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Commission rejects county authorization for Polk County housing authority bonds after Tavares officials say developer changed plan
Summary
Lake County commissioners voted 5-0 on April 22 to withhold authorization for a Polk County Housing Authority revenue bond request for a 10-acre project on Lake Saunders after Tavares officials said the developer had previously committed to market-rate housing when the city approved annexation and reserved utilities.
Lake County commissioners on April 22 voted to disapprove a county resolution that would have authorized revenue bonds tied to a proposed housing project on a 10-acre parcel on Lake Saunders in the city of Tavares.
John Drury, city administrator for Tavares, told the board the developer had voluntarily represented to the Tavares City Council during annexation and water/sewer reservation that the project would be market-rate housing. The Polk County Housing Authority wants the county's authorization to issue or otherwise enable revenue bond financing for a housing project that county staff characterized in the county agenda as low-income/section 42 housing with income limits tied to $44,000 and below.
Developer representatives from Dominion said they were not the original owner when the city approved the zoning and that the current proposal would be income-restricted workforce housing (100% of units proposed at 60% of area median income under section 42). The developers asked the commission to table action to allow them to meet with the Tavares City Council and city staff. Bond counsel, Chris Traver, told the commission it had the legal authority to table, approve or deny the request, and that no fixed statutory criteria required approval.
Commissioners said the project's prior representation to the city and absence of prior city-level public input weighed against immediate county authorization. After public comment and developer requests for delay, the board moved to disapprove the county resolution that would have authorized Polk County's housing authority to act; the motion carried 5-0.
Outcome and next steps: The developer may return to the Tavares City Council and to Lake County with revised documentation. County staff and city officials said they would remain in communication; the county attorney's office will notify Polk County Housing Authority and the developer of the board's action.
