Seattle, Washington, Initiative 135, Social Housing Developer Authority Measure (February 2023)

Seattle Initiative 135, which passed in February, was designed to create the Seattle Social Housing Developer, a public development authority to own, develop, and maintain what the initiative calls social housing. Under the initiative, social housing was designed to provide publicly financed housing that is "removed from market forces and speculation" and built "with the express aim of housing people equitably and affordably ... to remain affordable in perpetuity."

House Our Neighbors! (HON), also known as Yes on I-135, led the campaign in support of Initiative 135. House our Neighbors said, "Social Housing is publicly owned forever, permanently affordable, and creates cross-class communities and resident leadership. In countries around the world, such as Singapore, Austria, France, Uruguay and Canada, housing is a public good. Unlike in the United States, governments, not the private sector, are directing the housing market. By creating a community-controlled Social Housing Developer to buy and build housing that will be available to those across the income spectrum, Seattle will have another critical tool to address the suffering, displacement, and inequity that defines our housing landscape. We can create a Seattle not just for those with generational wealth and high incomes, but where ALL can live and thrive."

Might this be a model for permanent, affordable housing in Indiana?