About Us

Mission

The mission of Tulalip Tribes Housing Department is to enhance the Tulalip community by creating and sustaining quality, safe, and affordable living environments across the continuum of needs that foster stability and increase selfsufficiency for Tribal Membership.

Department Overview

Tulalip Housing Department is a division of the Tulalip Tribes government, providing affordable housing to more than 1,000 Tribal members and their families. Over 100 housing residents are elders or disabled and more than 350 are children.

In keeping with our mission, the department supports a wide range of services for Tribal membership, including employment opportunities, low-income and tax credit housing, homeownership opportunities, workforce housing rentals, elder housing, disabled housing, emergency home repair loans, and 7 parks.

History

In December 1976, the Tulalip Board of Directors adopted Ordinance #33 that created the Tulalip Tribes Housing Authority. The Housing Authority was a separate entity from the Tribes and operated under the direction of a Board of Commissioners and an Executive Director. Between 1982 and 1996, the Housing Authority received sixteen grants through HUD’s Traditional Indian Housing Development Program that resulted in the construction of 135 rental homes and 133 mutual help home-ownership homes.

In October 1996, Congress enacted the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act, which created the Indian Housing Block Grant program. Since that time, the Tulalip Tribes has been awarded an annual grant of approximately $2 million upon the approval of an annual Indian Housing Plan. The annual grant amount was recently increased to approximately $3.4 million following HUD’s approval of Tulalip’s request to expand the area on which the grant amount is based.

In order to give the Board of Directors direct oversight of the housing programs in 2004, it was decided to dissolve the Housing Authority and create the Tulalip Tribes Housing Department, an arrangement that was formalized through the adoption of Ordinance #128. Under this structure, the Board of Commissioners has been eliminated and the Housing Manager reports directly to the General Manager.

Since 2004 the Housing Department has been a department of the Tulalip Tribes Government and under the direction of the GM and the Board of Directors. Ordinance #128 was repealed and replaced with Code Chapter 6.05 in 2005.

Low-Income and Tax Credit Housing

The Low-Income and Tax Credit Housing Program provides 280 housing units in the communities at Silver Village North, Silver Village South, Mission Highlands East, Mission Highlands West, Church Site, Turk Drive Park, 28th Dr. NW, Battle Creek, Y-Site, Quil 1, Quil 2, Quil Ceda Meadows North, and Quil Ceda Meadows South. Funding to cover costs exceeding rental income comes from housing assistance provided to Native Americans through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA) reorganized the system of housing assistance by eliminating several separate programs of assistance and replacing them with a block grant program. The two programs authorized for Indian tribes under NAHASDA are the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) which is a formula based grant program and Title VI Loan Guarantee which provides financing guarantees to Indian tribes for private market loans to develop affordable housing.

Regulations are published at 24 CFR Part 1000. Each year, Tulalip Tribes Housing Department submits to HUD an Indian Housing Plan (IHP) to receive funding. At the end of each year, the department is required to submit to HUD an Annual Performance Report (APR) reporting on their progress in meeting the goals and objectives included in their IHPs.

Elder Housing

In 2011, the Tulalip Tribes Housing Department built 7 duplexes in Elders Village to provide housing opportunities for 14 elders, with room in each home for a caregiver, if needed. In addition to these homes, 3 duplexes are designated for Elder/Disabled Housing. The Housing Department also bought 2 homes on 79th that are being occupied temporarily by the Elder’s Program, providing temporary housing for elders who are having their homes remodeled under the Elders Home Remodel Program.

Disabled Housing

The Housing Department has 3 duplexes that are designated Elder/Disabled Housing.

Workforce Housing

The Tulalip Housing Department is dedicated to providing housing options for Tribal membership who are overincome for other housing programs. Work Force Housing has 24 rental units ranging from two to four bedrooms that are designated for working Tribal members whose incomes exceed the range of our other programs. The rents for these homes are about 20% below market rate rents of what a family would pay in surrounding communities.

Tulalip Bay Home Ownership Program

In 2012 the Board of Directors approved a homeownership program in the Tulalip Bay area. Originally, the homes were to be developed in a new development called Maplewood. Due to significant infrastructure costs and wetland mitigation that would be extensive, the Board moved the funding to the Tulalip Bay home program. This program provides homeownership opportunities under the HUD 184 home loan program. The Housing Department has constructed and sold 14 homes to date, and has another 14 home development pending. With over 300 lease lots expiring by 2037, there is a lot of development that can take place over the next 15 years in that area.

Department Information

Housing Program

The two primary governmental agencies responsible for addressing Tribal housing needs are the Tulalip Tribes Housing Assistance Program (TTHAP), and the Tulalip Housing Department.

There are numerous Tribal programs that provide housing for Tribal members and their families. These programs assist those who qualify to purchase stick-built or modular homes or who wish to make major improvements to their existing houses. These programs are aimed at helping Tribal members, with adequate resources, purchase their first home or construct their own homes on Trust and Fee Simple land on the Reservation./p>

Housing Goals

• Preserve the Reservation as the permanent homeland for Tulalip Tribal members and provide appropriate housing to meet Tribal housing needs.
• Provide adequate utility and transportation infrastructure for Tribal and non-Tribal housing and locate future housing near infrastructure that can serve it.
• Provide a range of housing opportunities and options including type, design, affordability, and location.
• Promote Tribal mixed-use housing developments as vibrant neighborhoods with desirable living conditions and high-quality housing.

Properties

The greatest concentration of housing is in the Port Susan Camping Club area. Originally Port Susan was developed as vacation destination housing. Each lot is not designated for full-time use due to the limited capacity of the onsite septic systems at Port Susan. However, Port Susan is used as a permanent residence by many people that own more than one lot and switch lots during the course of the year, residing for a portion of the year on one lot and the rest of the year on another. This phenomenon ensures that these people are considered temporary residents, yet effectively become full-time residents of the Port Susan Camping Club. This 798-acre area has 2,499 lots and is on a 75-year lease from the Tribe. It will be returned to the Tribe when the lease expires in 2052. All of the lots are located to the east of Marine Drive Northwest on 654 of the 798 total acres. The remaining 144 acres are used by Port Susan Camping Club members as access from their campsites to Possession Sound. The Port Susan Camping Club cannot currently be considered a solution for housing, but the site will be available upon the expiration of the lease for land uses other than recreational camping.

Tulalip Bay is a medium to a high-density residential area, characterized by moderately sized homes with some - but not all - being connected to municipal sewer systems. Homes located on and near Tulalip Bay were built on lots owned by the Tribe under long-term residential leases. Over time these leases will expire, and the Tribe is faced with competing pressures in deciding whether to renew them. Due to concerns over water quality and the safety of residents in landslide-prone areas, some leases will not be renewed, while others will be extended for only a finite period. These actions will have a varied effect on localized land uses. Housing stocks will be depleted in the short term, but access to the water and aquatic resources by the Tribe and its members will be enhanced.