The Florida Senate

¹420.5095  Community Workforce Housing Innovation Pilot Program.--

(1)  The Legislature finds and declares that recent rapid increases in the median purchase price of a home and the cost of rental housing have far outstripped the increases in median income in the state, preventing essential services personnel from living in the communities where they serve and thereby creating the need for innovative solutions for the provision of housing opportunities for essential services personnel.

(2)  The Community Workforce Housing Innovation Pilot Program is created to provide affordable rental and home ownership community workforce housing for essential services personnel affected by the high cost of housing, using regulatory incentives and state and local funds to promote local public-private partnerships and leverage government and private resources.

(3)  For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(a)  "Workforce housing" means housing affordable to natural persons or families whose total annual household income does not exceed 140 percent of the area median income, adjusted for household size, or 150 percent of area median income, adjusted for household size, in areas of critical state concern designated under s. 380.05, for which the Legislature has declared its intent to provide affordable housing, and areas that were designated as areas of critical state concern for at least 20 consecutive years prior to removal of the designation.

²(b)  "Essential services personnel" means persons in need of affordable housing who are employed in occupations or professions in which they are considered essential services personnel, as defined by each county and eligible municipality within its respective local housing assistance plan pursuant to s. 420.9075(3)(a).

(c)  "Public-private partnership" means any form of business entity that includes substantial involvement of at least one county, one municipality, or one public sector entity, such as a school district or other unit of local government in which the project is to be located, and at least one private sector for-profit or not-for-profit business or charitable entity, and may be any form of business entity, including a joint venture or contractual agreement.

(4)  The Florida Housing Finance Corporation is authorized to provide Community Workforce Housing Innovation Pilot Program loans to an applicant for construction or rehabilitation of workforce housing in eligible areas. The corporation shall establish a funding process and selection criteria by rule or request for proposals. This funding is intended to be used with other public and private sector resources.

(5)  The corporation shall provide incentives for local governments in eligible areas to use local affordable housing funds, such as those from the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program, to assist in meeting the affordable housing needs of persons eligible under this program.

(6)  Funding shall be targeted to projects in areas where the disparity between the area median income and the median sales price for a single-family home is greatest, and for projects in areas where population growth as a percentage rate of increase is greatest. The corporation may also fund projects in areas where innovative regulatory and financial incentives are made available. The corporation shall fund at least one eligible project in as many counties as possible.

(7)  Projects shall receive priority consideration for funding where:

(a)  The local jurisdiction adopts appropriate regulatory incentives, local contributions or financial strategies, or other funding sources to promote the development and ongoing financial viability of such projects. Local incentives include such actions as expediting review of development orders and permits, supporting development near transportation hubs and major employment centers, and adopting land development regulations designed to allow flexibility in densities, use of accessory units, mixed-use developments, and flexible lot configurations. Financial strategies include such actions as promoting employer-assisted housing programs, providing tax increment financing, and providing land.

(b)  Projects are innovative and include new construction or rehabilitation, mixed-income housing, or commercial and housing mixed-use elements and those that promote homeownership. The program funding shall not exceed the costs attributable to the portion of the project that is set aside to provide housing for the targeted population.

(c)  Projects that set aside at least 80 percent of units for workforce housing and at least 50 percent for essential services personnel and for projects that require the least amount of program funding compared to the overall housing costs for the project.

(8)  Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 163.3184(3)-(6), any local government comprehensive plan amendment to implement a Community Workforce Housing Innovation Pilot Program project found consistent with the provisions of this section shall be expedited as provided in this subsection. At least 30 days prior to adopting a plan amendment pursuant to this subsection, the local government shall notify the state land planning agency of its intent to adopt such an amendment, and the notice shall include its evaluation related to site suitability and availability of facilities and services. The public notice of the hearing required by s. 163.3184(15)(e) shall include a statement that the local government intends to utilize the expedited adoption process authorized by this subsection. Such amendments shall require only a single public hearing before the governing board, which shall be an adoption hearing as described in s. 163.3184(7), and the state land planning agency shall issue its notice of intent pursuant to s. 163.3184(8) within 30 days after determining that the amendment package is complete.

(9)  The corporation shall award loans with interest rates set at 1 to 3 percent, which may be made forgivable when long-term affordability is provided and when at least 80 percent of the units are set aside for workforce housing and at least 50 percent of the units are set aside for essential services personnel.

(10)  All eligible applications shall:

(a)  For home ownership, limit the sales price of a detached unit, townhome, or condominium unit to not more than 80 percent of the median sales price for that type of unit in that county, or the statewide median sales price for that type of unit, whichever is higher, and require that all eligible purchasers of home ownership units occupy the homes as their primary residence.

(b)  For rental units, restrict rents for all workforce housing serving those with incomes at or below 120 percent of area median income at the appropriate income level using the restricted rents for the federal low-income housing tax credit program and, for workforce housing units serving those with incomes above 120 percent of area median income, restrict rents to those established by the corporation, not to exceed 30 percent of the maximum household income adjusted to unit size.

(c)  Demonstrate that the applicant is a public-private partnership.

(d)  Have grants, donations of land, or contributions from the public-private partnership or other sources collectively totaling at least 15 percent of the total development cost. Such grants, donations of land, or contributions must be evidenced by a letter of commitment only at the time of application. Grants, donations of land, or contributions in excess of 15 percent of the development cost shall increase the application score.

(e)  Demonstrate how the applicant will use the regulatory incentives and financial strategies outlined in paragraph (7)(a) from the local jurisdiction in which the proposed project is to be located. The corporation may consult with the Department of Community Affairs in evaluating the use of regulatory incentives by applicants.

(f)  Demonstrate that the applicant possesses title to or site control of land and evidences availability of required infrastructure.

(g)  Demonstrate the applicant's affordable housing development and management experience.

(h)  Provide any research or facts available supporting the demand and need for rental or home ownership workforce housing for eligible persons in the market in which the project is proposed.

(11)  Projects may include manufactured housing constructed after June 1994 and installed in accordance with mobile home installation standards of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

(12)  The corporation may adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this section.

(13)  The corporation may use a maximum of 2 percent of the annual appropriation for administration and compliance monitoring.

(14)  The corporation shall review the success of the Community Workforce Housing Innovation Pilot Program to ascertain whether the projects financed by the program are useful in meeting the housing needs of eligible areas. The corporation shall submit its report and any recommendations regarding the program to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate not later than 2 months after the end of the corporation's fiscal year.

History.--ss. 47, 53, ch. 2006-26; s. 27, ch. 2006-69.

¹Note.--

A.  Section 47, ch. 2006-26, created s. 420.5095 "[i]n order to implement Specific Appropriation 1658A of the 2006-2007 General Appropriations Act."

B.  Section 53, ch. 2006-26, provides that "[i]f any other act passed in 2006 contains a provision that is substantively the same as a provision in this act, but that removes or is otherwise not subject to the future repeal applied to such provision by this act, the Legislature intends that the provision in the other act shall take precedence and shall continue to operate, notwithstanding the future repeal provided by this act." Section 27, ch. 2006-69, created substantially similar material and did not include a repeal provision.

²Note.--As created by s. 27, ch. 2006-69. The s. 47, ch. 2006-26, version of this paragraph included an additional sentence at the end of the paragraph, subject to repeal effective July 1, 2007, by s. 47, ch. 2006-26. The sentence reads: "Each housing assistance plan shall include a definition of essential service personnel for the county or eligible municipality, including, but not limited to, teachers and educators; other school district, community college, and university employees; police and fire personnel; health care personnel; skilled building trades personnel; and other job categories."