Palm Beach County Housing Crisis Will Only Get Worse, Consultant Says

By Dianna Cahn, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Jan. 24–A crisis of affordable housing in Palm Beach County is even more dire than previously thought, and those figures are only going to get worse, a planning consultant told county commissioners Tuesday.

Consultant Robert Gray said that within five years there would be an additional 29,700 people or families unable to afford homes in Palm Beach County, while that number will climb to 93,300 by the time the county is completely developed, a sharp rise from the projected 60,000 of a few years ago. Gray’s findings were the result of two reports commissioned by the county to look at affordable housing, and also workforce housing, which includes families at a higher income.

“Bluntly,” said Commissioner Jeff Koons, “people can’t afford to live and work here. That’s a significant problem in this county.”

But even as commissioners called for urgent action, they found themselves in a familiar debate that has hampered a strong move forward. Many of the suggestions were for small-scale projects, leading Commissioner Burt Aaronson to publicly charge fellow commissioners of using a water torture to tackle the problem one drop at a time.

“What we need,” Aaronson said, “is a comprehensive plan.”

Late last year, based on a housing study conducted in 2000 and updated in 2003, county officials implemented requirements on developers to set aside 16.5 percent of new homes to be priced between $164,000 and $304,000. The commission also set up a Community Land Trust and are working on other incentives including mitigation or linkage fees on big-box stores or large mansions to help fund workforce housing, said Deputy County Administrator Verdenia Baker.

“It’s going to take more from all of us, not just the board,” Baker said.

According to the new reports, 2-3 bedroom homes had to cost between $113,000 and $130,625 in 2005 to be affordable, while the average homes sales were at $390,000 that year. Home prices have dropped slightly since then, but Gray said they had likely bottomed out at $370,000. Gray said rental prices were more within reach, and he expected the rental market to become a bigger player in affordable housing in the coming years.

Commissioners called for action. Aaronson urged building a transportation corridor and an entire community of affordable housing, even suggesting Mecca Farms, the former proposed site for Scripps Florida.

But Commissioner Karen Marcus said that plan was prohibitive, and would meet enormous environmental hurdles. She and Jeff Koons suggested alternatives to buy up individual homes or small communities.

“Let’s do something today,” said Commissioner Jess Santamaria. He suggested a land trust because land is the most costly aspect of a new home.

Gray suggested that what the county needs is a new paradigm, where young people waited longer to buy and set their sights on smaller, more compact and affordable homes. Of course, he said, it also fell on the county.

“Part of it is how do you provide money to fill in some of the gap,” he said.

Dianna Cahn can be reached at dcahn@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5501.

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Copyright (c) 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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