Martin County Housing Program Jeopardized

No money will be asked for by the Martin County Commission for the long-awaited affordable housing program because of the uncertainty caused by state proposals to reduce property taxes.
“Bottom line, ladies and gentlemen, until we know what the Legislature is going to do with property taxes, we are not going to commit to activities that take resources, whether it is funding resources or staff resources,” said Growth Management Director Nicki van Vonno.

Depending on how much money Martin County loses if the Legislature reduces property taxes, it could take years before the county has any money to spend on affordable housing initiatives, such as buying land.

Van Vonno revealed the elimination of the request for money for the new affordable housing program during a meeting of the county’s Grants and Affordable Housing Advisory Committee.

The Legislature is meeting in special session from June 12-22 to decide whether to reduce the amount of property tax money local governments can collect and, if so, by how much.

As a result, local governments across the South Florida housing market stand to lose millions of dollars in property tax money, with one proposal costing Martin County $34 million of the $154 million it raises through property taxes.

The County Commission is set to review the affordable housing program on June 5. The program is designed to promote the development of new houses that can be bought by working families but did not address the rental market.

The program was formulated by the Florida Housing Coalition, a non-profit group specializing in affordable housing, under a $77,495 contract with the county that was signed in May 2006.

The coalition’s program listed 12 potential sources of money, including a percent of the property tax money collected, as well as taxes on sales, utilities and real estate transfers, and a new fee on commercial real estate development.

The Grants and Affordable Housing Advisory Committee spent the last five months reviewing the program, which also included easing some of Martin County’s strict development rules to allow more houses on less land.

The news that Martin County probably would not have enough money for the new affordable housing program was “disheartening” to prospective Florida home loan applicants.

But the efforts to provide affordable housing still would go on in Martin County, said Marty Miller-Leveillee, chairwoman of the advisory committee.

“If the money is not there, it’s not there,” Miller-Leveillee said.

“Right now, Martin County can make good plans and lay the foundation for doing the right thing for affordable housing. The groundwork is still good. We’ll still work on changing the regulations.”

The Florida Housing Coalition’s recommendations for sources of local money for affordable housing:

• Linkage fees requiring new commercial projects to contribute towards the affordable housing that will be needed as a result of new jobs.
• A percent of the property tax money
• Real estate transfer tax
• Private donations
• Developer contributions
• Tax money generated by new construction in community redevelopment areas
• Grants
• Sales tax
• Unclaimed funds
• Utility tax
• Sale of county land

The timeline of Martin County’s affordable housing program:

• January 2005: County Commission makes promoting affordable housing a top priority for the year.
• June 2005: County Commission gives preliminary approval to inclusionary zoning ordinance requiring developers to set aside 12 percent of new subdivisions for moderate-income housing.
• December 2005: Builders object to proposed inclusionary zoning ordinance, saying it places the burden of providing moderate-income housing primarily on their industry.
• January 2006: County Commission again makes promoting affordable housing and affordable Florida mortgage payments a top priority.
• May 2006: County hires Florida Housing Coalition to formulate a comprehensive program to promote the development of affordable housing.
• August 2006: Florida Housing Coalition produces first report.
• December 2006: Grants and Affordable Housing Advisory Committee starts reviewing housing coalition reports.
• March 2007: Grants and Affordable Housing Advisory Committee makes recommendations on housing coalition proposals.

SOURCE: TCPalm.com