Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s $711 million affordable housing legislation was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday.
Passidomo, R-Naples, DeSantis and House Speaker Paul Renner gathered at South Street- Founders Square to announce the signing.
“And so today, we're going to be signing Senate Bill 102, titled The Live Local Act, to be able to help Floridians live in the communities where they were,” DeSantis said.
The governor's office later issued a statement saying he had signed the bill.
“I applaud Senator Passidomo for leading on this legislation and look forward to the support it will provide to Florida families,” DeSantis said.
The House voted last week 103-6 to pass Passidomo's bill (SB 102) dubbed the “Live Local Act.” The bill would provide incentives for private investment in affordable housing and encourage mixed-use development in struggling commercial areas, while barring local rent controls and pre-empting local government rules on zoning, density and building heights in certain circumstances.
In a statement, Passidomo said the measure aims to end “affordable housing stereotypes” in creating options needed by the workforce. She also pointed to continued population growth and the demand for housing.
“It is clear that the broad appeal of the free state of Florida has impacted our population and our housing needs,” Passidomo said.
At the media briefing in Naples, Passidomo called her legislation an “amazing, multifaceted 106 page bill of ideas and suggestions” to provide affordable safe housing for workers.
"We want our residents to live close to where they work. Imagine being able to, you know if you work at a hospital, walking to work, if you work at a bank walking to work, those people who have to drive an hour to an hour and a half to work. It's it's a tragedy. It's so hard on their families," she said. "We want everybody to live local and I just am so thrilled that the Governor and the Speaker are on the sync and sync on this amazing, amazing product."
The Senate unanimously passed the measure on March 8, clearing the way for DeSantis to sign it.
"So some of the things that the bill does is there'll be $100 million for a second year of Hometown Heroes program for the down payment and closing cost assistance to Hometown Heroes wanting to purchase their first home," DeSantis said in Naples. "And as I mentioned, of the 100 million last year, the vast majority has been obligated, I think it's about $72 million. And I think that this is sending something that's been very, very popular with military veterans, in particular, also very popular with police officers."
Among other things, the bill would create tax exemptions for developments that set aside at least 70 units for affordable housing and would speed permits and development orders for affordable-housing projects.
But the new law has drawn criticism from some groups and some Democrats expressed concerns because it will bar local rent controls and pre-empt local government rules on zoning, density and building heights in certain circumstances.
Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, pointed to Orange County voters last year approving a referendum to enact rent controls because of a lack of affordable housing and rising rents.
“I do feel like parts of the bill are going to do a lot of good. It won't be immediate. It'll take time,” said Eskamani, who voted against the measure. “But my constituents are seeking immediate relief. They're seeking renter protections.”
For other Democrats, those concerns were outweighed by increases in funding for housing and rental assistance.
“I'm part of a non-profit that is building an affordable housing community,” Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, said. “What I've learned through this process, besides the huge need there is for everybody out there for housing, is that it's really hard to go get affordable housing dollars.”
The bill would provide money for a series of programs, including $252 million for the longstanding State Housing Initiatives Partnership, or SHIP, program, $150 million a year to the State Apartment Incentive Loan, or SAIL, program, and an additional $100 million for the Hometown Heroes program, which is designed to help teachers, health-care workers and police officers buy homes.
The state budget for the current year includes $362.7 million for affordable housing.
The affordable housing bill's signing comes a day after Collier’s Board of County Commissioner’s voted in favor of long-awaited amendments to the county’s growth management plan to allow affordable housing in certain commercial-zoning districts.
The changes were proposed by Collier’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. The local amendments will need state approval before being finalized.
And while the state’s new plan will trump much of what has been in the works by the local advisory committee for years, there still are
some local changes that could be enticing for developers by allowing them to increase density if the units are designated to people at below-market value.
Prices are structured around Average Medium Income. In Collier County the AMI is $98,000. That means if a plan calls for housing in the 100 to 120 percent of AMI, then the medium incomes could be $98,000 to close to $120,000.
Low-income housing advocate John Harney, who also serves on affordable housing committee said 60 percent of Collier households make less than $40,000 a year.
When encouraging the board to vote in favor of his group’s recommendations, Harney cautioned the members that much work is still to be done: “This is not a problem where were build 10,000 units and we are done."
Collier’s workforce has for decades lived in neighboring counties because of explosive rents. Harney and others says some 45,000 workers commute into Collier County each day.
But now with rents shooting up all over the region, workers can no longer afford to live in Southwest Florida, period.
“People are fleeing Southwest Florida,” he said. “It’s not just Naples and Collier.
Joe Trachtenberg, the former head of the affordable housing has long echoed Harney. And when workers get fed up with long commutes and decide to leave, that has a direct impact on the quality of life that many retirees have come to appreciate and expect.
He encouraged to the board of commissioners to continue to seek out ways to entice developers to set aside properties for workforce housing.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you. The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.