bills, police/fire service, voting districts, etc.?
• Defining the annexation process. State and County laws adequately define a process
where unincorporated land is annexed into a city. The laws and procedures do not
contemplate the process for moving an already annexed area from one city to another.
• Defining how to transfer assets including paper and digital records, land and
infrastructure, inspection and permit records, etc.
• Post annexation actions that are necessary. For example, all street signs within the
Bridges include a City of Kent graphic. The City of Auburn would want street signs
swapped out in order to remove this graphic.
As discussions progress and there is a greater understanding of the impacts, pros and cons,
process, and potential future conditions of the yet to be developed property, staff will continue to
engage the Auburn City Council in order to ensure that Council is in the best position possible to
make informed annexation decisions.
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