A Brief Summary

Folks needing economical homes are valuable members of any community. These are people Islamorada needs far more than they need our community:

• The teachers that impact the lives of the local youth 
• The firefighters, paramedics and sheriff deputies that are our life savers
• The clerks at the retail shops and grocery stores that keep the checkout lines efficient.
• The nurses and therapists that treat us when we are not 100%
• The folks that clean our homes and keep our gardens beautiful
• The servers and cooks who make eating out a treat
• The employees in the tourist industry that make our tourist economy viable

Affordable housing isn’t a new topic. For decades the Village of Islamorada, employers, the workforce and other residents have been acutely aware of critical affordable housing needs. 1,009 times – that’s the number of occurrences of the word affordable in Council minutes since 2010. The word, in itself, does nothing, though. What concrete actions have actually improved the affordable housing crisis in Islamorada?

Here are the concerns, documented through council minutes, reports, studies, audits, policy… it’s all right at our fingertips:

• In the next five years, the Village anticipates 100 deed-restricted homes will revert back to market rate, leaving just 40 of the current deed-restricted affordable homes.
• In a few years. the Village will be lucky to have 75 deed restricted homes, while Marathon will have 1,000.
• The Village has provided allocations for affordable housing for 20 years. Is there still no effective process to assure compliance when the homes are sold or rented?
• The Village maintains a list of deed restricted homes – but often the list doesn’t reflect the most recent owner, who lives in the homes and whether they are qualified as “income eligible.”
• Have members of the Village Council and/or their friends enjoyed affordable housing benefits not available or publicized for the entire community? 
• Why are 10-year deed restrictions being recorded for First-Time Home buyers when the goal of the regulations is to provide affordable housing in perpetuity?
• The Village has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years via affordable impact fees and “in lieu” fees, but what do we have to show for all the money collected?
• Vacation rentals increase the need for additional workforce, but the annual license fee has never helped with affordable programs as intended by Village regulations.
• Why isn't the Village doing a better job protecting mobile home building rights?

Read more about Islamorada’s Affordable Housing Crisis. Click Here for a detailed analysis.