Please fill out the form below to sign your organization onto the following letter to support the King County equitable development inititative motion. The list of signatories will be updated daily. Thank you for your support!

Dear King County Councilmembers,

Over the last year, a coalition of BIPOC-led community organizations throughout King County have crafted a vision for long-term stability of our neighborhoods through community-driven and owned development. We have asked, as an initial step, for King County to establish an Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) which would invest vitally-needed funds in community-led land stewardship projects at all stages of the development process, including affordable housing, space for small businesses, and cultural facilities. 

We ask for your partnership and urge you to support the motion introduced on December 14, 2021, co-sponsored by Councilmembers Dembowski, Zahilay, and Kohl-Welles, requesting the Executive establish an equitable development initiative and prepare an implementation plan in partnership with a community advisory group. We believe that this motion centers the values of our coalition to prioritize equity and community-driven solutions to address our region's displacement crisis. 

Many of our BIPOC neighborhoods have experienced multiple waves of gentrification and displacement, and we have watched our neighbors and communities get pushed out multiple times. With the increasing price of land, and the extreme vulnerabilities created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the time is now for all of us across King County to work together to put land and opportunities in the hands of BIPOC communities. 

We want to build on the success of the Seattle EDI program and fund community-owned and driven development projects throughout the county, including in unincorporated areas that have been historically underinvested in by the county. Our communities need resources to develop their own culturally responsive and intergenerational solutions to meet their housing, small business, child care, community and cultural center, social services, and recreation needs. An additional benefit to community stewardship is increased resilience to growing climate threats and weather events.  

A King County EDI is a first step in a county-wide strategy to holistically invest in community-driven anti-displacement, development solutions and inter-generational stability. 

Please reach out to Yordanos Teferi, at yordanos@mcc-othello.org if you'd like to reach the coalition to discuss the details of this motion or our vision for a King County EDI.

Sincerely,