Commissioners Talk Affordable Housing After Vote Opting Out Of ‘Live Local’ 

What the vote means for two Wesley Chapel properties & what Pasco County’s affordable housing plans are moving forward 

The Tapestry at Cypress Creek apartments, located at the intersection of Wesley Chapel Blvd. and S.R.s 54 & 56, is one of two existing apartment communities that have applied to greatly reduce their property taxes under Florida’s “Live Local” law. (Source: TapestryCypressCreekApartments.com) 

When the Pasco County Board of Commissioners (BOC) voted unanimously on May 21 to opt out of a portion of the state’s recently revised “Live Local” law that was originally passed last year, it didn’t stop the BOC from continuing to look to find other ways to bring affordable or “workforce” housing to the county. 

“We all agreed that although those in the workforce need more affordable housing,” says District 2 Commissioner Seth Weightman, “Live Local just did not seem to accomplish that goal.” 

To that end, Pasco’s senior assistant county attorney David Goldstein made a presentation to the commissioners at their May 21 BOC meeting which summarized the reasons why the county was choosing to opt out of the provision of the Live Local law (pushed by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo during the 2023 State Legislative session) that was modified towards the end of the 2024 session to allow local jurisdictions the opportunity to “opt out.” 

Pasco, led by Comm. Weightman, was at the forefront of the fight to get the law changed during this year’s session, as one of the two properties that applied for the Live Local tax break — the Tapestry at Cypress Creek apartments (where Jannah and I have lived the past five years, since the complex first opened), where Wesley Chapel Blvd., S.R. 54 and S.R. 56 meet — is located in his district. I can personally vouch for what Comm. Weightman said at the May 21 meeting: 

“That complex has been around for a number of years and was never intended to be an affordable housing project. It’s Class A multifamily living with amenities, right next to Wesley Chapel and the Outlet Mall.” 

Goldstein outlined the conditions that will allow the county to opt out of the 80%-120% of Average Monthly Income (AMI) provision of Live Local for 2025, although both Tapestry and a complex in the Trinity area both already have applied — but neither one had yet been granted that exemption by county property appraiser Mike Wells at our press time — for 2024. 

The 80%-120% provision allows rental communities to receive the Live Local tax exemption if their units rent for 80-120% of the AMI for an individual in Pasco County, which Goldstein said worked out to rents averaging about $2,000 per month. “These $2,000-per-month rents are not what our school teachers, county employees, firefighters and law enforcement officers can afford,” Goldstein told the commissioners. “It doesn’t make sense to give large tax exemptions essentially to complexes that are charging market rate rents with no charitable purpose.” 

He added that Pasco also has a large surplus of apartments in that 80-120% range. 

“Our deficit is only in rental units charging less than 80% of AMI, which is truly affordable or workforce housing,” he said. “But, we don’t have any communities offering rents under that 80% AMI range coming before you for approval.” 

Goldstein also noted that even with the changes to the Live Local law, Pasco is still grouped with Hillsborough, Pinellas and Hernando counties in the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which is what is being used to determine if a community already has a surplus or a deficit in the number of rental units in the 80-120% AMI range, “So although our MSA has a surplus of 3,994 units at present, even if Pasco has a surplus in the future, but Hillsborough or Pinellas has a large enough deficit to more than offset our surplus, we might not be allowed to opt-out of Live Local in the future. I’m hoping the law will be refined again in the next legislative session.” 

He also said he hoped that other counties in MSAs with surpluses of the 80-120% AMI units will follow Pasco’s lead and opt out of the law. 

Pasco County’s senior assistant county attorney David Goldstein provides information about the changes to the state’s Live Local law to the county’s Board of Commissioners prior to the BOC’s vote to opt out of a portion of the state law regarding affordable housing. (Photo: Screenshot from Pasco BOC meeting) 

Goldstein also told the commissioners that counties that still qualify under the provisions of the law will have to opt out every year, and that the apartment complexes trying to receive the tax breaks also will have to apply for those breaks every year. 

“Fortunately, we only have the two complexes who may be able to receive the tax break this year,” he said, “but even just for this year, the county would lose 75% of the $1.7 million the two complexes paid in taxes last year (or more than $1.275 million combined)” if Wells does allow them to receive the Live Local tax break for 2024. “But, we can only opt out of Live Local for county taxes,” he added. “I have drafted a letter to the Pasco School Board, Mosquito Control District and the cities in the county instructing them to also opt out of the 80-120% AMI provision of Live Local for 2025.” 

Goldstein also mentioned that there are flaws in the way the data that would allow Pasco and other jurisdictions to opt out of Live Local is being used. 

