Green Cove Approves Plan for Affordable Housing, Including 'Granny Flats'
Risks Harming 'Character' of the City, Lone Councilor Says
Living in the City of Green Cove Springs isn’t quite like having a homeowners association until someone wants to erect a carport or build a house without a garage. This week, however, the City Council relaxed some of its zoning rules in the name of affordable housing.
On Tuesday, in one of those rare votes that wasn’t unanimous, the council voted 4-1 for change. The one councilor who voted no said the measures threatened to alter the character of Green Cove neighborhoods, and not in a good way.
This is what the amendments to city zoning will do:
Allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs, colloquially: mother-in-law suites, granny flats) for all zoning districts that approve single-family development subject to specific development criteria.
Exempt enclosed garage requirements for new or redevelopment of existing single-family homes for affordable housing project.
Reduce minimum building-size requirements in residential zoning districts to 900 square feet. Current code requires a minimum of a 1,250 square feet of living area with a 200 square foot garage for Residential-1 zones and a minimum of 1,000 square feet of living area with a 200 square foot garage for R-2
Modify Street Requirements to allow for narrower right-of-ways to allow for a greater density of development.
Developmental Services Director Mike Daniels runs the city department responsible for writing the zoning revisions. Daniels told the council that the Florida Legislature has a bill before it to mandate that cities allow ADUs in single-family neiborhoods by the end of the year. He said it was likely to pass.
The goal of SB184 is to help low-income folks find affordable housing, using this criteria:
Housing is considered affordable when it costs less than 30 percent of a family’s gross income. A family paying more than 30 percent of its income for housing is considered “cost-burdened,” while those paying more than 50 percent are considered “extremely cost-burdened.” Severely cost-burdened households are more likely to sacrifice other necessities such as healthy food and healthcare to pay for housing, and to experience unstable housing situations such as eviction.
‘Complete Change of Character’
The lone dissenter, Councilor Ed Gaw said he wasn’t opposed to the goals of the affordable housing ordinance per se. However, in the lead-up to the vote, he pleaded for more study, listing several possible unintended consequences that could cause a “complete change of character” for city neighborhoods.
Despite requirements that parking be provided on the property for those people living in ADUs, Gaw predicted the result would likely be more cars parked on streets. He said that despite language that ADUs serve low-income or familial purposes, once such a property was sold, those good intentions would be easily thwarted.
“Now, the new owner is going to have two rental units. That’s where this is going,” Gaw said. “After that, it means more cars, more people and everything that means for a neighborhood…Our attitude seems to be let’s pass it and see what happens.”
Current Mayor Steve Kelley (the title is assigned to each councilor in a rotation) said he spearheaded the affordable housing inititiative after a conversation with a constituent who was prevented from making improvements to the family home because approval hinged on them having a garage.
In a rebuttal directed at Gaw, Kelley reminded his fellow councilors that they were all relatively privileged as owners of single-family homes (in Gaw’s case, a stately riverfront property.)
“It’s the first time in history I’ve seen so much wanting to pause and wait for something that would benefit the people in the lowest common denominator, people in troubling situations…a single parent or someone who is retiring and has high health costs,” Kelley said, adding, “Essentially, Mr. Gaw as an ADU on his house right now with one storm-water paid on it.”
Accessory Dwelling Units
This is wording of the new ADU zoning, effective immediately:
Residential accessory dwelling units shall be a permitted use in all residential zoning districts subject to the following criteria:
Accessory dwelling units may only be located on property that is subject to an existing homestead exemption or on property that meets the requirements for a homestead exemption which the property owner has applied for through the Clay County Property Appraiser's Office with the expectation that the exemption will be granted.
The unit shall be developed in conjunction with or after development of the principal dwelling unit and the owner of the property must reside within either the principal or the accessory dwelling unit.
Accessory dwelling units shall provide additional parking to the primary residence pursuant to the parking requirements for single family homes as set forth in Sec. 113-157 Off Street Parking requirements matrix in the City Land Development Code.
No accessory dwelling unit shall be sold separately from the principal dwelling unit.
The gross floor area of the accessory dwelling unit shall not exceed 50 percent of the gross floor area of the principal structure, The accessory dwelling unit shall be no less than 200 square feet of air-conditioned floor area.
The accessory dwelling unit can be attached or detached to the primary residence. Accessory dwelling units attached to the principal structure shall be physically separated from said structure so as to prevent direct, internal access between the primary structure and the accessory dwelling units. Detached accessory dwelling units shall be behind the primary structure adjacent to all roadway frontages and comply with the setback requirements for a primary residence in the underlying zoning district and shall not exceed the height of the primary structure.
The accessory dwelling unit combined with the primary residence and other structures shall meet the density requirements of the underlying zoning district with the exception that the minimum lot area must be 7,500 square feet.
The accessory dwelling unit shall have independent utility meters from the primary dwelling.
An accessory dwelling unit shall be treated as a townhome unit for impact fees.
A certification in the permit application for requests to construct an accessory dwelling units shall be provided that requires the applicant to certify whether their property is part of a deed restricted community or subject to a homeowner's, neighborhood or master association and, if answered in the affirmative, that the applicant has confirmed an accessory dwelling units are allowed under the deed restrictions and/or rules of the homeowner's, neighborhood or master association, as applicable.
“affordable housing” is the present tense of the word “slum”