Sarasota leaders hosting town hall to address affordable housing in city
SARASOTA, Fla. - Finding and keeping affordable housing is a growing problem in the Bay Area, but leaders in Sarasota want to have an open dialogue with residents.
City Commissioner Hagen Brody is hosting an affordable housing town hall Monday in the commission chambers at City Hall, located at 1565 First Street. It begins at 5:30 p.m.
The city planning director and the Sarasota Housing Authority President will give presentations, offering citizens a chance to learn all about how the city is addressing the affordable housing issue.
City commissioners sent a proposal to Tallahassee back in May about changes to the city’s comprehensive plan. City leaders are proposing to add density to developments in the downtown district and the urban edge, making sure the additional units would have attainable pricing.
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"We owe our residents an opportunity to continue to stay in their homes that they have lived in for 10, 20, and 30 years and are now being forced out of because they can't afford it anymore," city commissioners said during a meeting on May 16, 2022. "The fear of forced financial displacement exists in every neighborhood and every income level throughout our community, including every one of your neighborhoods and, yes, on Lido, on Bird Key, and on St. Armand's."
Prices would reflect household earnings from 81% to 120% of the area median income, according to the proposal. That puts the attainable housing income range between about $53,000 to $79,000.
Sarasota had the fastest-growing rent in our region year-over-year, at 38%.