“We can only opt out if the latest University of Florida Shimberg (Center for Housing Studies) Report, which uses American Community Survey data (based on the Census) shows that our Tampa Bay MSA has a surplus of rental units in the 80-120% AMI range,” he said. “But, that does not include recent construction — it’s always two years behind. If we have a recent apartment complex — and we have a lot of recent apartment complexes being built — it’s not counting those in the surplus inventory. We did raise that as a concern and we’re hoping it’s something else that can be refined during the next Legislative Session. The problem is that the Shimberg Report could show we have a deficit when we actually have a surplus on the ground.” 

He also noted that of all of the large counties in the state, only Broward and Miami-Dade counties have large deficits of units in the 80- 120% AMI range, “So it seems like this state law was enacted only to help southeast Florida. The law really should only be applied to those areas.” 

Goldstein also noted that the change in the law for 2025 only applies to tax breaks for existing communities, “So we’re hoping to get the land use part of the law changed during next year’s session. If we don’t have a deficit of those units, why should we have to give up job-creating commercial and industrial properties in the future to have more of them?” 

Pasco’s five commissioners — including new Dist. 4 Comm. Lisa Yeager in her first BOC meeting since being appointed to fill the seat of the late Comm. Gary Bradford by Gov. Ron DeSantis — voted unanimously to approve opting out of the tax portion of Live Local. 

Even so, at the insistence of Dist. 5 Comm. Jack Mariano — despite the fact Goldstein said it wasn’t necessary to do so — the BOC also voted 5-0 to draft a letter to the property appraiser asking him to not grant the exemption to the two rental communities that applied for it for 2024. “I’ve been in constant contact with Mr. Wells’ attorney’s office,” Goldstein said. “They’re well aware of how we feel about this.” 

Talking Affordable Housing 

Following their regular BOC meeting, the commissioners held a workshop on what Pasco can do to provide more affordable housing options for those in the workforce — county employees and others — especially after Goldstein noted during the regular BOC meeting that Pasco does indeed have a shortage of affordable units for those whose monthly incomes are below the 80% of the county’s AMI. 

The workshop was led by Cathy Pearson, Pasco’s assistant county administrator for public services, who said she was discussing affordable housing with David Lambert, the chairman of the Pasco Housing Authority and the Executive VP and general manager of the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, “And we both said we have never had an affordable housing plan for Pasco County. David took me to his Pasco Housing Authority Board and convinced the Board to pay for this study for us,” Pearson said. “How wonderful.” 

She also said that for the year-long study, “affordable housing was defined as housing that costs less than 30% of a household’s income.” For someone earning Pasco’s average median income of $63,187 per year, an affordable rent would be $1,579 per month, although starting teachers and many other workers only earn about 80% of that median income, so those workers could only afford rents of $1,263 per month or less. 

Among the options put forth by the study to help increase affordable housing options in Pasco include legalizing “accessory dwelling units,” sometimes called backyard homes or “granny flats,” adding duplexes or even quadraplex units in existing single-family communities, the possibility of requiring developers to include or pay for affordable housing in their unit totals to receive approval for those developments, as well as expanding some kinds of public rental or home-buying assistance. Goldstein also noted that the county already has reduced mobility and impact fees for developments that include affordable housing. 

Pasco Planning & Economic Growth director David Engel says the county is expected to add more than 101,000 workers to fill the jobs in the projects that are already under design or that the Board has already approved. 

“So we’re going to have a tremendous need for housing in the future for that workforce.”

Two Local Property Owners Planning To Develop Using ‘Live Local’ Law 

Research by Joel Provenzano 

Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman says that the Adrian Phillip Overpass, LLC, property on Old Pasco Rd. at Overpass Rd. has been negotiating with the county, rather than attempt to force low-income housing on the site under Florida’s new “Live Local” law.

District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman says that he and his fellow commissioners aren’t opposed to more “workforce housing” coming to Pasco, he just doesn’t believe the State of Florida’s new “Live Local” law will actually accomplish that goal. 

Weightman also notes that after the county held a workshop last month where twelve potential sites for possible “Live Local” multi-family developments (such as apartments) were identified that Pasco’s Board of County Commissioners did not threaten to sue the state legislature over “Live Local,” but did threaten to sue developers attempting to develop workforce housing using the new law — which allows those developers to build workforce housing on job-creating sites zoned for commercial and industrial uses, without having to go through a rezoning. This workforce housing is suggested to be affordable housing for individuals to afford the rents near their places of work in order to “Live Local.” 

“The intent of ‘Live Local’ is admirable,” Weightman says. “But, we believe that allowing developers, especially for property owners who are based out of state, to get tax breaks for developing multi-family units on commercial sites is not the way to accomplish that goal.” 

