I Love the Burg: St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch expands the city’s 10-year housing plan
Bob Carskadon, I Love the Burg
Three years ago, the City of St. Pete unveiled its 10-year Housing Opportunities for All Plan, and last week, Mayor Ken Welch announced an expansion of the plan’s vision and impact. The move comes as a response to the city’s growth and rising house costs and is expected to positively affect renters and homeowners alike.
Announced enhancements to the plan include support for renters, plans, financial assistance for residents to preserve existing affordable housing and make properties livable for longer, and incentives and strategic funding to produce more affordable units in St. Pete.
Notably, the enhancements significantly raise the number of affordable housing units coming to St. Pete. The City has already upped the number of new units in anticipated production by more than 1,000, and this update adds an additional 1,050 affordable housing units, bringing the total number to almost 8,000 anticipated affordable housing units.
“Housing Opportunities for All is the foundation for our work to provide thousands of units of affordable housing for individuals and families,” Welch said. “We have allocated more than $40 million dollars this fiscal year to build new affordable housing units; we have strengthened our partnerships with county leaders, local developers, and non-profits; and we have implemented powerful protections for renters with our Tenant Bill of Rights.”
To view the full plan, visit stpete.org/affordablehousing. Highlights from the ‘Housing Opportunities for All Plan’ include:
The expansion of the Rebate for Residential Rehab Program to be available city-wide in 2023.
The launch of the Replacement Housing Program which assists senior citizens who have lived in their homes for a long period of time, but don’t have the income to make necessary repairs.
City assistance for heirs in navigating the complex and costly probate process to help them qualify for assistance programs and create generational wealth.
The expansion of the zoning requirements to allow more neighborhoods to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and create 400+ units of additional housing.
Guidelines for the use of $15 million in Penny for Pinellas funding to assist developers in acquiring land to develop affordable housing.
The new NTM-1 zoning category to allow a variety of housing types with up to 4 units on a standard lot along the city’s major corridors.
Read the original article here.