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Commission okays two infill homes but presses staff to address affordability
Summary
Commission approved two infill program homes but commissioners urged changes to the program — including lot splits, townhomes versus single‑family, and a possible pause of future contracts — to better meet affordability goals.
The Panama City Commission approved two infill‑program building projects but used the vote to press staff for program changes aimed at affordability.
Staff said the two projects in St. Andrews (lots at 3409 West 19th Street and 1852 Deer Avenue) have lot values of $30,000 each and home costs not to exceed $275,000, with contractor Bay County Builders LLC. Sheila Ware, director of housing and community services, said the projects meet the program’s current parameters and reminded the commission the program’s limit is $300,000.
Commissioner Street and others said the current results are not achieving deeper affordability and urged a pause on approving future infill contracts until the commission can decide whether the program should favor townhouse/multifamily products, lot splits or partnerships with nonprofits to target house prices closer to $150,000. "What does not exist is a $150,000 product," Commissioner Street said, arguing the city should redesign the program to produce lower‑cost starter homes.
Other commissioners noted construction costs have increased substantially, that buyers need to qualify for loans, and that the program is returning vacant lots to the tax roll. Staff reported there are ten housing applicants across various strategies but only the two infill projects were in the immediate pipeline.
The commission approved the two infill projects as presented (vote 5–0) and asked staff to provide a work plan, pipeline details and options for program redesign at an upcoming workshop so commissioners can avoid approving further contracts that do not meet the affordable‑housing goals they prefer.
Next steps: staff to inventory lots in the sales funnel, report on in‑progress contracts and bring a recommended program revision and an affordability‑focused plan to the April budget and priorities workshop.
