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 Services that includes three business assistance coordinators and administrative liaisons. Chris Cooper, acting assistant city manager, said the team and a largely paperless LauderBuild portal have brought about roughly a 95% adoption rate for electronic permit submissions and that the team aims to complete permit reviews within 30 days of receipt. Staff described predevelopment meetings, assignment of a case manager from permit solutions for larger multifamily projects, and project follow-up meetings with Housing & Community Development or the Community Redevelopment Agency as part of the process.

AHAC asked that the city consolidate and clearly advertise the expedited-permitting option for qualified affordable projects. Vice Mayor Glassman asked staff to make sure expedited review appears on the city’s “Affordable housing incentives” web pages; staff said the permit solutions team has a page with photos and a contact route though individual direct contact information is limited.

On fees, AHAC recommended assessing reduced impact fees, deferrals, or alternative payment methods for qualified affordable projects. The committee cited examples used in other Florida jurisdictions, including exemptions or deferrals for school, parks and transportation impact fees and use of program revenue for utility connection charges.

City staff and the city attorney quoted Florida Statute 163.31801 as authority to permit municipalities to waive or exempt impact fees, but they said changing the city’s impact-fee ordinance requires a statutory study that demonstrates the nexus between the fee and the need it funds. Staff cautioned that some fees—particularly water and sewer connection charges—are pledged to bond covenants, which limits the city’s ability to waive those fees directly. Staff noted alternate funding options: the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, TIF or CRA funds, in-lieu payments and general fund subsidies could be used to offset fees on a case-by-case basis. “The general fund could always subsidize, and pay that on behalf of a project,” a staff member said; staff committed to evaluating fee relief options and to return with program parameters, noting the city is conducting a comprehensive water and sewer rate study this year.

On parking, AHAC recommended reductions in parking minimums for certain affordable developments—especially those serving seniors, people with disabilities or sites near transit. Spragg cited the current code standard of one parking space per dwelling unit under section 47.2 of Ordinance C-1845 and explained the code already allows reductions if an affordable covenant is recorded and other conditions are met.

Acting Assistant City Manager Chris Cooper said parking reductions should be context-specific and typically require a study and traffic-engineer analysis; the city already allows applicants to seek reduced parking with mitigation (shared parking agreements, transit mitigation or off-site parking) and staff review. Commissioners raised concerns about guest parking and neighborhood spillover in locations without on-street capacity. Staff suggested administrative or streamlined review paths in redevelopment areas to shorten approval timelines where appropriate.

The workshop also reviewed the Live Local Act, which staff said provides administrative review and relief for density and height (but not other zoning standards); staff said three Live Local projects were in active review, two on North Federal Highway and one in the South RAC.

Requests and next steps: AHAC asked the commission to direct city staff to review all recommendations in the committee’s report and provide feedback, and requested regular joint workshops to monitor implementation. The commission agreed to begin holding quarterly joint meetings “and see how that goes.” Staff agreed to evaluate fee offsets and connection-fee options on a case-by-case basis, to consider listing expedited review information more visibly online, and to return with program and ordinance-change options for the commission’s consideration.

No formal motions or votes were recorded during the workshop.

The workshop concluded after the committee’s closing remarks.