Nassau County committee reviews Live Local Act changes, Schoenberg study updates; no Live Local applications yet

The Nassau County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee on July 24 received an informational briefing on 2025 updates to the Schoenberg affordable-housing study and recent amendments to the Live Local Act (Senate Bill 102), including changes that broaden where developers may qualify for tax and zoning incentives.

Kaylin Thompson, principal housing planner, told the committee the Live Local Act "allows affordable housing on commercial, industrial, and mixed-use properties" if a development dedicates 40% of its units as affordable. Thompson said the law, enacted March 28, 2023 and effective July 1 of that year, also provides property-tax exemptions for qualifying projects: a 75% exemption for certain households above 80% of area median income and a 100% exemption for households at or below 80% of AMI, with rental exemptions applying for 30 years and for-sale exemptions for three years.

The presentation summarized findings from the 2025 Schoenberg study for the Jacksonville metropolitan statistical area (MSA), which includes Nassau County. Thompson said the MSA'wide median family income for a four-person household is $102,500 and that the study shows large deficits at the lowest AMI tiers: "at the 0 to 30% AMI level there's negative 33,000, almost negative 34,000 units" missing from supply across the MSA, while a surplus appears only at and above the 100% AMI level.

Committee members and staff discussed how those regional findings translate locally. A county staff member told the committee the county has not received any Live Local applications to date: "We haven't received any applications for Live Local," the staff member said, adding that developers can still pursue other paths and sometimes choose different funding mechanisms that make Live Local unnecessary.

County staff and committee members also discussed local market conditions and tax-exemption policy. Marshall (staff member) explained why Nassau County previously opted out of the 75% exemption for above-80% AMI units: the county'level analysis showed a surplus of units at that income level, and the county "want[s] to encourage or incentivize developers to go to the lower thresholds" where need is greater. Marshall told the committee that the county performs an annual review when deciding whether to exclude above-80% AMI units from the exemption and that the surplus for the 80'to-120% band has grown since the county first removed the exemption.

Thompson outlined legislative amendments made in the most recent session that affect Live Local implementation: developments may qualify in flexibly zoned areas and certain planned unit developments if at least 40% of residential units are affordable for 30 years (three years for for-sale); contiguous parcels associated with religious institutions may be eligible if at least 10% of units are affordable; the county must administratively approve certain demolitions tied to a Live Local proposal if the project otherwise complies with state and local regulations; and the law includes special provisions for properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places (allowing the county to impose local design requirements that do not reduce height, density, or floor area ratio).

Several committee members asked about local implementation steps. Staff said the county is monitoring state-level litigation and implementation questions before adopting local provisions beyond the state law. The county also reported an expected increase in SHIP (State Housing Initiatives Partnership) funding, approximately $750,000 for fiscal 2025-26, which staff said will affect local program capacity but will not by itself address lower-AMI deficits.

Staff also previewed upcoming committee work: an impact-fee study and a review of accessory dwelling unit fee structures are scheduled for the September meeting, and the committee will revisit the county's 11 LHAP (Local Housing Assistance Program) incentive strategies in November. Thompson said the county is exploring moving to a square-footage basis for impact fees to better align costs with smaller units such as ADUs and is coordinating legal review to ensure the change is defensible.

The meeting included one formal committee action at the start: the committee approved the minutes from prior meetings by motion and voice vote. No motions or votes were taken on Live Local or the Schoenberg study during the session; the presentation was informational only.

The committee's next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 25 at 4:00 p.m., when staff intend to present the impact-fee study draft and begin further work on accessory dwelling units and incentive strategies.

The transcript for this meeting records the presentation and Q&A and shows no Live Local applications filed with the county as of the July 24 meeting.