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Housing Action Plan Story Board

Share your Housing Experience

We invite you to share your housing experience in Bothell. Your input provides valuable insights that help shape future housing strategies in the Housing Action Plan.

Here are some questions to get you thinking:

What is your current housing situation?
What features or improvements would you like to see in homes? Examples: energy-efficient upgrades, improved heating or cooling, planting more trees, or shared amenities like community gardens.
In the future, what kind of home would you consider or see yourself living in?

This forum will be open through the end of April 2026.

How to Participate

1) Log In

To share your story, log in or create an account by clicking “Log In” in the top right corner of the page. A profile is required to participate but you can submit a comment and respond to other people’s comment anonymously.

Profile/Post Visibility

If you prefer to share or participate anonymously, simply select the anonymous option when it appears.

Stay Connected

To keep up to date with project updates follow Engage Bothell - Housing Action Plan

Questions? Contact

Rey Sosa, Senior Long-Range Planner, Email

Jaclyn Samson, Long-Range Planner, Email

2) Submit your Story

Click “Submit your Idea” to create your post. You’ll be asked to add a title and share your story (up to 200 words). Additional optional questions may follow.

3) Engage with Others

We encourage people to respond to other people’s post with comments or reaction buttons as a way to connect and join the conversation. We ask all participants to engage respectfully to keep this space welcoming for everyone. See our community guidelines in the FAQ.

Your response may be quoted anonymously in reports or publications. Thank you for helping us learn from your experiences!

Phases

Phases overview

Phase 1: Story Collection

Story Collection

Story Collection

January 1, 2026 8:00 AM - May 1, 2026 7:00 AM

19 ideas

1 month ago I moved to Bothell in 2003 from Ballard ( resided in Ballard for 10years). I bought my first home in Bothell by former Wayne Golf Course for 155K in 2003! (That price is of historical notation). I sold my home in 2023 and have inherited a family home in Bothell. For young adults and mature adults, the home prices with in Bothell are excessive. I am confused by the development of multistory homes, which are not desirable for those in their 3rd season of life. I wish that Bothell would stop building multistory town homes. There are so many built already and the costs for such is out of the budget of many professionals, specifically Caucasian families. I feel that that Asian and East Indian cultures have consumed much of the Bothell housing market. I assume that the non resident parents of those Asians and Indian families fund their purchases… Please cease building multifamily units!! Stop the influx of cars until there is better access to public transportation.

S L.2 months ago I've lived here all my life, and I am absolutely appalled that developers are allowed to tear down forested areas to build thousands of homes and apartments! Any time I leave my home I'm disgusted at the amount of new developments being build, I feel as if the hearing examiner Phil Olbrechts (the one who approves all the developments and is UNELECTED) and every city planner has allowed for our natural habitats to be destroyed. Then they say they "care about the environment" when their actions say the opposite. I think we need stricter environmental laws on tree removal and whether wetland areas can be built next to. I think wetland buffers need to be multiple acres large, NOT FEET! and lots w/ 75% tree cover should be protected under Bothell municipal code. and developments with more than one home should be voted on BY VOTERS. We need stricter environmental laws to disincentivize developers! and City planners should be voted in, not installed!!!

2 months ago Traffic has become so congested on 100th Ave NE/19th Ave SE that it can take almost 15 minutes to turn left (south) onto 100th in the morning from dead-end street. Turning right requires going north almost a mile dumping us into the Canyon Park Middle school gridlock.Changing from the 4way stop northeast of City Hall has also made it more difficult to reach Riverside Dr. People cut through neighborhoods to avoid the intersection.

2 months ago When we moved to Bothell almost 30 years ago, housing was reasonable and families with young children could live here. The housing costs now make it so that our children can't even consider moving here even though they are established professionally. A community is strongest when there is diversity within it and the housing costs here are creating a very limited population. "Starter homes" are no longer being built. We need these more than we need another million dollar home.

