CLEARWATER – Pinellas County Commissioners and members of the county’s Community Development department have been attending municipal meetings to talk about a proposed ordinance to establish an inclusionary housing program.
The proposed program would require that housing developments of 20 units or larger include a percentage of units affordable to the local workforce or provide affordable housing by an alternative method.
The program also identifies affordable housing requirements, development options and program incentives.
The draft ordinance was based in part on findings from a Housing Nexus Analysis prepared by Bay Area Economics.
Bruce Bussey, Urban Division manager for Pinellas County Community Development, said the ordinance would allow municipalities to opt out or approve their own affordable housing plans and incentives.
According to community development staff, inclusionary housing is a policy tool for meeting the public goal of providing affordable housing and creating mixed-income communities.
Bussey said while no written feedback had been received, some municipalities were questioning the mechanics of the plan.
He said coastal communities were saying that they didn’t anticipate much building of any housing due to lack of available land. Other cities are already working on their own affordable housing plans. Others were worried about the mandatory nature of the ordinance if they opted in.
Bussey said the 90-day period to comment on the draft ordinance was about half done. He said staff was planning to advertise a June 4 workshop meeting to allow the public and municipalities to come together to discuss any possible amendments to the ordinance.
Commissioners expressed concern that some developers were opposed to the mandatory requirement in favor of a voluntary measure.
“How can we make improvements to workforce housing if developers run to cities without an ordinance,” Commissioner Robert Stewart said. “Developers want to see this as voluntary not mandatory.”
