City Waives Fees For Affordable Houses

FERNANDINA BEACH, FL - The city will waive building fees for two houses on South 10th Street that have been deemed by the city as "affordable." And an affordable housing development may be going up on North 11th Street between Broome and Calhoun streets. City commissioners voted 4-1 on April 1 to waive permit fees for the houses on South 10th. Builder Steve Boney, who is constructing the houses, will not have to pay a total of $15,856 for building permit fees, but the houses will have liens placed against them to ensure that they stay "affordable."

Vice Mayor Joe Gerrity voted against approving the waivers, saying the city should have a more clear-cut definition of affordable housing. "I'm not interested in subsidizing the profit margin for Mr. Boney," he said. "We need to get down some pretty strict guidelines."

Commissioner Ron Sapp said that, although he saw Gerrity's point, he didn't want to make it harder for families that otherwise could not afford to live in Fernandina Beach. City Manager Michael Czymbor defended the waiver, saying he did not want to penalize Boney for trying to develop affordable housing in the city. Boney says the three-bedroom, two-bath houses are about 1,000 square feet and the final price will be $149,500. They sit on lots measuring 25 by 100 feet.

Boney also has constructed four other houses in the neighborhood that are occupied by tenants on a rent-to-own basis. The builder sets aside half the $1,000 monthly rent so tenants can make a down payment at the end of the year. "It helps them get out of the rental mode and into home ownership," he said.

Commissioners at the April 1 meeting also gave approval for the non-profit Housing Assistance Corp. of Nassau County to build a development of 32 single-family townhouses on North 11th Street. The proposed development, called St. Peter's Square, is to have rental units priced according to income. The non-profit has plans to apply for state funding, and needed the city to verify that it would make affordable housing incentives available.

The exact amount of fees waived for the North 11th Street development could not be determined, although a site plan has been submitted to the city. "I am particularly pleased that this project is going to be for rentals, as we've seen many rental units converted to condominium ownership in recent years," wrote Community Development Director Marshall McCrary in an e-mail. "Plus, this is a great location to inject new residential units, they'll be within walking distance of schools, parks and ball fields, and the downtown business district."