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Affordable housing committee recommends expanding transit radius and removing minimum lot size from incentives
Summary
The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee's 2025 report recommends changing several incentives, including increasing the transit proximity incentive from 1/4 mile to 1 mile and striking a 3,500‑square‑foot minimum lot size to allow infill/tiny home development; the board accepted the report and directed staff to refine language for transmittal.
The Manatee County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) presented its 2025 incentive review to the county commission on Dec. 2 and recommended several textual and scope adjustments to the county’s affordable‑housing incentives.
Key AHAC recommendations included: expanding the reservation of infrastructure capacity incentive from a 1/4‑mile radius to a 1‑mile radius to better capture infill opportunities outside the urban core; striking the existing 3,500 square‑foot minimum lot size so incentives will not preclude very small lots or tiny homes in certain subdivision processes; and clarifying support for development near transit, major employment centers and mixed‑use projects by defining a one‑mile radius around hubs and employment centers in which incentives would apply.
Committee members and staff said the 1‑mile suggestion is largely a practical response to Manatee’s lower overall density and the location of many emerging infill projects outside fixed bus routes. Commissioners asked for supporting analysis for the 1‑mile threshold. AHAC leaders and commissioners proposed a workshop to refine the language before transmittal to the state to avoid losing SHIP (state housing initiative program) dollars.
Commissioner Sadiq moved to accept the AHAC report, Commissioner McCann seconded, and the board approved the report unanimously. Staff and AHAC members indicated they will return to workshops to fine‑tune the drafting and to ensure the incentives operate as intended in implementation.
