BROWARD COUNTY, FL – On June 25, 2020, a major land use change sponsored by Vice Mayor Steve Geller cleared another hurdle. The proposal, which aims to tackle Broward’s housing supply crisis through market incentives, passed the Broward County Planning Council unanimously (18-0).  This proposed change was previously initiated for review last November by the Broward County Commission.

The proposed land use change will give additional tools that cities can choose to use to promote added affordable and market rate housing and is designed to promote Transit Oriented Development (TOD).  The change would create incentives to build residential units along major transit corridors in areas designated for commerce and in activity centers. The right to build residential units will be conditioned on including affordable housing units as part of these mixed-use projects. The number of housing units that will be permitted is dependent on the level and number of affordable units included in the project.

“The housing crisis cannot be solved solely through building government subsidized housing,” said Vice Mayor Geller. “You need to incentivize the private sector to build affordable housing, and permit them to build additional market-rate housing. This plan accomplishes these goals while protecting existing neighborhoods and promoting development in a sustainable manner with access to transit. That’s a win-win-win.”

Vice Mayor Geller will be hosting a virtual workshop to continue working with Broward’s municipalities and other stakeholders before the proposal comes back to a vote of the county commission. The date and time for the workshop will be announced in the near future.

DATE: June 29, 2020

MEDIA CONTACT:

Broward County Vice Mayor Steve Geller

sgeller@broward.org

954-629-7782