Organizers To Discuss Mixed-Income Housing Solutions At St. Pete Community Forum

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Faith in Florida, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, is teaming up with local religious leaders, policymakers and housing experts to discuss mixed-income housing solutions and St. Petersburg’s affordable housing crisis at a Thursday evening forum.

The forum, which will take place at Bethel Community Baptist Church, 2901 54th Ave. S., will start at 6:30 p.m.

The event is open to the public as Faith in Florida and collaborators tackle the growing need for affordable housing in St. Petersburg and explore mixed-income housing models used in other cities.

“Anyone can come. We’d love to just get as many voices there,” Dylan Dames, an organizer with Faith in Florida, told Patch.

Even current homeowners will likely find the topic relevant, Jameka Williams, also an organizer with Faith in Florida, added.

“They don’t think this affects them but we, but we’ve seen insurance go up, flood insurance, our infrastructure is at risk,” she said. “It affects everyone. Even if they don’t think it affects them, they should be there, because we are starting at affordable housing but hope to at some point address all these things. At the end of the day, everyone’s voice means something because we’re all being affected by this affordability crisis, not just housing.”

Faith in Florida began focusing on affordable housing in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had a huge influx of people from up north coming down to St. Pete,” Williams said. “ And at the same time, we were in a lot of magazines, like, here’s this gem in Florida, St. Petersburg. And at the same time, the governor said that we were no longer shut down. We are open to the public. So, we have this influx of people who have certain salaries that are coming here and all of a sudden places that were $750 [a month to rent] and now they’re going up to $1,200 and then $1,800; these astronomic jumps in rent.”

Both she and Dames worked with the People’s Council of St. Petersburg and other activists on a local rent control initiative in the wake of the pandemic.

“Our slogan was literally, ‘The rent is too damn high,’” she said.

Ultimately, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation into law that banned cities and counties from enacting local rent control measures across the state.

Now, Faith in Florida is proposing a city-owned mixed-income housing model to St. Petersburg officials.

At Thursday’s forum, they’ll present on successful case studies in other parts of the country, including Montgomery County, Maryland, and how similar models could be implemented in St. Petersburg.

A city-owned model will empower residents, especially those struggling with rental costs in St. Petersburg, organizers said.

“Because it gives the citizens a say in what is going up in their neighborhood. Right now, we’re seeing an influx of developers that don’t even live here. They don’t know the median income. They don’t know that Florida has notoriously low wages. They don’t know that because they don’t live here,” Williams said. “They’re just seeing opportunity. They’re seeing land that they can come and grab that’s up for sale or we’re seeing landlords that have a bottom line and [these developers] are, like, we’re gonna pay you this amount, and [the landlords are] selling. It’s hurting small businesses and people who have lived here.”

While Dames believes Mayor Ken Welcome and city council members are concerned about the skyrocketing rents, “our current policy pathway will not address the affordability crisis,” he said. “We’re in a unique stage of the affordability crisis, where it’s not like they’re not trying, it’s just our belief that what they’re doing is not going to stick the landing.”

The group seeing the most need are those who are making 30 to 80 percent of the area’s median income, he added. “That’s the forgotten group. That’s people that make 20 bucks an hour. That’s the service industry, artists, teachers.”