The majority of individuals in Sarasota are aware of the urgent need for affordable housing, and many believe that increasing density will help. An almost insatiable demand to live in one of the “best locations to retire” in the Western Hemisphere is not being met by basic supply and demand, however, which is leaving those of modest means behind.
As a result, increasing housing stock alone, or density, does not meet the demand. These more affordable, smaller units can be developed, but they will soon be snapped up by those who can afford to pay the most, not always teachers, servers, or construction workers. The only way that low rent may be guaranteed is typically by a code requirement, law, or deed limitation; the market won’t do so on its own.
The financial difference between the cost to construct or develop affordable units and what rentals can cover is the arithmetic problem that is affordable housing. If you want to see Sarasota produce affordable homes, you must first close that gap. There are conventional methods to close that gap, which include:
- Direct financial assistance.
- Code-based incentives in the form of higher entitlements, or public housing development
There may be a catch to entitlements.
For its part, Sarasota has decided to provide developers and builders increased entitlements. It seems reasonable, but you shouldn’t assume that higher entitlement costs won’t be passed on to Sarasota’s current voters. In actuality, higher densities lead to more congestion, noise, pollution, and crowding, all of which can lower quality of life. The increased quantity of housing units may also reduce the value of existing homes.
Yes, I’m prepared to bear these expenses in order for the citizens who actually make the city function to continue living in the area where they provide their labor and skills. However, I need stronger guarantees that they will benefit and not a group of recent immigrants with deep funds.
Increasing entitlements such as density, intensified uses, height, parking reductions, etc. can suddenly add a lot of value to an upzoned site without even moving a shovel’s worth of earth. The city’s vaguely outlined initiatives thus far seem to be focused on significant, wholesale entitlement increases that will collectively enhance the value of impacted properties by millions of dollars.
That serves as a powerful enticement. Many of us are worried that no reliable research has been presented to support these increased privileges. Yes, we all agree that Sarasota needs more affordable housing, but we also need to see proof that this need will be filled.
People need more information
Good for us if the entitlements are breaking new ground. But if they don’t function, we can be left with the subpar laws and regulations that were drafted and put into place to contribute to their creation. Why? Because it is practically difficult under Florida law to reverse the granting of benefits.
The only reasonable course of action would be to add a sunset clause in the proposed codes; this would prevent the enactment of regulations from becoming irreversible if they don’t truly operate. The city might check in on whether the codes are effective roughly every five years and swiftly remove them if they aren’t.
The fact that the devil is in the details when it comes to constructing more affordable housing in Sarasota is undeniable, and it is our responsibility as citizens to pay attention to every single one of them.
