Volusia County planning commission forwards affordable-housing ordinance to county council with commission comments

The Volusia County Planning and Land Development Regulation Commission on Feb. 20 voted unanimously to forward Ordinance O-24-002, a zoning ordinance amendment intended to implement the county's five-year affordable housing plan, to the County Council with commission comments.

Planning staff member Miss Smith told the commission the ordinance creates a "certified affordable housing project" category and offers a menu of incentives for projects that community services certifies as affordable. "The purpose of this ordinance is for us to maximize the cost and time saving for affordable housing projects by streamlining regulations and processes to increase and preserve the supply of affordable housing stock," Smith said.

The ordinance would allow an administrative 10% deviation for specified development standards (lot size, lot width, dwelling size, setbacks, parking, lot coverage, height, open space, landscaping) for certified projects, permit fee and inspection-fee waivers or deferrals, and deferral or forgiveness of impact fees after the initial affordability period. It would also establish density bonuses tied to land-use intensity (examples in draft: up to five units per acre in low-impact urban, eight in urban low intensity, 14 in urban medium, and 20 in urban high) and create an affordable-housing review team and a 90-day expedited permitting path run by the land development manager. Staff also described a voluntary restrictive-covenant requirement to keep projects affordable during the agreed period; Smith said the standard is 20 years but the length can be negotiated between community services, staff and the applicant.

Commission discussion focused on the trade-offs between incentives and the length of affordability commitments. Commissioner Costa said that if projects receive a density bonus, staff and community services should push for a longer affordability period so the public benefit from the higher density is preserved. Other commissioners expressed concern that overly long or rigid covenants could discourage developers or individual homeowners from participating and that the county should keep some flexibility. Community services and growth-management staff told the commission they intend to negotiate covenant length on a project-by-project basis and that staff generally will argue for longer terms when a density bonus is granted.

The ordinance also includes provisions to promote accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as a tool for workforce housing, with impact-fee deferral for newly constructed ADUs used as certified affordable units if the principal structure already paid fees. Staff said they will publish a priority-overlay map showing areas with transit, employment and services where the county would prefer to site affordable projects; the map is advisory, not mandatory.

After discussion, the commission voted 4-0 to forward O-24-002 to the County Council with the recommendation of approval and with commission comments about covenant length and density incentives. The vote was unanimous among members present; two commissioners were absent.