Pensacola, Escambia advisory committee approves separate three-year SHIP plans and adds community land trust language

The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee for the City of Pensacola and Escambia County voted to approve separate three-year Local Housing Assistance Plans (LHAPs) for 2025–2028 and instructed staff to add explicit language recognizing community land trusts (CLTs) in the county plan.

Committee members said the split — creating distinct city and county LHAPs instead of a single joint plan — reflects differing priorities and program needs and will allow more targeted use of State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) funds. Meredith Reeves, housing administrator for the City of Pensacola, told members the LHAPs must be submitted to the state and that the document is “a living document” that can be amended over the three-year cycle.

Why it matters: SHIP is a state-administered grant program; local LHAPs set the policies and dollar allocations that determine how SHIP dollars are spent in each jurisdiction. Committee discussion focused on how reduced state revenue and statutory set-asides affect the number and mix of activities local governments can fund, including owner-occupied rehabilitation, demolition/reconstruction, purchase assistance, rental preservation and limited disaster or rental assistance.

During discussion, Escambia County Division Manager Garrett Griffin said the county’s rehabilitation waiting list is “approaching 400 families right now,” a constraint that helped drive changes in the county plan to emphasize quicker, targeted assistance and partnerships with nonprofit builders. Griffin described the county’s recent approach of sponsoring new-construction homes with nonprofit partners and said construction subsidies for those homes have ranged from about $32,500 to $45,000 per unit.

City staff outlined several program changes in the Pensacola LHAP: increasing the liquid-asset threshold for purchase assistance to $50,000, establishing three tiers of home repair (including an accessibility grant up to $10,000 and an emergency repair assistance product with a five-year lien), and lowering some maximum repair awards so limited funds can reach more households. The city emphasized that any SHIP dollars the city receives must be spent inside city limits.

The county plan retains larger caps for demolition/reconstruction (a maximum award of $215,000 plus an additional $15,000 for extensive accessibility or site work) and a maximum regular rehab award of $75,000; emergency repair awards up to $25,000 will generally carry a five-year lien and smaller awards under $10,000 will be grants. The county also explicitly preserved a new-construction strategy that allows the county to provide direct construction subsidy to nonprofit sponsors, and staff noted that rental-preservation actions will depend on available dollars because state rules prioritize homeownership set-asides.

The committee discussed the limits on SHIP funding and why local allocations fluctuate. Reeves and Griffin explained SHIP allocations are derived from state real-estate transaction revenues and the Legislature’s appropriation; as Reeves put it, the submitted LHAP budget is a “projected” figure the state reviews mainly to confirm required set-asides (for example, a cap on administration and a minimum share for homeownership activities).

Public comment from Sam Young, president and CEO of Pensacola Habitat for Humanity and the Northwest Florida Community Land Trust, urged clearer treatment of land-trust purchases in the down-payment assistance (DPA) structure. “The DPA should remain with the home and not with the buyer,” Young said, explaining that retaining subsidy in the home preserves affordability for subsequent buyers. Staff said they will consult technical advisors at Florida Housing about how SHIP rules apply to CLT-owned land and to clarify whether DPA for a CLT home is treated differently in practice.

Decisions and next steps: the committee approved the City of Pensacola LHAP and the Escambia County LHAP with the committee’s requested edit adding CLT language to the county new-construction paragraph. Staff said the city plan will be presented to Pensacola City Council on Thursday and the county plan will be presented to the Escambia County Commission in the first week of May. Committee members also agreed the advisory group will split into separate city and county committees going forward and scheduled the next joint meeting for June 3.

Votes at a glance - Motion to maintain Crystal Scott as chair of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee: moved by Paul Ritz; seconded; unanimous approval. - Motion to name Paul Ritz vice chair: moved and seconded; unanimous approval. - Motion to excuse absences for Commissioner May, Laura Gilmore and Maya Moss: moved, seconded; unanimous approval. - Motion to accept November meeting minutes: moved, seconded; unanimous approval. - Motion to approve the City of Pensacola LHAP 2025–2028 as presented: moved, seconded; unanimous approval. - Motion to insert explicit reference to community land trusts in the Escambia County LHAP new-construction paragraph (so CLTs are named eligible nonprofit sponsors): motion moved, seconded; unanimous approval. - Motion to approve the Escambia County LHAP 2025–2028 with the CLT amendment: moved, seconded; unanimous approval.

Members and staff emphasized that the LHAPs can be amended during the three-year cycle if funding or priorities change and that staff will follow up with Florida Housing for technical clarification about DPA treatment of CLT properties. The advisory committee is scheduled to meet again June 3 in the same room.