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communities like Yakima, Wenatchee opportunities to reduce retail leakage <br />and Moses Lake, as well as the Puget and Increase local options. Attract <br />Sound and online commerce. retail that brings area tourists and <br />residents to Ellensburg. <br />• . Business and community come together to makeup a <br />mosaic of cultures and people. Tourism is important to the community's <br />economic health. <br />Posture <br />Recommendation <br />Increasingly diverse community will <br />Intemationalize business recruitment <br />help to draw tourism and to welcome <br />materials; seek opportunities to <br />new business to our community <br />demonstrate our open door to many <br />cultures. <br />ELLENSBURG'S ECONOMIC THREATS <br />• Housing. Ellensburg is experiencing a severe shortage of middle- and low-income <br />housing. The shortage will impede Ellensburg's efforts to recruit new employers. <br />In conjunction with the Ellensburg Comprehensive Plan Update, the city <br />conducted a housing assessment study. This study found: <br />1. The cost of rental housing Is increasing (17% between 2013 and <br />2016); <br />2. Apartment vacancy rates are very low at 0.8°x6 (healthy is 5.0%); <br />3. Many households are cost burdened with over 1/3rd of households <br />spending >30% on housing, and over 1/3"d spend X50%; <br />4. Housing inventory and household size is not well matched; <br />5. A silver tsunami is on the horizon; and <br />6. There exist unique dousing needs typical of a college town. <br />November 2017, Ellensburg voters passed a 1/10ths percent sales tax increase <br />for affordable housing (Proposition 1). While this is not likely to'solve'the <br />housing problem, it has potential to ease the financial burden fbr some. <br />Much is happening to address Ellensburg <br />housing inventory. An Affordable Housing <br />Advisory Committee (Ad Hoc) is meeting to <br />make recommendations to City Council on <br />Proposition 1. Three projects are moving <br />from design to build, adding over 300 <br />apartments and a 400 -bed residence hall at <br />Promote responsiveness of <br />community on the issue of <br />affordable housing, and identify <br />and share information about <br />how Ellensburg is addressing <br />the community`s concerns. <br />