Clearwater affordable-housing advisory committee refines values, keeps key incentives and asks staff for more data

The City of Clearwater Affordable Housing Advisory Committee continued its review of the Local Housing Incentive Strategy (LHIS) and made several wording and policy clarifications while asking staff for follow-up data on implementation details.

Amanda Warner of consulting firm Wade Trim led the session and walked the committee through the LHIS timeline and the recommendations carried forward from the 2024 report. Warner outlined the committee’s schedule: meetings on Oct. 28 and Nov. 18, with the Nov. 18 session to be held as a public hearing before the report moves to City Council.

On values and the committee’s overarching vision, members agreed to revise language to ensure accessibility is explicit. “If we retain ‘safe,’ it should be fine. If we could, I would love that if we could add the word accessible also,” resident Linda Byers said during the discussion; committee members agreed to move forward with language that the city’s housing vision “incentivize[s] the development of a diverse supply of housing that is safe, accessible, affordable, sustainable and ...” The committee also agreed to replace a reference to the city’s “workforce” with “residents” so the vision more clearly includes retired and nonworking households.

Committee members reviewed eleven statutory incentive areas required by Florida law and several additional topics the committee has added over the years. Staff reported completed items such as a density bonus, an affordable-housing web page and an inventory of public lands; ongoing work includes coordination with Forward Pinellas on impact-fee flexibility and continued use of permitted fee reductions for affordable projects.

On expedited permitting, committee members asked staff to return on Oct. 28 with clearer performance data. Lauren Maskey, planning and development, told the committee Forward Pinellas and the county have recently amended rules to allow municipalities to establish density bonuses that encourage universal design, a mechanism the committee said could help deliver more physically accessible units. “Forward Pinellas and the countywide rules have recently been amended to allow for municipalities to establish a density bonus to encourage universal design,” Maskey said.

Other takeaways: accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are already allowed in specified zoning districts and the city has implemented ordinances to support them; the city will retain its density-flexibility and flexible lot-configuration incentives while reiterating that any changes must remain sensitive to neighborhood character; and staff will evaluate whether to reword or remove a recommendation tied to a senior executive team review process that is not currently implemented. The committee also discussed parking reductions tied to proximity to transit and alternative modes of travel and emphasized that any parking relief should be considered on a project-by-project basis given neighborhood impacts and special-population needs.

On implementation and outreach, the committee asked staff to improve guidance for developers and the public on next steps and where to start: the committee suggested clearer “start here” language on the city’s affordable-housing web page and noted the city’s chatbot (“Sunny”) as a navigation tool. Committee members also discussed ongoing efforts to maintain an inventory of public lands suitable for housing, coordinate with code enforcement and legal staff on liens and rehabilitation of properties, and expand partnerships with lenders, employers and nonprofits to support financing, down-payment assistance and developer capacity.

Amanda Warner said staff will bring requested supplemental materials and revised language back to the committee at its Oct. 28 meeting. The committee will hold a public hearing on the draft LHIS on Nov. 18 before forwarding a recommended report to City Council.