To the editor:

Four walls and a ceiling — that should be the clarion call. The REAL crisis in this nation is the lack of housing; really affordable housing. Why has neither the House nor Senate taken up this call whenever the twit in chief and his made up crisis demands a useless wall?

The Jan. 18 issue of the Bainbridge Islander had an article regarding a new segment of Sound to Olympics Trail. There seems to be concerns that it will disturb the growing tent encampment. That Bainbridge Islanders are willing to accept fellow citizens living on the side of the road, depresses me beyond words.

The city council needs to take immediate action in making affordable housing a required component of any new or redevelopment on the island. That component needs to be a sizable percentage of the units being built, not a token amount.

Another required action is a cap on housing size. If we acknowledge that there is a housing shortage and a limit to the space for that housing, logically we can conclude that more smaller affordable homes can cover the same footprint as an oversized estate and house more people.

Any new or redevelopment on Bainbridge Island requires building a variety of sizes so that we are creating stock that stands a chance of being more affordable; 3,000-square-foot homes will never be affordable.

Until the day that the city council acts on this crisis, and our representatives and senators in Olympia and Washington, D.C. take action on this real nationwide crisis, I will continue to call out for “four walls and a ceiling” whenever I hear the word “wall.”

LILY DIAMENT-HANSEN

Bainbridge Island