Weightman adds that with all of the new residential development already being constructed in Pasco County, especially in booming Wesley Chapel, “We need as many of our potential employment centers as possible to remain as job-creating sites. If we keep building more and more residential units without places in or near the same communities for those residents to work, we’re not helping those lower- and middle-income renters ‘Live Local,’ as it’s supposedly designed to help. (The law) in turn takes away jobs, rather than creating employment opportunities for those who, in fact, Live Local.” 

The legislation known as the Live Local Act offers developers tax breaks for approximately 30 years, and allows them to bypass local zoning rules if enough workforce housing (at least 40% of a particular site) is built. The act is meant to create more housing for middle-income renters who make 120% of an area’s median income or less. In Pasco, Weightman says, that means these “lower-income” rental units are intended for people making $70,000 or less per year. 

“Those aren’t all low-income renters,” Weightman says. “And, even though the tax break savings given to developers under Live Local are supposed to be passed on to the renters, it seems that these Live Local properties are renting at market rates, so the only ones really benefiting from Live Local are the developers themselves.” 

Two Local Sites With Two Different Approaches 

Weightman says that two of the twelve Pasco sites where developers have planned to develop rental housing on commercially zoned property are located in Wesley Chapel proper. 

The first is known as Adrian Phillip Overpass, LLC, which is located on Old Pasco Rd. at the intersection of Overpass Rd., just west of the new Overpass Rd. exit off I-75 (see map above). The 32.26-acre site currently is zoned commercial, which Weightman says makes sense because of its location near the interstate’s new Exit 282. 

Commissioner Weightman says that the developer of the Woods at Wesley Chapel site on S.R. 54 just west of Curley Rd. has not been willing to negotiate anything other than developing a 320- unit rental apartment at that location, despite the site’s current commercial zoning. 

“Under Live Local, this particular developer could just develop apartments without a rezoning,” Weightman says, “but they have been in discussions with the county about at least keeping the property a mixed-use site. As long as they’re willing to work with us, there’s no reason for us to sue the developer. The threat of a possible lawsuit could put properties like these in limbo, so we appreciate developers like these who don’t want to force the county into a position of eliminating a planned future employment site.” 

Weightman notes, however, that the developers of another Wesley Chapel site have been less willing to work with the county on a mixed-use solution. 

The 25.69-acre property known as Woods at Wesley Chapel, is located just west of the intersection of Curley Rd. and S.R. 54. Developer Denton Floyd Real Estate Group is planning to build a 320-unit rental community at the site, which is part of the adjacent Pine Ridge Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD) but is currently zoned for commercial (C1 & C2) uses. 

A previous development application that was abandoned for this site was a Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse. That plan was abandoned because of the site’s low potential accessibility for the large trucks that would have to enter and exit Lowe’s from S.R. 54 (and other reasons). 

Weightman says that although the county staff has attempted to negotiate with Denton Floyd to at least allow some neighborhood commercial, like a medical or other professional office building, “The developer is pretty bullish on using Live Local to develop the entire site as rental apartments with minimal amenities for its residents and predict no real cost savings on rent. This is the type of development that the county believes is worth suing the developer over, which allows the county to challenge the constitutionality of Live Local.” 

Not Suing The State 

Weightman is quick to point out, however, that unlike what has been written in some published reports, Pasco is not planning to sue the state over Live Local. 

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples), who has been called the main architect of the Live Local Act, was quoted in a Dec. 7 FloridaPolitics.com article as saying that she didn’t understand why Pasco commissioners would vote to file a lawsuit looking to strike down the portion of Live Local that requires local governments to open up commercial and industrial areas to residential construction that would take away the need for the developer to go through the rezoning process. 

“Why didn’t you call me?,” Passidomo was quoted as saying. “I have a cell phone. Don’t sue me, talk to me. And then sue me if you don’t like it.” 

Weightman says Pasco is, in fact, not suing the state, but rather threatening to sue the developers who plan to utilize the law to develop multi-family housing on commercial, industrial and mixed-use sites without going through the rezoning process. 

“Pasco has more of these Live Local sites than just about any other county in the state,” Weightman says. “We need employment centers for all of the people who are moving here, and we don’t think we should be forced to give up those employment centers to give tax breaks to out of state developers, especially without actually providing any real low-income housing.” 

Weightman says he also fears that other Live Local sites, in addition to the current 12, will likely also pop up in Pasco, especially in our zip codes. “There’s no doubt that these developers are looking at their own pro forma statements, and not at helping low-income people,” he says. “And they definitely want to get into Wesley Chapel.” 

Passidomo also was quoted as saying that the Live Local Act could be tweaked during the upcoming State Legislative session, which begins on Jan. 9.Â