Paine Field, housing crunch are hot-button issues at annual update

EVERETT — Snohomish County will need to build 7,000 new affordable housing units every year for the next 21 years to compensate for the growing population.

That’s the word from County Executive Dave Somers, who spoke about the challenges of the county’s rapid growth to public leaders during a meeting of the Economic Alliance Snohomish County at Boeing’s Future of Flight Museum on Tuesday. The aviation center hosted Somers’ address, which touched on aviation, the economy, housing, homelessness and safety.

It was a snapshot of the direction Somers sees the county headed in.

‘The crown jewel’ of the local economy

Accounting for over 155,000 jobs and nearly $60 billion in yearly economic activity, Paine Field Airport is “the crown jewel” of Snohomish County’s economy, Somers said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/paine-field-housing-crunch-are-hot-button-issues-at-annual-update/ar-AA19KVGM