ARCH is a Joint Board created by the member jurisdictions approval of an Interlocal Agreement.  Our members are:

BEAUX ARTS VILLAGE
BELLEVUE
BOTHELL
CLYDE HILL
HUNTS POINT
ISSAQUAH
KENMORE
KING COUNTY
KIRKLAND
MEDINA
MERCER ISLAND
NEWCASTLE
REDMOND
SAMMAMISH
WOODINVILLE
YARROW POINT 

Mission Statement

Preserve and increase the supply of housing for low and moderate income families on the Eastside through:

• coordinating public resources in a way that will attract greater private and not-for-profit investment into affordable housing,

• pooling technical resources between jurisdictions to assist in development and implementation of housing policies and programs,

• providing expert assistance to local organizations interested in becoming active in affordable housing provision, and

• providing on-going community involvement, information, and leadership directed towards housing needs.

There Are 4 key Components To ARCH’s Structure

Councils
Councils of the participating members must adopt the Interlocal Agreement and any amendments, approve  Arch’s annual work program and budget, and take final action on the use of local resources.

Executive Board
Made up of the Chief Executive of each participating jurisdiction. This Board oversees the operation of ARCH.

Citizen Advisory Board
Twelve to fifteen citizens with a breadth of community and housing backgrounds. It is responsible for recommending the use of local government resources, and to maintain a high level of awareness of understanding of affordable housing issues throughout the community.

Staff
Consists of a combination of staff hired by ARCH, and staff loaned by Bellevue and King County. Will implement ARCH’s programs and staff ARCH’s Boards.

Eastside Communities Working Together

There is a critical need for more affordable housing on the Eastside. To meet the increasing demand, local governments throughout the region are taking a more active role and working together to support and provide affordable housing.

ARCH is dedicated to increasing the supply of affordable housing on the Eastside. The decision to create ARCH was the result of careful study by staff and citizens from across the Eastside.

Background

The impetus to work together and to explore a cooperative housing effort came from the Citizens Affordable Housing Task Force in Bellevue. Their work confirmed that:

• There is a growing need for affordable housing;

• There are many gaps in the current delivery system;

• Local government support is critical to increase the housing supply;

• Increased local government support can compliment the community’s current efforts;

• And, local governments that work together will be more effective.

They concluded that the region should combine their efforts and create a new entity to support the development of affordable housing. Their conclusions were seconded by a similar task force in Kirkland as well as the Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland Chambers of Commerce.

Based on this overwhelming conclusion, a study group was formed to explore the advantages of a regional entity to address housing issues. The group was comprised of staff from Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond and King County. This group drafted a working paper and Interlocal Agreement detailing the purpose and structure of ARCH which are summarized in the following section.

Objectives

• Expand the supply of affordable housing
• Provide the community with a sound base of public housing policies and programs
• Complement efforts of others seeking to develop affordable housing (e.g. housing authorities, community groups, business groups, and non-profit and for-profit housing developers)
  

Activities

• Provide technical assistance to develop specific projects
• Assist governments in developing housing policies
• Coordinate allocation of local government money and resources used to support development of affordable housing.
• Implement housing programs (e.g. monitoring long term affordability of privately developed housing.)
• Support and Educate the community on affordable housing issues