3/1/1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Fr - F MAR - 11994 BOOK 91 FA,F $73 -1 The draft Housing Incentive Plan addresses this issue in more detail. While the rule does not require that surplus property (or the proceeds from the sale of surplus property). be used for affordable housing purposes, the AHAC's position was that this is one local action that could be taken to provide affordable housing. • Prioritizinq*Housing Project Permit Reviews As approved by the AHAC, the draft Housing Incentive Plan does not propose special treatment for affordable housing project permit reviews. Instead, the draft plan recommends that the County move toward implementation of a one-stop permitting process, a procedure that would streamline all permit reviews. Recent correspondence from the state, however, indicates that such a recommendation will make a local Housing Incentive Plan unapprovable. According to February 10, 1994 SHIP Question and Answer Memorandum (94-01) from the Florida Housing Finance Agency, a Local Housing Incentive Plan which addresses expedited permit processing in general, but does not give affordable housing specific priority will be unacceptable. The memo cites Section 420.9076(6) as the applicable statutory requirement. Accordingly, the expedited permit processing section of the draft Housing Incentive Plan may have to be changed to give affordable housing projects specific priority. • Impact Fees The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee considered the issue of impact fees in detail. While the committee acknowledged the need for impact fees, the AHAC also noted that impact fees disproportionately affect affordable housing. It was recognized, however, that the SHIP program impact fee loan and grant strategies do somewhat address the problem. Also discussed by the AHAC, but not included in the Incentive Plan and not forwarded to the Board as a recommendation, was the concept of the County imposing an additional one cent of local option gas tax and using the proceeds to eliminate traffic impact fees for affordable housing units. Since each additional one cent of local option gas tax will raise approximately $560,000 in revenue, an extra penny could subsidize the traffic impact fee for most affordable housing units countywide. This issue is being brought up only for general consideration; the AHAC is not recommending action by the Board on this issue at this time. • Conclusion With passage of the Sadowski Affordable Housing Act and establishment of the SHIP program, the County now has some tools to use in addressing the County's affordable housing problems. Like most state funding programs, SHIP funds come with certain requirements attached. Besides extensive reporting requirements, these include the Housing Incentive Plan preparation requirements referenced above. These issues will be discussed in more detail at the March 1, 1994 Affordable Housing workshop. 26