Statement on KING 5 report

ARCH is a coalition of King County and cities in East King County that work together to preserve and increase the
availability of affordable housing. Since 1993, our coalition has been committed to advancing ARCH’s mission by
continuing to increase the availability of affordable housing, and providing appropriate oversight to ensure that
affordable homes are used for their intended purpose.

We are very concerned about the situation highlighted in KING 5’s story and are taking active measures to follow
up on the information brought to light at the McKee property. We firmly believe that ARCH must ensure strong
enforcement against homeowners who violate program rules.

It is important to clarify that the affordable units at the McKee were created through local land use
requirements, and not through investment of taxpayer funds as reported by KING 5. KING 5 alerted ARCH to
issues at three units in the property. One of the units in question was already the subject of ARCH monitoring
efforts prior to this investigation, and a sale of that home to a new qualified buyer has been completed. ARCH
staff are also actively working to address concerns at another unit identified by KING 5 so that appropriate
enforcement actions are taken and the unit can be made available to qualified buyers. At the third unit identified
by KING 5, ARCH determined that the property owner received an approval to temporarily rent her home,
consistent with program policies.

ARCH member jurisdictions believe in the critical importance of providing safe, decent and affordable housing
options for all people in our communities. In addition to responding to any violations at the McKee property, we
intend to undertake an extensive review of ARCH policies and procedures to determine if changes are necessary.
ARCH takes seriously its responsibility to provide oversight of affordable homes created through local land use
and funding programs.

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