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New legal conflict thwarts affordable housing group
By DAVE SHELTON
Article published on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 |
LARGO - The creation of a new committee to recommend affordable housing initiatives here was shelved at the April 15 City Commission meeting because enabling legislation conflicts with the city charter.
The problem emerged over inclusion of a planning board member on the committee which is required by state law.
Mayor Patricia Gerard said the city charter bars volunteers from membership on more than one city advisory committee.
One proposed development that would provide 100 new “workforce housing” units took a step toward fruition as the commission introduced an ordinance zoning an 8.5 acre tract on Alternate Keene Road as “Residential, medium” that would allow up to 7 units per acre.
The proposal by developers of The Palms at Largo includes donation of land to the city for construction of a new Community Center.
A half dozen residents of the adjacent Colonial Village Mobile Home Park appeared at the meeting to voice concern over the proposed changes. A spokesman, Paul Beavers, said he and his neighbors were worried that they were surrounded by property owners who could afford to do whatever they wanted with their land.
City Commissioner Mary Gray Black asked that city staff meet with the residents before the commission holds its second public hearing on the proposal May 6. She said she wasn't sure she understood the neighbors' concerns.
While introducing the commission to a proposed new countywide effort to build “inclusionary” housing, Pinellas County Commissioner Karen Seel lauded the city's efforts in the past. She said Largo is one of only three municipalities that have taken full advantage of county incentives.
Seel said that despite those efforts, the county has lost some 5,000 units of low-cost and rental units in the past eight years. She pointed to conversions of apartment complexes and mobile home parks to deluxe condominiums.
The county commissioner said she has met commuters who drive from Sarasota, Hernando and even Citrus counties to work in Pinellas because they couldn't afford to live closer to their jobs.
Seel explained details of a proposed county ordinance that would require builders of more than 20 living units to include homes for low to moderate-income residents. The builder could choose to make cash or land contributions to the county instead of providing the affordable units, she noted.
The county commissioner also announced a workshop was being planned in the Largo Cultural Center for June 4 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to discuss the issue with taxpayers and developers. The meeting will be open to the public, she said.
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Article published on Wednesday, April 16, 2008
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