Naples Housing Market Mired in Affordable Housing Controversy

A Collier County attorney has questioned whether Ave Maria’s developer can qualify for a countywide program that defers impact fees to make homes in the greater Naples housing market more affordable.

The developer, Barron Collier, committed to build 1,900 affordable housing units and expected to participate in the deferral program, which allows low-income buyers to put off paying impact fees until they apply for Florida mortgage refinancing or sell their homes.

“It never occurred to me we could be called out and excluded from a countywide program when we’re making a significant commitment. I can tell you we are one of the few out here building affordable housing,” said Blake Gable, a vice president of real estate for Barron Collier.

Impact fees, one-time charges on new construction, can push up the cost of even a small home by more than $25,000. The fees — meant to help growth pay for growth — go toward parks, libraries, roads and other county services.

Collier County started the impact fee deferral program in 2005 to help address an affordable housing shortage.

After a recent review of the development order for Ave Maria, Assistant Collier County Attorney Jeffrey A. Klatzkow said in a written opinion that the “Board of County Commissioners never intended that Ave Maria would be entitled to participate in the impact fee deferral program.”

“The purpose of this deferral program is to incentivize the private sector to build affordable housing,” he wrote. “Ave Maria’s development order requires them to provide affordable housing.”

The new town and companion university are rising on land once used for farming south of Immokalee.

The developer plans to take the issue over impact fee deferrals to the board at its next meeting, on Tuesday.

“Obviously, it impacts all of Ave Maria,” Gable said. “This is something that is important for us to clarify. This is a significant deal.”

Three commissioners will have to side with the developer for it to participate in the program.

“I’ve had the conversation with a couple of commissioners and they laughed. They couldn’t believe this is what we’re talking about,” Gable said.

At least two commissioners, Donna Fiala and Jim Coletta, say they hope to strike a compromise that will allow buyers at Ave Maria to qualify for impact fee deferrals. Coletta said he assumed Ave Maria would take advantage of the program.

“As you know, affordable housing is my No. 1 priority. It has been my No. 1 priority since day one, and it still remains my No. 1 priority. It doesn’t matter what part of the county that affordable housing would be in, I’m going to try to make it work. Impact fees, of course, are quite a burden on whether it works or not.”

He said commissioners should be able to find a way to “make it work” with Ave Maria so that affordable Florida mortgages are possible for buyers.

“They’ve stepped up to the plate, more so than anyone else, when it comes to affordable housing. They are doing more and lowering their prices. It’s the best buy in Collier County right now,” Coletta said.

Fiala said she’s not sure how the question about developer eligibility for the deferral program arose. It took her by surprise.

“It’s not an insurmountable concern,” Fiala said. “It’s just a concern that I think we can address and overcome.”

Commissioner Fred Coyle said he needs more information before he can form an opinion.

“There is a limited amount of money that is available for these deferrals,” he said. “But we are just going to have to wait and see how it works out.”

Klatzkow’s opinion came after Barron Collier sought to defer impact fees for qualifying home buyers at Middlebrooke, the first affordable project going up at Ave Maria.

Construction began last month on the townhome neighborhood, and more than 30 two- and three-bedroom homes have sold. Ave Maria University has purchased a block of them for students and faculty, Gable said.

He said he’s not sure whether the university will resell the homes or rent them out.

“My goal is to help people buy a home,” Gable said. “That is what this project is focused on.”

Klatzkow says if the homes at Ave Maria are rented, that is a new concern. The county doesn’t have restrictions on the amount of impact fees developers can defer for affordable rental units, he said.

For owner-occupied homes, the county can defer only up to 3 percent of the prior year’s total impact fees. The deferrals are given out on a first-come, first-served basis.

This year, the county set aside $750,000 for qualifying buyers, and it expects to use about $400,000 of it, said county spokesman John Torre. The county plans to budget another $750,000 next year, he said.

As Ave Maria continues to develop, the county would see a much greater demand for the deferrals if buyers in the town qualify. There could soon be more requests than money, with other affordable housing projects in the works and a slowdown in new construction.

Impact fees are slated to go up in 2008. For a 2,000-square-foot single-family home, they will be just under $36,000, an increase of about $4,700.

To get an impact fee deferral, prospective home buyers can’t make more than 80 percent of the median income. For a family of four, the household income couldn’t exceed $55,850.

With an impact fee deferral, buyers could get into the homes at Middlebrooke for $150,000. Without it, they would pay about $170,000.

“It’s going to keep a number of people from buying these homes,” Gable said.

As it is, homes aren’t flying off the shelf at Middlebrooke. It’s a tough market, with such a high inventory of homes and weakened demand from buyers in the Southwest Florida housing market.

The project and the town are also so new that many are still unaware of what they have to offer Florida mortgage seekers, Gable said.

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