Adoption of affordable housing incentive strategies; committees.

(1) Each county or eligible municipality participating in the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program, including a municipality receiving program funds through the county, or an eligible municipality must, within 12 months after the original adoption of the local housing assistance plan, amend the plan to include local housing incentive strategies as defined in s. 420.9071(18).

(2) The governing board of a county or municipality shall appoint the members of the affordable housing advisory committee. Pursuant to the terms of any interlocal agreement, a county and municipality may create and jointly appoint an advisory committee. The local action adopted pursuant to s. 420.9072 which creates the advisory committee and appoints the advisory committee members must name at least 8 but not more than 11 committee members and specify their terms. Effective October 1, 2020, the committee must consist of one locally elected official from each county or municipality participating in the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program and one representative from at least six of the categories below:

(a) A citizen who is actively engaged in the residential home building industry in connection with affordable housing.

(b) A citizen who is actively engaged in the banking or mortgage banking industry in connection with affordable housing.

(c) A citizen who is a representative of those areas of labor actively engaged in home building in connection with affordable housing.

(d) A citizen who is actively engaged as an advocate for low-income persons in connection with affordable housing.

(e) A citizen who is actively engaged as a for-profit provider of affordable housing.

(f) A citizen who is actively engaged as a not-for-profit provider of affordable housing.

(g) A citizen who is actively engaged as a real estate professional in connection with affordable housing.

(h) A citizen who actively serves on the local planning agency pursuant to s. 163.3174. If the local planning agency is comprised of the governing board of the county or municipality, the governing board may appoint a designee who is knowledgeable in the local planning process.

(i) A citizen who resides within the jurisdiction of the local governing body making the appointments.

(j) A citizen who represents employers within the jurisdiction.

(k) A citizen who represents essential services personnel, as defined in the local housing assistance plan.

(3) All meetings of the advisory committee are public meetings, and all committee records are public records. Staff, administrative, and facility support to the advisory committee shall be provided by the appointing county or eligible municipality.

(4) Annually, the advisory committee shall review the established policies and procedures, ordinances, land development regulations, and adopted local government comprehensive plan of the appointing local government and shall recommend specific actions or initiatives to encourage or facilitate affordable housing while protecting the ability of the property to appreciate in value. The recommendations may include the modification or repeal of existing policies, procedures, ordinances, regulations, or plan provisions; the creation of exceptions applicable to affordable housing; or the adoption of new policies, procedures, regulations, ordinances, or plan provisions, including recommendations to amend the local government comprehensive plan and corresponding regulations, ordinances, and other policies. At a minimum, each advisory committee shall submit an annual report to the local governing body and to the entity providing statewide training and technical assistance for the Affordable Housing Catalyst Program which includes recommendations on the implementation of affordable housing incentives in the following areas:

(a) The processing of approvals of development orders or permits for affordable housing projects is expedited to a greater degree than other projects, as provided in s. 163.3177(6)(f)3.

(b) All allowable fee waivers provided for the development or construction of affordable housing.

(c) The allowance of flexibility in densities for affordable housing.

(d) The reservation of infrastructure capacity for housing for very-low-income persons, low-income persons, and moderate-income persons.

(e) Affordable accessory residential units.

(f) The reduction of parking and setback requirements for affordable housing.

(g) The allowance of flexible lot configurations, including zero-lot-line configurations for affordable housing.

(h) The modification of street requirements for affordable housing.

(i) The establishment of a process by which a local government considers, before adoption, policies, procedures, ordinances, regulations, or plan provisions that increase the cost of housing.

(j) The preparation of a printed inventory of locally owned public lands suitable for affordable housing.

(k) The support of development near transportation hubs and major employment centers and mixed-use developments.

The advisory committee recommendations may also include other affordable housing incentives identified by the advisory committee. Local governments that receive the minimum allocation under the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program shall perform an initial review but may elect to not perform the annual review.

(5) The approval by the advisory committee of its local housing incentive strategies recommendations and its review of local government implementation of previously recommended strategies must be made by affirmative vote of a majority of the membership of the advisory committee taken at a public hearing. Notice of the time, date, and place of the public hearing of the advisory committee to adopt its evaluation and final local housing incentive strategies recommendations must be published in a newspaper of general paid circulation in the county. The notice must contain a short and concise summary of the evaluation and local housing incentives strategies recommendations to be considered by the advisory committee. The notice must state the public place where a copy of the evaluation and tentative advisory committee recommendations can be obtained by interested persons. The final report, evaluation, and recommendations shall be submitted to the corporation.

(6) Within 90 days after the date of receipt of the evaluation and local housing incentive strategies recommendations from the advisory committee, the governing body of the appointing local government shall adopt an amendment to its local housing assistance plan to incorporate the local housing incentive strategies it will implement within its jurisdiction. The amendment must include, at a minimum, the local housing incentive strategies required under s. 420.9071(18). The local government must consider the strategies specified in paragraphs (4)(a)-(k) as recommended by the advisory committee.

(7) The governing board of the county or the eligible municipality shall notify the corporation by certified mail of its adoption of an amendment of its local housing assistance plan to incorporate local housing incentive strategies. The notice must include a copy of the approved amended plan.

(a) If the corporation fails to receive timely the approved amended local housing assistance plan to incorporate local housing incentive strategies, a notice of termination of its share of the local housing distribution shall be sent by certified mail by the corporation to the affected county or eligible municipality. The notice of termination must specify a date of termination of the funding if the affected county or eligible municipality has not adopted an amended local housing assistance plan to incorporate local housing incentive strategies. If the county or the eligible municipality has not adopted an amended local housing assistance plan to incorporate local housing incentive strategies by the termination date specified in the notice of termination, the local distribution share terminates; and any uncommitted local distribution funds held by the affected county or eligible municipality in its local housing assistance trust fund shall be transferred to the Local Government Housing Trust Fund to the credit of the corporation to administer the local government housing program.

(b) If a county fails to timely adopt an amended local housing assistance plan to incorporate local housing incentive strategies but an eligible municipality receiving a local housing distribution pursuant to an interlocal agreement within the county does timely adopt an amended local housing assistance plan to incorporate local housing incentive strategies, the corporation, after issuance of a notice of termination, shall thereafter distribute directly to the participating eligible municipality its share calculated in the manner provided in s. 420.9073.

(c) Any county or eligible municipality whose local distribution share has been terminated may subsequently elect to receive directly its local distribution share by adopting an amended local housing assistance plan to incorporate local housing incentive strategies in the manner and according to the procedure provided in this section and by adopting an ordinance in the manner required in s. 420.9072.

(8) The advisory committee may perform other duties at the request of the local government, including:

(a) The provision of mentoring services to affordable housing partners including developers, banking institutions, employers, and others to identify available incentives, assist with applications for funding requests, and develop partnerships between various parties.

(b) The creation of best practices for the development of affordable housing in the community.

(9) The advisory committee shall be cooperatively staffed by the local government department or division having authority to administer local planning or housing programs to ensure an integrated approach to the work of the advisory committee.

(10) The locally elected official serving on an advisory committee, or a locally elected designee, must attend biannual regional workshops convened and administered under the Affordable Housing Catalyst Program as provided in s. 420.531(2). If the locally elected official or a locally elected designee fails to attend three consecutive regional workshops, the corporation may withhold funds pending the person’s attendance at the next regularly scheduled biannual meeting.