Pierce County will award affordable housing grants totaling $592,200 this spring and is seeking possible recipients. Completed applications must be submitted to the Department of Community Services by 4 p.m. April 29.

The Affordable Housing Program was created by the state Legislature in 2002. It is funded by $10 fees applied by the county auditor on recorded documents. “The purpose of the program is to create and maintain affordable housing for very low income people,” said Bryan Schmid, loan officer with the county’s Housing Programs Division.

Very low income is defined as below 50 percent of the area median income. That income level is $31,000 a year for a household of four.

The county has funded 13 projects since launching the program in the fall of 2003. The enabling legislation was Substitute House Bill 2060.
Eligible activities for the SHB 2060 program include these:

– Acquisition, rehabilitation and-or new construction of housing projects or units that are affordable to very low income persons;

– Operation and maintenance costs for housing projects built with housing trust funds that are affordable to very low income persons and that require a supplement to rent income to cover operating expenses;

– Rental assistance vouchers provided to very low income persons and administered by a local public housing authority or other organization that has an eligible rental assistance voucher program.

Applications can be accessed at http://www.piercecountywa.org/2060app.