The Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) was created in 2021 to fund utility connections to affordable housing.
The program helps local governments encourage the creation of affordable housing by reducing or covering the cost of infrastructure associated with development.
CHIP connects affordable housing projects to utility systems, and can reimburse:
- Water and sewer line upsizing to serve increased density.
- Water and sewer line extensions to serve new infill development.
- Water, sewer and stormwater connections for affordable housing development.
- Water, sewer and stormwater connections for market rate housing when a minimum of 25% of the units are set-aside as affordable to low or moderate-income households.
- Regional stormwater systems or upgrades necessary to support housing development.
- System development charges waived for affordable housing.
Current funding
Applications for the next round of CHIP grants will open July 16, 2025. Competitive funding will be available as follows:
- $55 million for all jurisdictions
- $30 million for small jurisdictions
- $5 million for pilot program in Chelan, Douglas and Okanagan counties
CHIP application workshop
Commerce will host a virtual CHIP application workshop at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 10.
Application materials will be available on the GMA Grants page beginning July 16.
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 CHIP Handbook (PDF) and watch the 2024 CHIP pre-application workshop (Vimeo)
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 awarded nearly $98 million to support the development of more than 9500 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: