Commission to Hold Special Meeting on Affordable/Workforce Housing and Area Homelessness

BRADENTON – Manatee County Commissioners will have a special meeting in April on the topics of homelessness and affordable/workforce housing. The commission came to the unanimous decision to set the meeting as an all-day session in their regular commission meeting Tuesday. The special meeting is currently scheduled for April 19 at 9 a.m.

The commission has been seeking policy solutions they can utilize to address the growing lack of affordable and workforce housing within the county. The subject has been of increasing priority and the board has held at least three work sessions on the subject in the last year. With many residents facing limited housing availability and sky-rocketing rental rates, the pressure is growing to find actionable solutions.

"People are getting displaced or are at risk of getting displaced due to ever-rising costs," Commissioner George Kruse said in Tuesday’s meeting. "What is going to happen is those people are going to move away. We are going to lose our teachers, our police, our fireman, and young professionals," Kruse told the board.

Kruse added the related item to Tuesday’s meeting agenda to update the board on various meetings he has attended with community members, elected officials, and developers regarding affordable housing. Kruse sought to open the topic for discussion and idea-sharing among the board to help shape a more detailed and productive discussion in the April special meeting.

"It becomes more and more apparent that the private sector, for-profit people, don’t want to–or feel they cannot–provide any level of affordable workforce housing, and the non-profits are telling me that they can’t either," Kruse said.

Kruse detailed for the board discussions with entities who cited the significant increases to material and labor costs that leave potential builders of workforce housing unable to price rents at affordable rates. He explained that the rising cost to build any housing has grown to a place that is cost-prohibitive to landlords being able to provide affordable or workforce housing.

The goal is for the commission to come up with practical solutions or revisions to the county’s comp plan and development code to offer more incentive and encouragement to potential builders of workforce units.

Some possible solutions offered by Kruse in Tuesday’s meeting included half-dwelling units–a suggestion raised by Kruse in previous discussions–as well as impact fees waivers for builders of workforce housing, changes to height restrictions and density, re-zoning, a master-leasing program, and exploring uncharted avenues of funding for the issue.

Possible solutions offered by other commissioners included working with builders of self-storage units to consider the addition of housing above their business structures, partnerships with local businesses in an effort to work together to help secure local housing for local employees, and utilization of state-sponsored zero percent loan and down payment for first responders and veterans.

Even the county government is experiencing fallout related to the state and county’s growing housing crisis. County Administrator Scott Hopes told the board that a prospective hire to fill the vacancy of Director of Human Resources may be reconsidering their application for the position due to concerns related to the high cost of living–specifically short-term and long-term housing costs.

The discussion appeared to provide significant dialogue and idea-sharing, bringing the commission to the agreement that an entire day should be spent on efforts to seek solutions to help community residents. Hopes told the board they should expect a number of items to be brought forward for discussion and action in April’s special meeting.

Commissioner Misty Servia suggested the board consider dividing the two topics–homelessness and the affordable housing crisis–into two separate all-day special meetings. By the time of the regular meeting's adjournment Tuesday, no final decision had been made on the suggestion.

To replay the entire discussion from Tuesday's regular commission meeting on the topics of affordable housing and the upcoming special meeting, click the video below.