St. Petersburg is the first Florida city to use a new state law that allows developers to apply to build affordable housing where they previously could not.
The new law (HB1339) was passed during the 2020 legislative session and took effect that July.
Under the new rules, local governments have the authority to establish criteria that would allow developers to apply to build affordable housing in zoning districts where they previously could not.
Developers can apply to build affordable housing on St. Pete land zoned Neighborhood Suburban, Neighborhood Traditional, Industrial Suburban and Industrial Traditional.
The city will accept affordable housing applications in Neighborhood Suburban and Traditional areas if there’s a minimum of 1 acre and it has a minimum of 20 units. For Industrial Suburban and Traditional, the requirements are 5 acres in size and a minimum of 60 units.
Sean King, the director of government relations and advocacy for Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties, said while the changes are not going to solve the problem of housing completely, it’s a step in the right direction.
“This isn’t just for any development or any developer, this is providing an incentive for affordable housing development. So it’s literally helping put more units and redevelop land that would have otherwise sat vacant or would have been used for non residential purposes,” said King. “Every single additional unit we can get out of the ground hopefully is a family or an individual that is helped and served by that.”
King added that the homeownership gap between white families and families of color within Pinellas County is about 35 percent.
He also said that affordable housing is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s kind of hard to shelter in place or be safer at home, and follow the health guidelines and protocols if you don’t have somewhere stable or safe to stay,” said King. “It’s kind of that rock-bottom basis that communities need to thrive. So we think affordable housing is paramount to the success of any community.”
