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Belleair Beach officials look askance at affordable housing
By DAVE SHELTON
| Article published on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 |
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BELLEAIR BEACH – City Attorney Paul Marino has advised city officials to “opt out” of a county plan to require developers to contribute to affordable housing in the county.
Several elected officials voiced concern with the plan that would require builders to provide affordable housing units if they are putting up more than 20 living units.
County Commissioner Karen Seel explained the proposal to the City Council during its April 7 meeting. She explained that despite countywide efforts during the past several years, the county has lost rental units that those at the lower end of the income ladder can afford.
“The employees who keep us safe, teach our children and perform a variety of functions in manufacturing, tourism and service industries are finding local home ownership out of reach,” Seel said.
She added that the county doesn’t want to focus affordable housing in any specific area, but intersperse it with a range of homes to avoid building a slum or enclave of low income families.
Mobile home parks and monthly rental units have been replaced by high-end condominiums, Seel said. Until now, she said, the county has offered incentives to builders and designated county lands for affordable housing development.
These efforts, she said, haven’t been successful so the county is now reviewing a new ordinance that will require builders to either include affordable units in their plans or contribute land or cash to the county for affordable housing.
City Councilman Rob Baldwin summed up the council’s concerns.
“I am all in favor of this (providing affordable housing) but on the beach it economically doesn’t make much sense,” Baldwin said.
Other council members said they were concerned mostly that if an existing condominium were destroyed by a hurricane, rebuilding it would force the inclusion of affordable units.
Seel said she felt it was important for all of the county’s 24 municipalities to show their concern for housing needs of those who work in the county.
City officials agreed to study the proposal in more depth before deciding whether to adopt a local code that would exempt builders in Belleair Beach from the county code.
The commissioners also voted to table another proposed code, this one aimed at barring a property owner from sharing ownership to enable time sharing occupation of a house. The issue arose several months ago when former Belleair Shore Commissioner Carl W. Hilton reported someone had offered to buy his house for use as a time sharing plan.
Hilton said each person listed as an owner of the property could be allowed short-term use of the property, thereby evading the town’s new code barring short-term rentals.
Marino picked up on the idea, seeing that could happen in Belleair Beach, as well. He introduced an ordinance he said he and Councilman Richard Crowl had prepared.
While council members all agreed with barring such property use, they balked when Councilman Mitch Krach said he was afraid the ordinance could stop him and other residents from having family members or others “house sit” when they go on vacation.
Marino said he and Crowl had considered that but felt it could be allowed.
The council voted to have Marino include specific reference to house-sitting to make it clearer that it can be permitted.
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Article published on Wednesday, April 9, 2008
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