Monday, Mar 7 2011 12:45AM

Legislation that would have allowed a housing project to construct 1,600 affordable homes was shot down by the Washington state legislature.

Washington state's Snohomish County has lost funding that would have helped create a rural affordable housing village near Lake Goodwin, reported the Daily Herald.

The project, a joint effort between builders the McNaughton Group and the Granite Land Co., can currently construct 600 homes on lots in an area known as Seven Lakes. However, the newspaper said the companies produced a plan for building up to 1,600 homes on small lots that would be clustered into three high-density villages. The plan required that the firms purchase development rights from rural landowners in the county, a move that the paper said was ultimately shut down by state legislators when introduced in a House bill.

Many county residents and their state representatives oppose the housing assistance development plans, according to the source. Despite the slow start, Representative Hans Dunshee told the paper he believes supporters should keep pushing for the project.

"I think it's good policy but Senator [Mary Margaret] Haugen said she hated it and I'll defer to her since it is in her district," said Dunshee, who sponsored the bill. "It is good stuff. I think we need keep working on the subject."

Many rural Northwestern regions are in need of more affordable housing options. In recognition of that need, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently awarded more than $1.3 million in housing grants to organizations in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.