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LIAPD MANASTASH ARCHITECTURE PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT Memo SUBJECT: Comment on Housing Policy in the Draft Comprehensive Plan for Kittitas County FROM: Skylar Bisom-Rapp, Ellensburg Resident Partner—Manastash Architecture Planning &Development DATE: 03/13/2026 Housing affordability has become a significant issue across Kittitas County. While the impacts are particularly visible in the upper county—where resort development and second-home demand have driven land values upward—the problem is increasingly countywide, suggesting that Kittitas County may be the outer edge of the larger Puget Sound Region housing crisis. At present,the median household income in the county is not sufficient to afford the median home price. Affordable housing is therefore no longer simply a housing policy issue; it is increasingly a constraint on the county's long-term economic stability. When housing costs rise faster than local wages, communities eventually face labor supply challenges as workers struggle to live near theirjobs. At a more human level,younger residents of Kittitas County are finding it difficult to remain in the communities where they grew up.When we think about the Comprehensive Plan's stated mission to preserve the county's rural character, it is tempting to see that as a mandate to work against housing development, or at least to concede at the outset that the tools available to the county to promote it are significantly limited by that directive. However, if the working rural people who were raised here are increasingly unable to find accessible housing and are effectively forced to leave, it calls into question what rural character really means. Simply put, the county's people are no small part of its character, and providing for housing is a critical part of maintaining it. Given this context,the Comprehensive Plan should take a clearer position about the range of housing policy avenues the County may need to explore. The draft Land Use, Rural and Resource Lands, and Housing elements establish a strong framework for managing growth and preserving rural character. However,they largely focus on land supply, development patterns, and coordination with municipalities rather than identifying concrete housing policy tools. For example,the Land Use Element emphasizes directing growth toward urban growth areas (LU-G1) and encouraging infill development (LU-P8), while also emphasizing coordination with cities regarding development regulations (LU-P5 and LU-P9).These are important principles, but they do not in themselves address whether housing will be produced or that the housing produced will be attainable for local residents. 509-968-5201 www.mapd.co 421 N Pearl St,Ste 100,Ellensburg,WA 98926