Many of us are rightly concerned about affordable housing on Vashon, myself included. Friends, seniors, young families, people who make a difference and contribute to the character of our community can’t find a place to live — yes, there is an affordable housing crunch here. However, in an effort to encourage low-income development, current recommendations for our community plan update are set to allow “density bonus” zoning in the town of Vashon that far exceeds our water availability. Everyone, please look into this; it represents a big and unsustainable change in density from what is currently allowed in the town of Vashon.

You can’t squeeze water from a rock — or in this case from a pile of glacial till. In our upcoming community plan update, let’s make sure to include a policy that clearly states that development on Vashon must be in quantity and scale that is consistent with protecting our natural resources. Let’s make a commitment to support better business models and creative alternatives to provide affordable housing at a scale that is consistent with what The Rock can actually provide.

Please look at the draft plan. Send comments to Bradley.Clark@kingcounty.gov and cc: JoeMcDermott@kingcounty.gov. Attend the community forum on Feb. 23 at McMurray Middle School.

— Mary G.L. Shackelford