I’m Chuck Shaver and I’m not on the city council and I’m not a politician. I’m just a regular guy, a local Realtor® that has been here in the Debary area for many years. Today I’ll be sharing a brief overview of Senate Bill 102, the Live Local Act, and how it could FOREVER alter the City of Debary and other cities just like Debary here in Florida.

Florida’s Live Local Act is intended to help provide affordable housing for Florida’s workforce, which sounds like a GOOD idea, right? I mean, it’s hard for ANYONE to be able to afford a $300,00 or $400,000 home these days. Heck, many college graduate COUPLES can’t afford a mortgage payment like that. So, I DO believe that we need to find a way to spur affordable housing, but I wonder if THE STATE imposing mandates like this is a good idea.

Basically, the Live Local Act allows developers to build affordable housing in areas that city governments haven’t previously permitted, provided infrastructure for, or planned for. Under the Live Local Act, a developer could potentially come along and build a non-conforming, high rise low-income apartment complex right near the proposed new downtown district, and there’s nothing the City of Debary could do about it.

The Live Local Act disregards the density restrictions that a local municipality may have in place. Plus, this low-income housing gets all sorts of tax breaks, which means that the local residents of Debary will be subsidizing this low-income housing.

Forget how a tall building may look unsightly and how the overcrowding of our streets, drainage, and all that could impact this little town. My biggest concern is that the REST of Debary’s residents will be stuck footing the bill for this new state mandate, which appears to disregard any planning that a local city has been doing for years, even decades. Debary just recently got control of their drainage issues that they’ve been dealing with for years, so now what?

So you know that I’m a local Realtor®, so I’m aware of the impact that home values in one neighborhood can have on those in other, nearby neighborhoods. Now, I’m NOT saying that Debary is going to look like downtown Detroit or LA anytime soon, but what I AM saying is that I don’t see how this can possibly be GOOD for this little town. There’s GOT TO be a better solution.

I also hear the complaints from Debary’s residents ALREADY about congestion and the new traffic lights, especially along 17-92. I’m speaking here about Debary, but this will impact Deland, Orange City, Deltona, and other Florida cities, too. I suspect it’ll have the greatest impact on smaller cities like these

Maybe I’m looking at the wrong side of the coin? Maybe having more affordable housing WILL help with Debary’s staffing issues for local restaurants, and other small businesses. Maybe all the new residents WON’T have a negative impact on Debary’s infrastructure. Maybe the lost tax revenue won’t have a negative impact upon city jobs. Maybe it’ll be all rainbows and unicorns? I HOPE that IS the case. I just question if big governments decision here is a wise one?

If you have real estate needs or questions here in DeBary or anywhere in Central Florida, please give me a call or email. 

Published on January 18. 2024 / Tags: debary, DeBary Living, Debary Realtor, live local act, low income housing, Moving to DeBary / no comments.