Joshua Dunham2 months ago I would like to see more land dedicated to mobile home ownership as a more affordable alternative to single family homes and townhomes, a perfect example would be Holly Hills in bothell where you own the land and the mobile home, this was the closest I was able to get to for home ownership in Bothell. A good alternative would be co-ops of mobile home parks. The city of Duvall has a mobile home park where all the mobile home owners own the land together and their land rent hasn't gone up in over a decade and you dont have to worry about the mobile home park selling the land from underneath you. I almost could afford a home there aswell. Putting in laws that help mobile home park tenants be able to become a Co op would be great to get more of these. If we could get areas that have mobile homes to become more walkable/bikeable and better transit, that would be even better.

2 months ago I have lived in Bothell for all my life (20 years) and as I've gotten more familiar with the layout of the city its become very clear to me how segmented our housing layouts are. Suburban developments in North Creek and Canyon Park sprout up with mini mansions and a very heavy focus on car centric planning. While simultaneously downtown apartment developments like Alexan Mainstreet have acted as a part of the push for a walkable dense Bothell. These 2 ideals of planning have clashed and created a identity crisis for housing in Bothell. Where the city can't seemingly decide what its future focus on housing is going to be. We can't continue having a singular walkable downtown while the surrounding areas are still so car dependent. As the Seattle are continues to density for the increase in population, there must be a consensus that continued construction of single family housing is not compatible with the One Seattle Plan.

Joshua Dunham2 months ago I grew up in bothell but I can not afford to purchase a home here. I want to be able to purchase a home in a walkable area, preferably downtown bothell as thats where im currently renting. The only reason I can afford to live here is because I am in a sixplex which rents at prices below all other apartments here. I got very lucky as sixplexes arent very common here currently.I would love to see Condos being built as it helps density while offering home ownership opportunities.Townhomes are great but bothell is already doing an amazing job at adding these so I digress. Cottage courtyard small detached homes with a shared green space would be great too for those who do not want or cant afford a McMansion but want to purchase a home, its also more compact than traditional single family homes. Lastly, duplexes up to sixplexes would be great too for affordability reasons and incentivize small developers to build in bothell.

3 months ago The price of housing in the Seattle metro area is not sustainable. With over half the population being single or a 2 person household there needs to be more apartment towers of well planned out studio apartments with rents under $1,000/month; preferably along the lines of $800/mo. ALL that's being built in Bothell are million $$ townhouses and big box homes. Until people can control the costs of a roof over their heads, everything else is not consequential. Bothell has been 'looking' into afforable housing for over 20 years now and I don't see any movement on this.

Evelyn Hays3 months ago We bought a starter home (1000 sq ft) in Canyon Park in 1980. Moved after 2 kids to upsize (3100 sq ft) In Redmond. In 2021 I moved to a small house (1600 sq ft) in Maywood hills, Bothell. I think future families and singles will want neighborhood character to be as important as density. Bothell has many unique attributes to shape a community village character. The old Anderson school and Northshore pool were re-developed not demolished. The Ranch “drive in” is iconic, Main Street hosts community events. my neighborhood has 4 walkable schools (2 public, 2 private) and 4 churches, sometimes you can hear the band at Pop Keeny field. Bothell has many neighborhoods of modest homes on small lots. Require/incentivize developers to build affordable small homes, duplexes up to sixplexes for community village neighborhoods. Currently they’re going the opposite direction with luxury condos & big houses. Tall & dense apartments/condos have a place near transit hubs and busy streets.

Jose M4 months ago

Tara Adams4 months ago

Peg Walther3 months ago My husband and I settled in Bothell because of its location, good schools, natural setting (trees and fields), and assortment of small businesses - and affordable housing. Location meant that we could hold jobs on the eastside, downtown Seattle, and Snohomish county. Good schools became important when our son was born. Natural setting, especially the woodlands along the Sammamish River were so helpful in alleviating stress, appreciating that life is more than work, and we are part of a larger universe. Small businesses provide good products and services for both everyday needs and special items, e.g., eyeglasses. Affordability was good when we moved here long ago. Year later when we had to move for a new job, we kept the house as a rental because we knew we wanted to retire here and that we would not be able to buy a house again in Bothell. So glad we did. Unfortunately, with housing so expensive in this area our son, who has a good job, can afford only to rent.

A J4 months ago

Karen Kringle5 months ago

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