Fort Lauderdale committee urges expedited permits, fee relief and parking flexibility to boost affordable housing

The Fort Lauderdale City Commission met in a joint workshop with the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee to review AHAC’s top three recommendations to speed production of affordable housing: formalize expedited permitting, create fee-relief or alternative funding for impact and connection fees, and allow reduced parking requirements where appropriate.

AHAC Chair Susan Spragg said the committee ranked those three actions from the full list of state-mandated incentives and asked the commission to direct staff to analyze and implement them. “The first strategy to discuss is expedited permitting,” Spragg said, noting the committee is required by the State Housing Initiatives Partnership program to review and recommend incentives. She also cited Broward County housing pressures, saying in February 2024 the county’s area median income was $89,100 and that 42% of residents were cost-burdened by housing costs.

Why it matters: AHAC members and commissioners said market forces are not meeting demand for lower-cost housing—AHAC noted that at 80% of AMI ($71,280) only about half of rentals are affordable and at 60% of AMI just 12% of rentals are affordable. The committee told commissioners that without steps to reduce development costs and processing time, supply will continue to shrink.

On expedited permitting, city staff described an existing “permit solutions” team in Development…