The Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) was created in 2021 to fund utility connections to affordable housing. This program was funded again in the 2023 legislative session with $55.5 million budgeted for grants and deferred loans for the 2023-2025 biennium.
The program also helps local governments reduce per unit connection fees. When utilities reduce or waive connection fees for affordable, multifamily or infill projects, it can encourage development of more such housing options, which tend to be more affordable and make more efficient use of costly infrastructure. Specifically, CHIP can:
- Pay for onsite water, sewer and stormwater improvements for the housing development
- Pay for offsite water, sewer, and stormwater improvements in the right-of-way, connecting to the development
- Reimburse waived water, sewer and stormwater system development charges for the project
Current funding
Applications closed October 31, 2024.
We received 62 applications with requests totaling $48,316,223, supporting a total of 4,132 affordable housing units. CHIP has approximately $12.7 million available to award.
Applications will be reviewed and scored through December, 2024. Awards will be announced January 2025.
Resources
A CHIP applicant must be a city, county or public utility district in partnership with an affordable housing project, and must meet the following requirements:
- The city or county must have imposed a sales and use tax for affordable housing.
- The new housing development must include at least 25% affordable units at or under 80% area median income (AMI), with a strong probability of serving the target group for at least 25 years.
- Affordable housing must begin construction within 24 months of the grant award.
See the following documents for detailed guidance:
To be eligible for reimbursement for waived system development charges, the applicant must have in place, or put in place, an ordinance which reduces system development charges for affordable housing units, as authorized by RCW 35.92.380 and 36.94.370.
Examples include:
- City of Bellingham’s Ordinance 2015-07-029
- King County Wastewater’s website, which shows how system development charges are levied across a variety of housing types, with a reduction to 0.32 RCEs for affordability.
Since 2021, CHIP has supported the development of close to 8100 affordable housing units, helping to create housing for the most vulnerable segments of our population. To learn more about previous funding cycles and who was funded, see the following: