Vero Beach council asks staff to consider SB 1730 options to encourage church-owned affordable housing

Mayor Catugno asked whether the city should consider incorporating concepts from state legislation (referred to in the discussion as SB 1730) that encourage reuse of religious-institution land for affordable workforce housing. Council members and planning staff discussed zoning constraints (single-family districts, conditional-use standards, and a five-acre conditional-use minimum), compatibility concerns and examples from other jurisdictions.

Planning staff said many churches are located in single-family districts and that the city can address compatibility and conditional-use standards as part of an upcoming residential zoning-district update and neighborhood-policy revisions. Staff noted options including case-by-case approvals now or more formal ordinance language later in the comprehensive-plan and zoning updates. Council passed a motion directing staff to consider and, where appropriate, incorporate relevant provisions into the residential zoning and neighborhood-policy updates (motion passed 5–0).

What it means: Staff will study how state-level incentives for converting religious property to affordable housing could be reflected in the city's planning and zoning work, including potential changes to conditional-use standards and definitions of contiguous property.

Next steps: Staff to research Saint Petersburg and other jurisdictions’ approaches, coordinate with the planning board and return recommendations during the residential zoning update schedule.