Puyallup seniors want affordable housing, survey shows. City moves ahead with age-friendly plan
After some delay, the city of Puyallup is moving forward with a draft action plan to make Puyallup more age-friendly.
The plan tackles four major issues meant to improve senior living in the city: housing, transportation, communication and respect/social inclusion.
Puyallup became the first city in the state to earn the AARP/World Health Organization age-friendly city designation in 2016.
With that designation came a commitment to develop an age-friendly action plan — but it’s been slow going.
In what should have taken two years will now take four. The original date to submit the approved plan to AARP was extended by a year to March 2019. It’s been extended again to March 2020.
“This extra few months will give city staff the time to work through (the plan),” Mayor John Palmer said at the study session on March 19.
At the session, a draft plan was presented to City Council by the Puyallup Area Aging in Community Committee (PAAICC).
“This is a plan that is meant to be a fluid plan. It’s not static,” said Linda Henry, a member of PAAICC. “It’s meant to respond to needs and new ideas.”
Some of those needs were outlined in a survey conducted in 2017. Adults age 45 and over living in five Puyallup zip codes were surveyed.
The coalition received 237 responses from people with the average age of 70. Of those, 26 percent have lived in the community for fewer than five years, while 32 percent indicated they’ve lived in the county for more than 45 years, according to the plan.
The PAAICC wants to grow the number of people who decide to stick around, but there are some hurdles.
Comments from the housing portion of the needs assessment show a theme: lack of affordable housing and “where to live after running out of money.”
“Housing costs are not senior friendly,” said one comment.
“Affordable housing is the biggest obstacle,” said another.
About 58 percent of those surveyed said they didn’t struggle navigating the city due to lack of transportation. They did ask for easy-to-read signs, enforced speed limits and special transportation for people with disabilities or older adults.
Of those surveyed, 63 percent said they and their spouse or partner were living with a disability or were handicapped in some way.
The draft plan outlines how the city would address the issues raised, including supporting “affordable housing solutions such as mixed-use developments, accessory dwelling units and accessible, single-story housing.”
The city also wants to educate seniors on what services are available.
The plan outlines a string of educational workshops starting in July to address housing and transportation. A website dedicated to senior services is also in the works.
Goals outlined in the draft plan include a 50 percent increase in the number of accessory dwelling unit permit applications and three Puyallup businesses receiving an age-friendly business certification by December 2020. Those dates are subject to change.
The city also would track visits to the new website and the number of seniors participating in local activities.
The city has made progress on some goals. In February, the City Council discussed code amendments meant to support affordable housing.
A Minnesota-based Village Cooperative also chose Puyallup as the site of its first 57-room retirement community due to the city’s designation.
“When I looked at this it looked like a win-win to me, because the action plan looked like stuff we were already trying to do,” Councilwoman Cynthia Jacobsen said.
The PAAICC also hosts an annual Aging Expo in May meant to connect older adults and their families to services.
2019 Aging Expo
When: May 4, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Pierce College Central Building, 1601 39th Ave. SE, Puyallup
More information: aginginpuyallup.org
This story was originally published March 24, 2019 at 1:30 PM.
