Fort Walton Beach Resolution — 2012-20--2012 CRA Plan Update — reading text

number of programs designed to assist existing residents in maintaining and improving their homes. The City is an entitlement community for Community Development Block Grant ( CDBG) funds, which supports several programs to improve housing. The World Changers program helps income - eligible residents to reroof and paint their homes. The Okaloosa Community Development Corporation ( OCDC) administers the City' s share of the State Housing Initiatives Partnership SHIP) funds. The SHIP funds are used to rehabilitate homes, provide down payment, and provide closing cost assistance for new homebuyers. New partnerships are also an opportunity to leverage funding from different sources to achieve a common goal. 2. Consider developing a Nuisance Abatement Program utilizing CRA funds to demolish dilapidated housing on a case -by -ease basis. A CRA- specific program to consider demolishing dilapidated housing and other buildings contributes to the positive growth of the CRA and directly achieves the objective to improve the quality of housing in the CRA. This program would be especially effective when combined with Code Enforcement activities. Increasing median age within the CRA is due to the population as a whole getting older. Some existing residents will continue to live in their homes and age in place. Fort Walton Beach and the CRA area is expected to continue to attract retirees, many of whom will continue to live in their new homes and age in place. As the average age continues to rise, the CRA must include adequate and desirable housing for this population. Appropriate housing will include a range of housing types to meet the needs of elderly and special needs residents. The area should include shopping to meet daily and weekly needs and a range of services, such as medical clinics, doctors, dentists, and other medical services. Housing areas must have appropriate infrastructure, such as safe and well -lighted sidewalks for pedestrian access to nearby shopping and services. 2012 City of Fort Walton Beach  2012 Community Redevelopment Plan 1. Continue to work with various CDBG and housing programs throughout the area that help meet the needs of elderly and special needs populations. 2. Continue to ensure adequate housing availability through the Medium Density Residential and Low Density Residential land use categories in the comprehensive plan, as well as ensuring a mix of these uses within the Mixed Use land use category. 3. Implement a true mixed -use CPA district that allows nearby services to meet the daily and weekly needs of the elderly, such as medical clinics, doctors, dentists, grocery, and personal services. Mixed -use districts should support aging and low -income housing. 4. Ensure multi -modal ( sidewalk) projects and new developments are compliant with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act. Mixed income housing helps meet the needs of people of all income levels. The area becomes marketable to a wider range of buyers and meets the housing goal to improve the quality, quantity, and options for housing in the CRA. incentives to reach this goal may include density bonuses, financial subsidies, development fee waivers / subsidies / reductions, options to produce inclusionary units off -site, and donations of land or fees in -lieu of providing affordable units. The objective can also be met through the construction of accessory dwelling units. Such units, smaller than the principle dwelling unit, are excellent means of providing affordable housing within specified neighborhoods. As rentals, these units can also provide an important source of income to existing households. Although the addition of accessory units in specified zoning districts will result in a modest increase in density, the units are small and ancillary to the principle structure and have only a modest impact on the neighborhood while providing and important benefit. 1. Develop incentives, such as density bonuses, financial subsidies, development fee waivers / subsidies / reductions, etc. in selected zoning districts to voluntarily create workforce housing. 2. Encourage developers to designate a portion of development as workforce units meeting requirements of an inclusionary housing program. 3. Consider revisions to the Land Development Code to allow accessory dwelling units in specified zoning districts. City of Fort Walton Beach  2012 Community Redevelopment Plan 4. Provide the development framework to allow assimilation of new attainable and workforce housing into the community. 5. Consider public -private partnerships that meet the CPA housing goals and objectives. Scattered vacant lots are already served with streets, public safety services, water, sewer, and a range of other government services. Development of these vacant lots improves the neighborhood through adding housing, shopping, or services; adding to the tax base through development; and, in many cases, reducing an eyesore when lots are not well maintained. These scattered lots could be improved utilizing a number of different programs, including the land value investment program described in Chapter 8. Targeted infill strategies should be implemented to improve the likelihood that such lots will be developed. Infill of scattered vacant lots may require adjustments to development standards where vacant lots were platted under previous standards that require varying lot sizes and site design features. Also, infill objectives should target underutilized buildings, such as buildings with significant vacant areas or buildings designed for a more intense purpose than the current use. 1. Create an inventory of vacant lots for use in providing information to prospective developers. The inventory should identify all vacant lots whether or not the lots are currently offered for sale. The inventory should include information on lot size, land use category, and zoning requirements. 