For approximately 18 months, the Flagler County Affordable Housing Advisory Board has been working on an affordable housing ordinance in an effort to help address Flagler’s skyrocketing home prices. This evening, the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the ordinance, which creates opportunities for affordable housing builders to work with the county to identify ways to reduce the cost of affordable housing projects. The County Commission would have to sign-off on any development that uses any of the incentives within the ordinance. The full ordinance is below.
The chamber has been working with elected and government leaders to approve this ordinance. With the County Commission’s vote this evening, Flagler County immediately becomes one of the statewide leaders, as our ordinance is much more inclusive than most other jurisdictions in Florida. The ordinance will undergo an annual review annually.
A special THANK YOU to the Flagler County Commission for their foresight and support of this chamber-backed ordinance.
How does this help this great county? Building low quality housing will certainly not help improve values across the area. I see an increase in the crime rate and slum lords that will not keep up with cheap investments! Terrible move. Need to help current construction projects first!
Chris: You’re making the assumption that “affordably-priced” houses are of lower quality. There’s a minimum Florida Building Code that must be met for all new buildings, which is updated to include more safety measures frequently. Also, the 20% of the workforce that serve the community in hotels and restaurants need somewhere to live. With this ordinance, the County Commission can decide if the development doesn’t meet the community standards. Be sure to communicate with your elected officials about concerns you have about upcoming developments using this ordinance.