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Affordable Housing

Crisis

in Collier County

We must apply the necessary pressure
to build more affordable housing
in Collier County, before it’s too late.

by Joe Trachtenberg,
Chairman of Collier County’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee

aples is among the most desirable Naples and Collier County have become too expensive for
places to live. Most of us who grew our workforce to live. And we are just beginning to feel the pain
Nup elsewhere, marvel every day at our of doing without valuable service personnel. Today over 40,000
good fortune. We get to live in a place people Collier County employees commute from their homes in Lee,
come to spend their vacations! Hendry and even Dade Counties. Be assured when they find jobs
In recent years we have seen demand for closer to home, they will take them, taking their knowledge and
housing far exceed the supply. COVID-19 experience with them.
has exacerbated the situation, granting remote Government should not be in the business of constructing
workers with big pocketbooks the ability to live anywhere they and operating housing developments. But the rules they generate
want. Large numbers from all over the country have chosen our governing zoning density, the amounts they charge for impact
town. fees, and the time they take to process applications, are critical in
Prices are rising faster than anyone conceived they might. determining the viability of an apartment development.
This creates a big problem for most workers who live paycheck to Governments have the power to encourage and enable
paycheck. And their problem will soon become ours. developers to build essential housing. For the first time since
Consider how dependent we all are on a growing list of 2005, this happened in Collier County in March 2022 with the
providers. groundbreaking of three new projects - two for seniors (Allegro
We are surrounded by heroes - not just folks who run into at Hacienda Lakes and Cadenza at Hacienda Lakes, with 160
burning buildings while we’re running out. As the pandemic apartments each) and Harmony at Santa Barbara - 82 workforce
expanded, so did the list. It was once just medical and emergency apartments. Hopefully many more will follow.
service workers, but has grown to include the folks who teach our We must apply the necessary pressure to build more affordable
children, operate public transportation, even bag our groceries! housing in Collier County before it’s too late. Our quality of life is
Think about how life might be without the ready availability of at risk. Please tell your county commissioners and city councilmen
police, EMTs, nurses, medical technicians and daily caregivers. this must be among their highest priorities.
Or the day there’s only one checkout line at Publix Joe Trachtenberg is chairman of Collier County’s Affordable Housing
(which may not matter if the shelves are mostly empty). Advisory Committee and past board chairman of St Matthew’s House.
Who will clean our pools, mow our lawns, repair out A/Cs, fix He has been a resident of Naples since 2004.
our roads?
Schools will be harder to run with fewer teachers. And when we
go out to eat, who will be cooking or serving us?
The prices of our homes and condos have grown by 40%.
Inventories are down by 70%. Landlords are raising rents
indiscriminately, to levels which are simply unaffordable. Heap
rising gas prices on workers commuting 2-3 hours a day, and the
only place individual budgets can respond is the food line.

52 Life in Naples | May, June, July 2022