HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Nathan Hagen, a renter in Hillsborough County, is still waiting for his American Dream.
“I was trying to buy a house for a little while, and every time that my budget would go up, prices would go up even faster,” he said.
That frustration pushed Hagen to start YIMBY Tampa, a group that fights for more affordable housing across the county. That fight brought him and others to the Tuesday morning meeting of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.
In a narrow 4-to-3 vote, commissioners ended an almost 30-year program that incentivizes developers to build affordable housing. The program, known as the Affordable Housing Relief Program, waives certain impact fees for eligible developers.
To Hagen, such a subsidy is vital amid a regional housing crisis.
“The market does not fund affordable housing,” he said. “You have to have some kind of subsidy source.”
During the Tuesday meeting, supporters of the program pointed out that the program has helped create 1,248 affordable homes over the past five years with a relatively small cost to taxpayers.
“It’s so de minimis in our contribution to this,” argued Commissioner Pat Kemp.
“It’s always de minimis when it’s with other people’s money,” Commissioner Joshua Wostal shot back.
Wostal and Commissioner Michael Owen argued the program isn’t a good deal for county taxpayers who pay for the waived impact fees through property taxes.
“It’s my position that we should not be padding developers’ pockets with taxpayer dollars,” said Owen.
Owen’s viewpoint won out, and the program was ended.
Sarah Combs, the CEO of the University Area Community Development Corporation, worries there will be repercussions.
“Those incentives are going to developers who are building affordable housing, not developers who are building market rate. [They’re] building affordable housing that is so difficult to build, and by taking away these incentives, we are disincentivizing affordable housing,” she said. “We’re just not going to see affordable housing happen to be built in Hillsborough County, which is a real loss.”
She also worries the county’s middle class will feel an even tighter squeeze.
“That’s our teachers,” she said. “That’s Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Fire rescue.”
She hopes county commissioners will ultimately reverse the decision at a later date.