County Council approves plan to fight displacement, promote equity, social justice

Dembowski sponsored equity legislation
passed King County Council

The King County Council has approved legislation aimed at fighting displacement and combating the effects of historical racism and injustice through establishment of a grants program and suite of other resources.

Sponsored by Councilmembers Rod Dembowski, Girmay Zahilay and Jeanne Kohl-Welles, the Equitable Development Initiative will serve as a guiding framework for investment and resource allocation in historically marginalized communities across King County to address the impacts of past policies that have led to inequities and displacement.

“This legislation offers a new approach to making investments to support communities where needs are greatest,” Dembowski said. 

“It empowers and centers the voices of community members who are on the ground, doing this work today to make decisions about how and where to invest resources to provide opportunities for housing, jobs, and community spaces. 

"I’m honored to have partnered with community leaders from all over King County to pass this legislation and look forward to seeing its impacts for years to come.”

King County, like all of America, has a history of structural racism that continues to have oppressive effects on Black, Indigenous and people of color. Policies and laws, like alien land laws and racially restrictive covenants, prevented BIPOC communities from owning homes and accumulating generational wealth. 

Combined with explosive growth in housing prices and a shrinking supply of affordable housing, historically marginalized communities continue to be displaced at disproportionate rates and struggle to maintain housing. 

The Equitable Development Initiative responds to the unequal distribution of opportunities by intentionally investing in communities that have been left behind by these policies and issues.

Zahilay said. “A King County Equitable Development Initiative will help people establish deep roots in their neighborhoods. It will advance a county-wide strategy for investing in community-driven and community-owned anti-displacement solutions. Thank you to all those who made this legislation possible.”

As approved, the motion requests the Executive to establish the Equitable Development Initiative and then prepare a two-phase implementation plan. The motion lays out a set of principles to guide the initiative, including:

• Advancing economic mobility and opportunity for residents
• Preventing residential, commercial and cultural displacement
• Building upon and protecting local cultural assets that anchor communities
• Supporting organizational capacity building
• Promoting transportation mobility and connectivity
• Enabling equitable access for all communities

“As the King County region continues to grow, centering equity in that growth is vital. That’s why we have laid the groundwork today to ensure that new development takes into account the systemic underinvestment in certain areas of the county to the detriment of many of our already-marginalized communities,” Kohl-Welles said. 

“Thank you, Councilmember Dembowski, for introducing the legislation which I’m pleased to cosponsor, and to my colleagues for the robust discussion and work to make this happen.”

The first phase would include creating the EDI program, while the second phase would include setting objectives to reduce disparities, analyzing data on displacement risk and other factors to set out further programs and policies, monitoring outcomes, setting up partnerships with outside agencies and community organizations, leveraging funding and more.

The first phase of the plan is due back to Council by June 30, 2022 and the second phase will be due a year later, in 2023.

Rod Dembowski represents north end cities in the King county council District 1, including Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, the King county portion of Bothell, most of Kirkland, northeast Seattle.