Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting 5/22

Really a good meeting - couldn't stay for the whole agenda - but the Task Force really made some progress. How they are drafting the ordinance is a little odd in that they are not reacting to a draft ordinance, but trying to combine the best aspects of other ordinances from other municipalities (Palm Beach County, Florida and the entire nation). What they are doing is making individual motions which indicate the general direction that they want to proceed. Through this, they will direct staff to write an ordinance that will then go before the City Commission (with a stop, I assume, at the Planning and Zoning Board) for ultimate approval.

One important item that I found out more about today is one that Commissioner Nadine Burns raised at the task force meeting that she had gathered from the Palm Beach County Issues Forum - made up of various elected officials. Palm Beach County is putting together their own workforce housing ordinance and it was her impression that the target, per County Commissioner Warren Newell, is that all of Palm Beach County - including the municipalities - would be covered under this ordinance. This would be for residential projects over 50 units. At the meeting, I was thinking that surely if that was the case, Lake Worth could still put together its own ordinance and it would apply to projects under 50 units.

Well, at the Land Development Regulation Advisory Board meeting today, which I chair, the subject of the County's workforce housing ordinance was brought up. I raised the concern that I had heard this would be more of a County-wide Ordinance - including the municipalities. Everyone assured me that this was not the case. The issue relates to the Traffic Performance Standards ordinance, which has been in effect for many years within municipal boundaries.

Currently, the Palm Beach County Traffic Performance Standards ordinance regulates residential projects west of I-95 - projects east of I-95 have an exemption which dates back to the beginnings of the ordinance. This was meant to encourage residential development in the eastern part of Palm Beach County - home to most of the 37 municipalities within the County.

The change proposed by this PBC workforce housing initiative would still exempt projects from the County's traffic standards with a "workforce" housing element to them - I believe they are also using the 20% figure - the same as our fair City is considering through the Task Force's work. However, if there is a purely "market rate" housing development within a municipality, it would be subject to the PBC Traffic Performance Standards Ordinance.

Obviously, work is on-going in both cases and more will be known soon as the final products take shape. But, I do have it on good authority that the County's workforce housing ordinance will not reach the "regional government" hand of Palm Beach County within the boundaries of Lake Worth, threatening its "home rule" authority, but would affect market rate housing through the Traffic Performance Standards ordinance.

I'll keep you informed. The Land Development Regulation Advisory Board will have a special meeting sometime in July to review the various aspects of the County ordinance.

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"