2. Develop a methodology for identifying undern[ilized and vacant residential buildings. Create an inventory of such underutilized and vacant buildings. 3. Consider providing financial incentives through the CRA to target prime infill locations and redevelopment of underutilized or vacant buildings. The City should determine what types of incentives can be offered and develop a marketing program to make information available to potential developers. For example, properties that have been vacant or on the market for more than one year could qualify for a matching development grant up to $ 10, 000, $ 25, 000 or $50, 000 to cover capital costs such as utility or demolition/ groundbreaking work. 4. Consider less stringent setback and lot dimension standards in the Land Development Code to promote infill and redevelopment on what otherwise may be undevelopable lots due to size. Both the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code should promote increased densities and compact building design that allow for development of a wide range of housing styles, City of Fort Walton Beach  2012 Community Redevelopment Plan including small -lot single- family detached homes, duplexes, townhouses, accessory dwelling units, and apartments. Recent updates to the Comprehensive Plan include land use categories that accomplish this purpose. Revisions to the Land Development Code must implement the Comprehensive Plan and the redevelopment objectives of this CRA plan. At a minimum, the following provisions should be considered Reduce required street frontage standards for infill situations 2. Reduce the required lot area per unit to allow for diversity in housing types. 3. Reduce setbacks consistent with smaller lot sizes and reduced street frontage 4. Adopt standards in the LDC to permit accessory dwelling units in specified zoning districts. 5. Revise the LDC to ensure that densities in specified zoning districts are consistent with the goal to increase overall density within the CRA. 6. Revise the LDC to provide for compact building design that allows for the development of a wide range of housing styles. 7. Revise the LDC to provide incentives for developments that provide workforce and quality low- income housing consistent with the CRA housing goals and objectives. Promoting successful housing programs and ensuring the availability of quality housing stock is critical in the CRA. The CPA cannot attract new businesses and expanding businesses to the area without additional housing to support the new growth. The following section outlines the goal, objectives, and strategies for economic development within the Fort Walton Beach CPA. 2012 City of Fort Walton Beach  2012 Community Redevelopment Plan COMPONENT 6 - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GOAL: ACHIEVE ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH NEW AND EXPANDED BUSINESSES AND EMPLOYMENT THROUGHOUT THE CRA Objectives: Attract New Businesses to the CRA, both Anchor Tenants and Small Businesses Promote Business Expansion in the CRA Promote Business Retention in the CRA Introduction The overall goal of any CRA is to foster sustainable redevelopment. To do this, the CRA must implement programs and projects that leverage private investment. Economic development is the cornerstone of success in the CRA. Businesses provide services and jobs, both necessary to a vibrant community. Residents need shopping and other services close to their homes, as well as jobs for sustainability. Through programs to attract business and industry, jobs are created, the economy grows and is maintained, and Fort Walton Beach continues to be a healthy, vibrant, and desirable community. The City of Fort Walton Beach has natural strengths that are important to economic success. These include its accessibility, weather, lifestyle, proximity to the water, existing infrastructure, and business support. Fort Walton Beach is near a regional airport, is near the interstate system, and is served by major State highways. The region, the City, and the CRA are all supportive of existing business, expanding business, and new business. The next step is to implement aspects of redevelopment planning though increased information sharing and by creating new incentives to attract and retain businesses. This chapter is organized into three main objectives: promoting new businesses to locate in the CRA, retaining existing businesses in the CRA, and promoting business expansion within the CRA. By focusing in on these three main objectives, other important objectives are achieved, such as job creation and infill development, through strategies that support the overall goal of the CRA. 2012 Walton Beach  2012 Community Redevelopment Plan A sustainable economy is diverse, not only in temts of types of businesses, but also in terms of the size of businesses. Small business can fill important niche industry needs, providing support to larger employers through materials, assembly, distribution, and support services, such as accounting or marketing. Small businesses can also