Why is the FHA seeking your input? We want to know the current issues in our community that affect you. Staying ahead of potential legislation and litigation is how our small community has survived. Did you know that in ’50s there were as many as 2,000 floating homes? With the national trend for Urban Renewal at that time the floating home community was targeted for “clean-up” by the City. By the late ’60s, there were less than 1,000 houseboats following City attempts to gentrify the lake and clean-up the low-rent community of floating homes. This sparked the formation of the Floating Homes Association in 1962. Thanks to the formation of the Floating Homes Association ….
- Today there are 510 remaining floating homes protected by many hard-fought regulations involving the City of Seattle, Department of Ecology, Department of Natural Resouces, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
- There is an Equity Ordinance that conditions the ability to evict a homeowner and that mitigates the process for increases in moorage fees for those on rented docks.
- There is a close relationship with the Department of Natural Resources to negotiate lease rates for those homes over DNR lake territory
The mission of the FHA, to protect, preserve and promote the vitality of the floating homes community through education, advocacy, environmental stewardship, and collaboration, requires everyone’s participation and contribution whether personal, professional or financial.
Please do your part by completing the survey below. You do not need to be a member of the FHA to complete the survey, but you do need to own or live in one of the 510 floating homes in Seattle. The survey will close at midnight, Monday, February 8th. If you aren’t yet a member of the FHA you can join here from as little as $40 a year. You can find out more about these issues by clicking here Seaplanes, Electrical Code Upgrade, Grading in the Shoreline Environment
This form is now closed. Please email contact@seattlefloatinghomes.org if you have questions or need help.
