By: Dustin Wyatt | Daytona Beach News-Journal
Even before the arrival of a new report offering a grim look at how much low-income residents across the country struggle to find affordable housing, the Volusia County Council had already agreed to explore ways to address the problem locally.
After a June 18 workshop, County Chair Ed Kelley joined others on the council in saying the results of a 285-page study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition — which broke down data by state and county — only further validates why this is such an important undertaking.
By federal standards, residents are considered “cost-burdened” when more than 30% of their income goes toward rent and utilities.
The report, “Out of Reach,” concludes that a Volusia County resident would need to earn $43,320 a year — or $20 an hour, well over the state minimum wage of $8.46 — to afford a two-bedroom apartment here without falling into that category.
It’s a similar story in Flagler County, where rent rates are even higher on average.
“We are well aware of this,” Kelley said of the report’s findings. “It’s on our plate. I believe the other six members of the council feel the same way, that we have an issue and we need to do what we can.”
This isn’t the first such report.
An earlier study by Harvard University found that 57% of renters in Volusia and Flagler counties are “cost-burdened.” That placed the Volusia-Flagler region 15th among the nation’s 382 metro areas for the most burdened renters. Within Florida, the area ranked second among nine regions, while having the lowest median income for renters, according to that study.
The most recent report found significant gaps between renters’ wages and the cost of housing across the country. And it’s only gotten worse since the first study of its kind was released back in 1989.
Housing assistance reached only 1 in 3 eligible households in the late-1980s. Today, housing assistance reaches fewer than 1 in 4. The private market has lost more than 2.5 million low-cost rental units since 1990, and rent increases have significantly outpaced income growth and price increases for necessities like food and transportation, the report found.
“The lack of affordable housing is perhaps the greatest challenge to successfully ending homelessness and lifting millions of people out of poverty,” U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, wrote in the report. “This country has a shortage of over 7 million affordable homes for America’s 11 million lowest income families.”
What can be done?
In Volusia County, a two-bedroom apartment costs $1,083 per month on average, according to the report. In Flagler, it’s higher: $1,123. The report did not include local figures for one-bedroom housing.
Both of those rates fall below the state average: $1,189. That’s too high for anyone making minimum wage to afford without being cost-burdened.
On average, in order for a Floridian to afford a two-bedroom apartment along with utilities — without paying more than 30% of their income on housing — the household would need to earn $3,962 monthly or $47,542 per year.
Such figures don’t surprise Jaimie Ross, the CEO of the Florida Housing Coalition. What they should do is “drive home” the point to local and state leaders that policies and funding allocations need to change, she said in a phone interview.
The state has had an affordable housing trust fund in place since 1992. Documentary stamp taxes are steered toward the Sadowski Trust Fund, but over the past decade roughly $2.2 billion has been shifted toward other projects. Ross said Friday, after Gov. Ron DeSantis approved his $90.1 billion budget, that another $125 million would be swept from this funding source in the coming year.
“It’s extremely unfortunate,” Ross said. “Those dollars will now not be available to help Florida’s most vulnerable populations such as the frail elderly and disabled.”
‘Unlock any door’
Locally, there’s a bit of help on the way.
The Volusia County Council inked a deal with a developer Tuesday on plans for more affordable housing options in Orange City. The development promises to bring more than 200 units to the intersection of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Harley Strickland Boulevard.
Knowing that’s not enough, the council appears ready to seek out other solutions. During a three-hour workshop earlier that day, Kelley suggested enlisting the help of the council-appointed affordable housing advisory committee, which hasn’t met since March.
“Let’s see if there’s something we can do to get them more involved and see what they can find to bring back,” he said after the meeting. “They may find some answers we don’t know about.”
We have to “unlock any door we can,” said Councilwoman Billie Wheeler, who represents Daytona Beach.
“This is huge for us,” she said. “Affordable housing is essential. We all need to be addressing it. There are just too many young families that can’t even afford to rent anywhere.”
As a former Realtor, that’s a dilemma councilwoman Barbara Girtman saw her clients fall into far too often due to constantly rising rent rates and stagnant income levels.
“Workforce housing is critical to Volusia County,” she said. “We’ve got to work on creating more options for the workforce. They are being pushed out of the housing market.”
What will it take to buck that trend?
Teamwork, says Councilman Ben Johnson, who believes the county, all of the cities, the school district and nonprofits need to work together.
“We know we have a problem here,” Johnson said. “There’s no doubt about that. We know there’s a problem with affordable housing and we all have to work on it. It can’t just be solved by county government.”
Article last accessed hereon July 1, 2019. A print-ready pdf is available here.