People who work or live in Island County or Langley are encouraged to take a brief survey about a hot topic — housing.

Island Roots Housing, a nonprofit organization fiscally sponsored by Goosefoot Community Fund, has launched a survey focusing on the housing element of Island County’s comprehensive plan update. By 2045, the county is anticipated to have a population of 102,639, which is an increase of more than 15,000 new residents.

Island Roots Housing joined with Whidbey Environmental Action Network and the Agricultural Resources Committee for Island County to increase participation in local planning efforts and to highlight those who have been historically underrepresented in comprehensive planning. The consortium of community-based organizations received a $76,717 grant from the state Department of Commerce for this work, which includes the survey.

Survey respondents are invited to share their thoughts on housing needs, challenges and opportunities. The survey will remain open until Jan. 31. In February, Island Roots Housing plans to share the results with Island County, as well as the city of Langley, which is also involved in comprehensive planning efforts related to housing.

“There are a number of people who work in Island County but can’t attain housing here, which we expect is one of the issues that this survey will highlight,” Island Roots Housing Managing Director Rose Hughes said.

Visit islandrootshousing.org/news-updates to access the survey, which takes an estimated eight minutes to complete. Respondents can choose to remain anonymous or provide their contact information so they can be asked to give further input in the future.

Besides the survey, Island Roots Housing has been busy developing the first project under Langley’s new multi-family infill code. The Generations Place project includes 14 apartments with two or three bedrooms, with nine of them being for households making up to 80% of area median income and five of them for households making up to 60%.

The project is financed by a mix of funds, including a $1.1 million grant of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds through Island County, $1.3 million in federal HOME funds through a tri-county consortium and $1.6 million in state funds through a Local Projects appropriation sponsored by Sen. Ron Muzzall and supported by Rep. Clyde Shavers and Rep. Dave Paul.

Additionally, a $82,526 grant from Puget Sound Energy will provide solar panels on the rooftop.

The community has also shown its support, with over 325 individuals, local businesses and foundations having donated over $2.7 million to the project.

Island Roots Housing, which will own and operate the apartments, hopes to begin construction on Generations Place this year. It is located on the corner of Second Street and DeBruyn Avenue.

“It’s very exciting,” Hughes said. “We basically got everything in place. We are fully in compliance. We passed both the federal and the state environmental review, which is very extensive.”

The project grew out of Langley’s 2022 Housing Needs Assessment, which contained some shocking revelations, such as the fact that only 27 people both live and work in the city, but 562 workers commute into the area.

Hughes also pointed to data from the South Whidbey School District about the growing number of children who are unstably housed. As of November 2024, the school district reported 124 kids living in unstable housing conditions. Of that 124, some are not yet enrolled because of their young age.