Church Family,
 
Michelle Manis, Chair of the church Leadership Board, shared in worship on Sunday that the Board reached consensus around the sale of the south half of the property to Habitat for Humanity Seattle/King and Kittitas Counties (Habitat SKKC or just Habitat), rather than the west half. Habitat SKKC has agreed to the new area and has received input from our attorney, the District Board of Church and Location, UMC Conference staff, and has incorporated all that input into a new draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which is now being reviewed a second time by our attorney. We will have copies of the MOU in full once that review is complete.
 
For now, the main components of the MOU are still similar to what they have been, just in a different section of the property.

  • Habitat will build 34 townhomes and operate them so they will be permanently affordable at 80%AMI or below.
  • Habitat will remove the rental house and create parking.
  • Habitat will repave and restripe the church parking areas between the church building and the parsonage and will prioritize space for church parking during construction.
  • Habitat will install rooftop solar on all new buildings.
  • A fire lane will be preserved that allows access between the entrance to the Habitat community off 1st Ave. NE and the entrance to the church parking off NE 133rd St.
  • A mix of 2, 3, and 4-bedroom units will be built, the exact mix being determined after a market analysis is performed.
  • HLUMC will have input and the right to approve or deny approval for exterior design decisions.
  • Camp United We Stand will be welcomed in residence, when the church deems appropriate.

The parts of the MOU that are not the same, given the decision to go with the south half of the lot instead of the west half of the lot include:

  • The existing parsonage will be retained.
  • No new parsonage will be built.
  • Church parking in the space between the parsonage and the church building will be retained.
  • The P Patch will not be retained.
  • The purchase price for the sale has been increased to $2 million dollars, due to removing the need to build a new parsonage and the addition of 2-bedroom units to the mix of townhome styles. This is in addition to the nearly $1 million of improvements to the property that Habitat is doing, including parking improvements and solar installation. 

After the Leadership Board selected the south half of the property for development, we shared that decision with Habitat SKKC. In addition, we shared the desire to introduce 2-bedroom units into the project in an effort to provide the highest possible sale price. Habitat staff were able to confer and increase their offer, to maximize the investment the church can make and provide income from the interest on that investment to sustain church operations.
 
Given that these terms are now clear and the results of the straw poll two weeks ago were also clear, the vote on March 29 on the MOU with Habitat will proceed as planned. In person and Zoom votes will be counted. There is no absentee voting. 
 
On Sunday, there was a request for a copy of the architect’s diagram of the plans for south lot development to be included in this newsletter, so you will find it with the other Pictures. Please remember that it does not show which homes will have 2, 3, or 4- bedrooms, which ones may be accessible, what color anything will be, where landscaping will be placed, and many other open questions that will be decided during design, permitting, and funding processes happening over the next few years. Let us know if you have questions or thoughts.
 
Faithfully Yours, HLUMC Faithland Team: Jon Daniel, Carol Jaeger, and Pastor Laura