ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Essential workers in St. Johns County can’t afford to live there -- even if they’re combining incomes.
But county leaders want to change that.
According to a report released this year by the Chamber of Commerce, no two essential workers combined can afford a median-priced home in the county.
That’s because St. Johns County’s median home price is $552,500, according to recent data.
But county ordinance sets the workforce “affordable” maximum initial sales price at about $260,000.
“We have a lot people that commute out of county or can’t afford to even live here, and they have to travel very far,” said Michael Roberson, the county’s growth management director.
Data also shows that roughly 23% of households in the county spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
“It’s not easy to develop in that income level because a lot of people can’t purchase, No. 1, or can’t rent, maybe, or it’s very difficult to,” Roberson said.
With so many essential workers priced out of local housing, St. Johns County is trying a new incentive to bring more affordable housing to the community by cutting or waiving some costs entirely.
“So if you have an income of 80% to 50% of the area median income, then (your developer) will get basically half off or 50% reduction from the impact fees. And then from 50% and below, it’s a complete waiver,” Roberson said.
An impact fee is what developers and businesses pay for infrastructure, roads, schools and even first responder services.
In this deal, developers must record a 30-year deed restriction and verify tenant incomes — meaning units must stay affordable to qualifying renters, many of whom likely fall in the service industry, law enforcement, public safety and teaching fields.
In the big picture, the impact fee waiver or discount is something the county is willing to do, even if it means losing out on some revenue because of the dire need for affordable housing.
“There’s always a trade-off, right? So with any affordable housing development, you still have the impacts that come, right? That’s what impact fees pay for. They’re paying for roads, schools, fire, sheriff, public buildings, potentially conservation if you watch the recent one,” Roberson said. “So yes, there’s a little bit of trade-off.”
The incentives were approved in recent weeks, and so far, no projects have applied. The success of the projects depends on whether developers can combine the fee relief offered by the county with grants or other subsidies.