Coral Springs Approves Affordable Housing Plan; Residents to Get Florida Home Loan Assistance

The South Florida Sun-Sentintel reports that, in an effort to help potential buyers in a market where prices continue to rise, city commissioners in Coral Springs, Fla., tentatively approved the first official affordable housing ordinance in Broward County.

“This is our way of recognizing the problem and doing something with teeth in it to address the problem,” said Mayor Scott J. Brook.

The mayor also is the chairman of the Broward County Planning Council, which oversees the countywide land use plan. In June, Fort Lauderdale commissioners rejected a similar measure, saying an ordinance wasn’t necessary.

The issue thrust the region into the national spotlight recently when Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle proclaimed that laws designed to impact housing affordability are akin to communism. The city of Pembroke Pines also plans to take up the same housing issue in a few weeks.

• Under the Coral Springs ordinance, developers must contribute money to a trust fund or provide affordable housing within their complexes.
• The fees will be based on a formula related to the square footage of each housing unit.
• Area developers that designate 10 percent of their units for affordable housing would be granted permission to build “bonus” units at the site.

“I think this is something we need,” said George Rahael, president of Amera Urban Developers, the master developer for the Coral Springs Community Redevelopment Agency.

Commissioners unanimously approved the measure Tuesday. A second reading is set for August 15, and commissioners say some revisions are likely.

One aspect of the ordinance is a program geared towards prospective buyers that would allow them to receive up to 25 percent of the purchase price, at zero percent interest, for five years. Payment would be deferred for five years, with the principal paid over 25 years with interest at one-half the rate of their Florida home loans.

Funds to pay for this would come from developer fees. In Coral Springs, the median household income is $72,000, and the median sale price of homes is $320,000. An affordable home would cost $284,000, according to the city. The aim of the Florida home loan assistance program is to enable homebuyers to bridge that $36,000 gap.

Another facet of the ordinance involves the creation of a teacher village on 10 acres of city land on Riverside Drive, north of Sample Road. The city is hoping to create affordable housing for teachers at the Coral Springs Charter School, which the city owns.

“I do think it’s a good thing… Should it just be the developers’ responsibility, that I am not so sure,” said Joy Carter, a Coral Springs real estate agent with Prudential Florida WCI Realty.

She added that helping teachers, nurses, police and other professionals buy their own homes in the increasingly expensive South Florida housing market is key to maintaining the region’s high quality of life.

Paul Cawley, Executive Director of the Coral Springs Economic Development Foundation, the city’s contract agent for economic development, said the city’s proactive stance is an encouraging sign.

“We are trying to attract new high-wage, knowledge-based industries to Florida, and [housing cost] is a barrier to us potentially doing that. It becomes an economic development dilemma, really,” Cawley stated.

Cities across Broward have until the end of the year to develop housing proposals or face having major residential developments rejected. The cities in the area that don’t want to charge impact fees or require developers to set aside units could take other steps, such as streamlining their permitting process to encourage affordable housing or helping with the maintenance of existing affordable homes.