Kissimmee AHAC selected for Florida Housing Coalition support; committee to start March survey on incentives

The Kissimmee Affordable Housing Advisory Committee was selected as one of four advisory groups statewide to participate in a Florida Housing Coalition technical-assistance program, committee members were told at the group's meeting that began at 10:02 a.m. The Coalition will begin a resident and stakeholder survey in March and follow with virtual and in-person sessions later this year, staff said.

"I am Tamara West. I'm a technical adviser with the Florida Housing Coalition," Tamara West told the committee, summarizing the Coalition's role advising jurisdictions on the 11 state-designated affordable-housing incentives and on preparing the local SHIP submittal.

Frances, who led the presentation for staff, said the Coalition selected the Kissimmee AHAC as part of a small cohort and will review the committee's prior reports and policies. Frances asked the members to be available for an extra meeting in March so the Coalition can conduct its survey and gather committee input.

The Coalition and staff emphasized the committee's formal charge: to review the 11 incentive strategies annually, hold public meetings, and recommend actions to the governing board. West said the advisory committee's work often includes recommending expedited permitting procedures and affordable-housing certification processes that make development review easier for projects seeking incentives.

Brenda Ryan of the city's Development Services Department described how Kissimmee's 2020 land-development code and form-based downtown rules already allow density bonuses for certified affordable projects, and she outlined parking and accessory-dwelling-unit provisions that staff can consider when developers request relief.

Staff also reviewed several incentive items the committee will examine, including the city's affordable-housing certification and an affordable-housing expediter established in 2021, impact-fee reduction policies adopted in 2022, a printed inventory of publicly owned lots (the city submitted five single-family lots to the state in 2022), and a tenant-based rental assistance model funded through HOME that staff described as limited in scale.

Frances said the tenant-based rental assistance concept is included in the city's strategic planning target for completion by 2026 but cautioned that available HOME funding "is not a lot of money" and that program rules and accounting must be established before scaling.

Committee member Steve asked whether the HOME program would be exempt from Build America Buy America (BABA) requirements in the federal budget. Frances said BABA generally applies to federally funded construction and could raise material costs for projects that rely on federal dollars. She identified two local projects that are evaluating the impact: Simpson Crossings and Haven And Vine, the latter of which she described as a city-owned project with multiple funding sources that could be affected if BABA's domestic-content rules increase costs.

Members agreed to prioritize two items ahead of the March survey: the tenant-based rental assistance proposal and the surplus public-land inventory. Lucy asked staff to prepare impact-fee strategies for discussion at the next full meeting so the committee would have concrete recommendations to review.

Staff confirmed the Coalition survey meeting in March (committee calendar item: March 19) and the AHAC's regular April meeting on the third Thursday (April 16). The Coalition will return for additional participation in June.

The committee approved the minutes from the Nov. 20 meeting by voice vote and adjourned at 10:47 a.m.