Habitat for Humanity of the Upper Keys Breaks Ground on Largest Project Ever!
This initiative is currently on hold:
Proposal to Allow 'Granny Flat' home rentals in Single Family Neighborhoods
We have been working closely with the Islamorada Land Planning Agency to create an new ordinance that would allow homeowners to be part of the solution to our affordable housing crisis.
Under the ordinance being discussed, small independent attached apartments defined under Florida law as "Accessory Dwelling Units" (and sometimes called "granny flats" or "mother in law apartments") could be built in neighborhoods zoned for single family use and attached to existing or newly built owner occupied homes as a secondary affordable residence for renters working in Islamorada. If approved by the Village Council, this ordinance would allow homeowners to provide the much needed space for a rental apartment on land that has already been developed, thereby providing a solution to the lack affordable housing for our workforce while generating income to support our homeowners. Many existing ground level enclosures built above the minimum flood level could potentially serve as an ADU. The ordinance has not been finalized for recommendation to the Village Council, and we invite you to attend our meetings to provide your ideas on this exciting new concept. For more information about ADU's, visit www.flhousing.org. - By AHCAC Member Mark Gregg
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Down Payment Assistance Program: $10,000 for New Homeowners
The Village's down payment assistance program allows first-time home buyers a forgivable loan of $10,000 to low to moderately low income individuals or families purchasing a home in Islamorada. First-time home buyers is defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as individuals who have not owned a home in the past five years.
HOW IT WORKS Qualified applicants will receive $10,000 at closing to be applied toward the purchase of a home. In exchange, the applicant deed restricts the home to Affordable Housing for 10 years. Every year $1,000 of the loan from the Village is forgiven. So if an applicant owns the house for 10 years, the entirety of the loan is forgiven. The applicant is only responsible for a partial repayment of the loan if he/she moves within 10 years. If, for example, the applicant sells his/her house on year seven, he/she would be responsible for a repayment of $3,000 to the Village. |
Committee Seeks Input From Builders
The Achievable Housing Citizens' Advisory Committee is seeking input from builders and the business community about incentives for them to use the 30+ affordable housing allocations that Islamorada has readily available.
In the past, the major incentive was that units were only deed restricted as affordable housing for 20 years. However, many of these units are now becoming market rate, and the village is facing the same problem of providing workforce housing. So the Village Council decided that new affordable housing unit allocations should be deed restricted as "affordable housing" in perpetuity. Therefore, the Achievable Housing Committee is looking at incentives for builders and the business community to build using these allocations. The committee has discussed how to provide affordable housing units above commercial businesses and other forms of workforce housing projects. Anyone with ideas is welcome to contact a member of the Achievable Housing Committee or attend a committee meeting. |
Land Acquisition
The Achievable Housing Committee is looking to work with vacant land property owners in Islamorada who would like to assist the village in its mission to provide affordable housing. The village and the committee is working with the Monroe County Land Trust for possible land acquisition opportunities for workforce housing.
Properties that are recommended must be buildable. Environmentally sensitive land cannot be considered. Anyone who would like to sell a buildable property to Islamorada for workforce housing is welcome to contact a member of the Achievable Housing Committee or attend a committee meeting. |
Fee for Transferring Development Rights
In concordance with Marathon's Transfer of Development Rights Ordinance, Islamorada's Achievable Housing Committee is considering a recommendation to the council to require a fee for builders in Islamorada to transfer development rights from a sender to receiver site. Currently, a property owner could bypass the Building Permit Allocation System by purchasing a property with a dwelling unit and transferring that right to another property. Marathon requires a builder to either pay a fee of $20,000 to do this or replace the sender site as an affordable housing site in perpetuity. Islamorada has not had this requirement, so the Achievable Housing Committee is discussing this option. The funds collected from such a fee could be used to acquire property for affordable housing, for the down payment assistance program and other related initiatives.
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