Affordable Housing: Point of View
Media: Currently, the media has worked to expose the discrepancy between what should be available to current residents and what actually is. The Naples Daily News has completed a year-long survey of affordable housing in Collier County and profiled availability, varying perspectives, conducted interviews with those affected, and worked for reform. The media supports those lobbying for and in need of affordable housing because those are the media’s constituents.
Government: Local government knows it is facing a crisis concerning affordable housing. The government is in a unique position because it has to hear compelling evidence from both proponents in favor of affordable housing and those that want to contain urban sprawl. The local government also has to decide how best to distribute the yearly funds across all the various departments and deserving entities, such as healthcare, children’s services, affordable housing, education, and funds for the city itself. The government must balance the amount of land set aside for affordable housing with that zoned for new developments. They have to provide adequate housing for all the service staff that must live within the area in order to provide their labor. A city cannot function without the service industry. However, the government must also attract and provide for economic renewal through pricier developments, gated communities, and high rises. A city also needs a consistent influx of funds to remain viable.
Environmentalists: The environmental sector is concerned with the de-valuement and destruction of valuable land resources. Whether interest groups are concerned with containing urban sprawl, encouraging rural renewal, protecting wetlands or areas of the DRGR, or guarding against overpopulation, most would like to see land that is already zoned for conservation efforts remain that way and not be changed to suit the needs of affordable housing. These environmental groups are sympathetic to the needs of affordable housing but their larger efforts are to preserve and protect the decreasing land resources in the area.
Developers: For the developers, affordable housing is quickly reaching a critical point in the Lee and Collier County areas. With new DRI regulations, developers must provide an adequate plan that outlines the available affordable housing options within ten minutes of their proposed site or they must elucidate ways in which they are going to provide affordable housing themselves, on site. Developers are trying to maximize the available space of their sites while maintaining a certain amount of green space and appropriate privacy space between and among homes. With the recent housing bubble, developers were able to get a much larger return on their investments compared to the funds they initially put into the project. Even with new requirements to include affordable housing projects with new developments, developers are still making a huge profit and should continue to do so in the Southwest Florida region.
Local Community: The local community is often split on their feelings about affordable housing. The two extremes are represented by the citizens that are in desperate need for affordable housing and those who don’t feel it is a real concern. Within those extremes, there is another group that supports affordable housing and affordable housing initiatives – just not in their backyard.
FGCU Students: Students at FGCU may not think affordable housing is a pertinent issue as there are many available housing options open to students, both on and off campus. However, as the Halladay report illustrated, the average salary for a recent college graduate in Southwest Florida is significantly less than the average amount needed to own a home (on one income). As the Office of Alumni survey illustrated, many FGCU students feel that they can still afford to live here and work here, but on what kind of budget?