Kingfisher Village includes 60 new tiny homes offering safer transitions from the street to housing in Tacoma and Pierce County.
County Budget to tackle leading social and environmental issues
This year’s proposed County Budget is tackling some of the leading social problems from drug programs to funding affordable housing for low income people to building small villages for the homeless. “Our first eight months in office have been busy connecting with the community and learning from our city and town partners,” said Ryan Mello, Pierce County Executive . “Much of this work has focused on preparing the 2026–27 biennial budget which implements our new Forward Together Strategic Plan.”
“Mello’s first newsletter contained progress in many areas from building a new county Juvenile Facility to a new drug treatment program for the highly addicted users,” said Kirk Kirkland, writer for the Environmental Coalition.
Environmental priorities:
“Top priorities for environmental advocates are the work that Mello and his staff are doing to achieve goals to provide clean, sustainable environment and stable climate. Mello and tthe County Council has not shied away from tackling the most difficult issues of our time, like taking care to provide safe-place housing for the homeless to sleep but also provide care for people who need it.” said Kirkland.
Note: The following Information was sent to the Coalition from the County Executive’s office:
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Priorities for Clean Sustainable Environment,
2025-26 priorities
The goals were set for current and future generations to enjoy a stable climate for current and future generations and to enjoy clean air, clean water, and a healthy natural world.
- Implement Sustainability 2030 Plan with a strong emphasis on equity
- Collaborate with tribes to improve local waterways and Fish passage barriers. This goal was accomplished not by removing the Chamber Creek dam, but by allowing Chinook Salmon through the WDFW fish ladder. Read more here
- Coordinate and advance open space and farmland preservation efforts with goal of 100,000 additional acres by 2044 as outlined in the Land Conservation Plan
- Create an inventory of tree canopy and identify and prioritize conservation in communities most vulnerable to loss of
coverage and harmful heat island effect
Longer-term goals
- Promote Climate Commitment Act programs for low-income weatherization and appliance efficiency upgrades, e-bike, EVs, free transit, county building electrification and energy efficiency upgrades, etc.
- Plan for eventual landfill closure
- Strengthen the county’s Commute Trip Reduction program, including promotion of telework to remove commute trips. Create and monitor a telework goal for county departments
- Incentives business and institutions that implement sustainable or climate resilient impro
Goals for Affordable housing:
Mello has been excited at the progress the county is making to build more affordable housing. In the last two years alone, the County has created or preserved almost 1,400 units of affordable housing thanks to the Maureen Howard Affordable Housing Act, and each individual unit carries a story and new beginning for a Pierce County resident in need. ”
Kingfisher Village Opens in South Tacoma
Late last month, local leaders and community partners celebrated the opening of Kingfisher Village, a new 60-unit tiny home community on South Hosmer Street designed to provide safe, transitional housing for people moving out of encampments.
The $2 million project was supported by more than $1.9 million from Pierce County for land and infrastructure, using funds from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Right of Way Safety Initiative. Volunteers, including local high school students, also helped build the homes.
Operated by the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), the village includes insulated, furnished homes with heat, air conditioning, outlets and Wi-Fi, along with shared kitchens, bathrooms and laundry facilities. Residents are referred through the state’s Encampment Resolution Program and receive 24/7 staffing and on-site case management to support their transition to permanent housing.
Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello is dedicated to collaborating with state and local partners and using new tax revenue strategically, Pierce County is making headway to ensure everyone has a place to call home.
For example, in 2023 Mello led the effort in the Pierce County Council to pass the Maureen Howard Affordable Housing Act, implementing a one-tenth of 1% Housing and Related Services sales tax. The Act has since raised more than $23 million and helped to develop almost 1,400 units of affordable housing in Pierce County.
Read more about Kingfisher Village here»
Recent projects to make housing possible include:
o Shiloh New Life Apartments, 60 affordable units for low-income households and people experiencing homelessness
o Patsy Suhr Place, 70 affordable units for older adults and veterans experiencing homelessness
Kingfisher Village includes 60 new tiny homes offering safer transitions from the street to housing in Tacoma and Pierce County. Read more about Kingfisher Village here»
Affordable Housing progress:
Rising housing costs are a major driver of this increase. Yet data also shows what works: more than 84% of people who exit into permanent housing remain stably housed for at least two years.
That’s why Pierce County is:
Expanding affordable housing (1,000+ units in development under the Maureen Howard Affordable Housing Act)
Reforming land use and zoning to enable 250,000 new housing units over time
Growing eviction prevention programs (698 households kept housed so far this year). Launching new efforts like the Shelter Access Hub and youth housing supports
Annual scorecard for homelessness:
Starting January 30, Pierce County leaders, service providers, and volunteers surveyed people experiencing homelessness during the annual Homeless Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. We encountered 2,955 people on our streets and in our shelters – an 11% increase from last year.
2024 unsheltered 1216 Sheltered 1445
2025 Unsheltered 1433 Sheltered 1522