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Palm Beach County commissioners direct staff to refine homeownership strategies and issue a for‑sale bond RFP
Summary
At a workshop, county staff presented three options to increase homeownership (convey county lots with low-cost loans; offer permanent developer subsidies; expand buyer down-payment assistance). Commissioners asked for analyses on amortization, equity sharing, density and directed staff to issue a for‑sale housing bond RFP to test market interest.
Palm Beach County commissioners on Tuesday spent a workshop session reviewing options aimed at increasing homeownership and directed staff to return with more detailed analyses before final program design.
County housing staff, led in presentation by Jonathan (county housing staff) and Carlos Serrano, deputy director of Housing and Economic Development, outlined three primary approaches: offering county-owned infill lots to developers via competitive RFPs and low-interest construction financing; providing permanent development subsidies where part of a loan principal is forgiven and secured by title restrictions; and continuing direct buyer assistance programs that offer purchase assistance (up to $100,000) provided as a repayable second mortgage with recapture if the buyer leaves during the affordability term.
Carlos Serrano said the department had identified roughly 40 county-owned infill lots suitable for single-family development; later in discussion staff updated that inventory to 55 lots located across unincorporated county and municipalities including West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Riviera Beach, Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay. He also reviewed recent program accomplishments, including acquisitions, rehabilitations and foreclosure-prevention interventions.
Public commenters urged the board to preserve direct homeowner subsidies. “Homeowner subsidies are very important to Habitat because…those homeowner subsidies help us with that final number,” said Jennifer Thomason, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Palm Beach County.
Commissioners pressed staff on several design questions: how to ensure forgiven developer subsidy is passed in full to buyers; whether affordability restrictions should run 15 years or 30 years; whether forgiven assistance should amortize (forgiveness accrues over time) or be paired with an equity‑sharing model; and how to prevent developers from absorbing subsidy without reducing sales price. Commissioner Flores said he favored shorter affordability windows (10–15 years) with amortization to protect county funds from being lost when buyers quickly flip properties; other commissioners argued for longer restrictions to preserve long-term affordability.
Staff said they would prepare a cost‑benefit analysis comparing equity‑sharing and non‑equity options, amortization schedules for 15 and 30 years, interest scenarios, and a parcel‑by‑parcel density review of county lots to show what current zoning permits and where duplexes or paired units might be feasible. The board also authorized staff to issue a for‑sale housing bond RFP (the bond in prior direction was approximately $40 million) to test developer interest and report back on responses.
The workshop produced no final program changes; commissioners asked staff to return with the requested analyses and to present property-level recommendations and RFP outcomes for future decision-making.
