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Affordable

Housing Solutions

The crisis we are experiencing can be solved in time.

by Joe Trachtenberg, The number one cause is demand - it has driven land prices to a
Chairman of Collier County’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee level developers cannot profitably build affordable housing without
s we continue to see service levels help. This can come in many forms - modify zoning rules, allow
decline, more people understand the greater density and building heights, reduce or defer impact fees,
A primary cause is lack of affordable provide financing support.
workforce housing. HR managers have become Recently Collier County appointed a new County Manager,
very used to hearing “thank you for the job Amy Patterson, who both understands affordable housing
offer; I can’t afford to live here”, as they drive and cares deeply about it. She has reorganized the Growth
the nurse or teacher candidates back to the Management Community Development Department and moved
airport. affordable housing under their control. Our best minds are working
The City of Naples voters recently passed a referendum daily on finding solutions.
amending their Charter, just to allow their City Manager to live Ultimately our Board of County Commissioners will make
outside the city. Or do without a City Manager. the decisions we need to add this housing. They are bombarded
Collier County, and Southwest Florida in general, have become daily by constituents with varying opinions. If the loudest and
one of our country’s most desirable places to live. With Covid-19 greatest number of voices they hear come from folks opposed to
came the ability to work remotely and live anywhere; we topped development, it will be difficult for them to make the appropriate
most “best places to live” lists. decisions. That’s why we need to band together to express our
A recent study found we have more “remote” workers than concerns. If we believe we need affordable housing, we must make
anywhere else. this known.
How do we solve this growing problem? It won’t be easy. Each There are other things that can be done outside of government.
day over 45,000 Collier workers clog the roadways driving from Two years ago many businesses were crying they couldn’t afford to
and to their homes in Lee and Hendry counties. Rental prices raise the $8.50 minimum wage, and $10 would kill them. Today
there are rising as fast as ours, as demand to live here grows. Rent the de facto minimum wage is $15-17 per hour. I’m thinking that’s
control is illegal in Florida, so as leases renew, more workers are not enough.
forced to move away to more affordable regions. And of course Businesses need workers to survive, and it’s going to get much
Hurricane Ian created its own havoc. more expensive to hire people. There’s always been a premium paid
The most important solution is we all must get together and to workers in most big cities; Naples will have to catch up or suffer
understand the problem. Working collaboratively we can begin to the consequences.
make changes, to at least reverse the alarming trend. Experts say In some areas building workforce housing is an important
Collier County is currently short 10,000 affordable housing units. opportunity for philanthropy. Foundations and wealthy individuals
This number is growing by 1000 units a year. For how long can we who previously built the hospitals, museums, parks and theaters are
stand by, while out healthcare workers, teachers, waiters, building investing in housing for essential workers. I think this makes sense
workers, etc continue to move elsewhere? for us.
The solutions to this problem do not lie in establishing blame. The crisis we are experiencing can be solved in time. It will
Instead we need to understand how we got here, and the future require creativity, broader support, higher prices to cover higher
steps we need to take. wages and patience.

52 Life in Naples | February 2023