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Agenda Item: 10(b) |
Prepared By: Mary P. Holden, Senior Planner |
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Business: Ordinance |
Department: Community Affairs - Growth Management |
Subject:
Title
ORDINANCE - Continued from January 5, 2024 Planning Board Meeting -Workforce/Affordable Housing Code Amendments
Body
BACKGROUND:
Updated:
Please find attached the revised ordinance pursuant to the Planning Board’s direction.
We have not yet compiled the number of residential units in the commercial areas within Marco Island. This task requires more time due to the nuances of where mixed use is allowed, determining what, if any, were approved in the past, and conducting site visits to determine if residential units are present, regardless of approval status. Staff is comfortable proceeding forward with the code changes without the number of residential units.
Previous Staff Report:
The Florida Legislature adopted Section 166.04151(7), Florida Statutes, also known as the “Live Local Act,” pre-empting local control of zoning and land use regulations in certain situations. Please find attached a memorandum provided to the City Council in July of 2023 that outlines what municipalities may and may not do. Marco Island does not have many properties that would accommodate a Live Local Act project, so City staff looked at what could be possible by code revisions. The Blue Zones made a presentation to the City Council regarding affordable housing and one suggestion was to allow the repurposing of upper levels of a commercial center into deed restricted affordable housing units (a sample copy of a deed restriction is attached for informational purposes only).
In reviewing the idea of repurposing commercial space to residential space, City staff looked at the City’s Future Land Use and Housing Elements of the Comprehensive Plan, allowed density for commercial areas, parking requirements, intensity of residential units over what could be commercially allowed, how to encourage the repurposing, and impact this could have for employers and employees on Marco Island.
The City’s Future Land Use map and density table (on the following pages) in the Future Land Use Element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan indicates the commercial areas having density assigned, whether or not the commercial areas are located in the overlay districts that allow for mixed use. The density limitations are 8 units per acre for Village Commercial and 12 units per acre for Community Commercial, Heavy Commercial and Town Center/Mixed Use. As a result, there is no need for a Comprehensive Plan change to add density.
In considering parking, please keep in mind the purpose of the use (workforce/affordable housing), and City staff believes that if the parking requirements cannot be met due to the addition of workforce/affordable housing then the lack of parking may be addressed through the use of bicycle racks and a charging station for electric bicycles.
It appears there will be no significant increase in intensity with the conversion of commercial space into workforce/affordable housing units. Based on the allowed and conditional uses in each district, the conversion to workforce/affordable housing would minimal primarily due to traffic in and out of the site.
City staff believes the ability to convert upper-level commercial space, used typically in the past as office, into workforce/affordable housing would be a benefit for the employers, employees, residents and visitors to the City of Marco Island by providing affordable housing conveniently located to the jobs.
FUNDING SOURCE / FISCAL IMPACT: N / A
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Ordinance and forward to City Council for first reading.
POTENTIAL MOTION:
Move to forward a recommendation of approval to City Council Ordinance 24-XX.