The Pasco County Commission is poised to remove an incentive that benefits market-rate apartments throughout the county.
Stripping the incentive will, in essence, create a higher fee for those apartments.
At the same time, commissioners are expected to encourage more affordable housing across the county and to spur redevelopment in the West Market Area — by eliminating mobility fees in those categories.
Commissioners held a virtual public hearing on the changes on June 2 and are scheduled to hold a second, and final, virtual public hearing on June 16 at 1:30 p.m.
The money generated by removing the incentive for market-rate apartments in theory would offset the elimination of mobility fees in the affordable housing and West Market Area categories.
No fee changes are planned for low-rise condominiums/townhomes; high-rise condominiums; age-restricted multifamily, and congregate care facilities.
Also, no increase is proposed for apartments in projects that have mixed-used trip reduction measures, are traditional neighborhood developments or are transit-oriented developments.
Two speakers from the Bay Area Apartment Association called in, to address the board.
Eric Garduno, government affairs director for the association, told the board: “We’re happy to see this proposal reduces mobility fees for affordable multifamily housing, but we are concerned that it increases fees for multifamily housing in the standard urban, suburban and rural categories.
“It wasn’t long ago that commission set mobility rates for the county, which adjusted fees for dozens of land use categories,” Garduno said. “For this proposal to single out multifamily seems arbitrary in light of those recent actions.”
Garduno also made a case for increased construction of apartments in Pasco County.
“Market data demonstrates, actually, there’s strong demand for apartments in Pasco County, with occupancy rates over 92% for the last 10 years, even as new apartments are added each year.
“The other thing to keep in mind is the economic contributions that apartments make to the county. Each apartment community represents millions of dollars of investment. And, each represents jobs. Construction jobs to build them. Onsite management to run them, and professionals like plumbers, electricians, to fix them,” Garduno said.
Wendy Milenkevich, vice president of Bay Area Apartment Association, applauded the county board’s efforts to encourage more affordable housing.
“According to the 2019 rental market survey conducted by the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida, 29% of Pasco County’s population is considered below income and pay more than 30% of their income towards housing. This is a clear indication that additional affordable housing is needed in our county,” she said.
“Despite this need, it is often a challenge to build affordable multifamily housing. Between increasing costs of land, labor and materials that go into building and maintaining apartment communities, it is difficult to keep at a level that low-income households can afford, without specific incentives provided by government.
“According to the National Apartment Association, on average, 14 cents of every dollar charged in rent goes toward government taxes and fees. Reduction in fees could create the margins that make the difference between a project being built, or not,” she said.
Milenkevich congratulated Pasco County for taking a step toward more affordable housing.
“Providing incentives like these is an important proactive measure by local government.
“We applaud you for taking steps to better encourage affordable housing,” she said.
Commissioners also indicated that they support a Sept. 1 effective date, despite a recommendation by the Pasco County Planning Commission to delay implementation until Jan. 1, 2021.
Planning commissioners reasoned that now isn’t a good time to raise fees, given the crushing impact that COVID-19 has had on the economy.
The apartment association’s Garduna asked commissioners to follow the planning commission’s recommended Jan. 1 implementation.
The county board, however, was not swayed by the planning commission’s recommendation and indicated support for moving ahead with the fee changes at the earliest practical date.
Published June 10, 2020
