What do Sarasota City Commission candidates have to say about affordable housing and the SPAC?

The six candidates for the Sarasota City Commission shared their views on affordable housing, the Sarasota Performing Arts Center and other key topics in recent interviews with the Herald-Tribune.

They are set to compete in the Aug. 23 primary election, in which voters narrow down the pool of candidates to three. Those three will then compete in the general election Nov. 8, when two will be elected to at-large seats on the City Commission.

The candidates include incumbent Jen Ahearn-Koch, health care consultant Sheldon Rich, Planning Board chair Terrill Salem, Lido Key Residents Association president Carl Shoffstall, former Rosemary District Association president Debbie Trice and community activist Dan Lobeck.

Background: Sarasota neighborhood leaders, an incumbent and others compete in the City Commission race

More: Dan Lobeck joins the race for the Sarasota City Commission at-large seats

The two elected to the commission will be tasked with trying to alleviate Sarasota’s housing crisis, which is due to rents jump up during the pandemic and the area’s lack of affordable housing.

The candidates’ viewpoints on this topic and a few others are listed below.

What can be done to increase the city’s supply of affordable housing?

Jen Ahearn-Koch: She believes the city should implement inclusionary zoning, which requires a share of new development to be built for people with lower incomes, in areas “where it makes sense.” She also has been looking into other affordable housing tools, including a program in Vail, Colorado, that incentivizes people to deed restrict their property so its next occupants will be individuals who work in that county.

Dan Lobeck: He supports inclusionary zoning and said that developers shouldn’t get density bonuses unless they are tied to “truly affordable housing.” He believes that any time the city increases an area’s base density – the number of dwelling units allowed in an area – some of the units built there must be affordable.

Sheldon Rich: He would like the city to adopt a program similar to the Nashville model, which gives private property owners incentives in exchange for lowering or removing rental obstacles that often confront low-income individuals and working families. Rich also thinks that ultimately, the city will likely have to implement density bonuses. If that occurs, he wants to ensure that those bonuses result in affordable housing.

Terrill Salem: He believes that any time a developer requests a zone change from the city, the developer must agree to build attainable housing as part of their overall housing development. Salem, a general contractor, builds and rents affordable housing. He said he favors making affordable units remain so in perpetuity.

Carl Shoffstall: He supports giving developers density bonuses and other credits when they agree to build attainable housing. He also thinks that inclusionary zoning is a tool the city can explore. He said that everybody – including the city, developers and citizens – is going to have to come “to the table” to figure out solutions to the housing crisis.

Debbie Trice: She said the city needs to implement mandatory inclusionary zoning. She also thinks Sarasota should give builders information and support so they’ll know what the city’s requirements are for the building of affordable housing. In addition, she wants the city to work more closely with housing-related nonprofits, which could provide services to the residents of affordable units.

What do you think of the idea of administrative approval for attainable housing?

The City Commission voted 4-1 in May for a comprehensive plan proposal with several components. One of those is that development projects would be granted administrative review – by staff – during design of the project if the development contains "attainable units."

Under administrative review, a project would no longer go before the planning board or City Commission for approval, something opponents say limits citizen input in the critical development decisions that affect the look, feel and character of the city.

The vote in May transmitted the proposal to state officials as changes to a municipality's growth plan require state approval. The City Commission will then have to approve the plan for it to take effect. City staff expect the public hearing for the proposal to take place on Sept. 19.

Ahearn-Koch: She has long been a critic of administrative approval and she thinks there needs be public input. “How can I do my job without their input?” she asked.

Lobeck: “Administrative approval is indefensible, except for the developer, because what it replaces is public approval,” he said.

Rich: “I am very much against administrative approval, because I think that that takes the citizens, their voice, out of the process,” he said.

Salem: He believes that administrative approval should be “very limited.” “Whenever you have a development that is going to greatly affect a neighborhood, administrative approval is not appropriate,” he said.

Shoffstall: He said he thinks administrative approval for attainable housing is necessary. He believes that there should be a streamlined process for developers when they want to create affordable housing, including expedited permitting.

Trice: “I think any expansion of administrative review is bad,” she said. “I mean, administrative review needs to be rolled back even where it’s already in place.”

What do you think of the city’s plan for the Sarasota Performing Arts Center?

Another contentious topic that has come before the City Commission this year is the Sarasota Performing Arts Center. The city is partnering with the Sarasota Performing Arts Center Foundation to build a new arts hall on Sarasota Bay, which is expected to cost $350 million. The project has drawn criticism from numerous Sarasota community members.

In a 3-2 vote this April, the City Commission approved a partnership agreement with the foundation for the planning, financing, design and construction of the SPAC.

Ahearn-Koch: She voted against the April agreement. “That dollar amount just, it can’t be,” she said. “I mean, I don’t know how we would ever fund that. I don’t know how a city of our size could ever do a project like that. And if it can, maybe we can. I would like to see how, and I would like to see that all laid out: what is this plan, what is the strategy and how are we going to get there?”

Lobeck: He has lambasted the SPAC proposal at City Commission meetings and in the Herald-Tribune. Among his numerous concerns with the plan is that the Sarasota Performing Arts Center Foundation is supposed to pay for half for the cost of the new center. “No way in heck they’re going to come up with that money,” he told the Herald-Tribune. “They don’t have a track record for raising that kind of money.”

Rich: He said it would be “wonderful” for the city have a new Sarasota Performing Arts Center, but he doesn’t believe the city can afford it. He is worried that a high surcharge will be added to the center’s tickets to help pay for the new building.

Salem: He noted that Florida has the luxury of having no state income tax because it has attractions. “If the opportunity presents itself to build a state-of-the-art performance hall that can attract visitors from around the world to come in here and leave tax revenue behind – and the cost v. benefit is there – then I’m all for it,” he said. He would like the city to do a cost-benefit analysis for the center.

Shoffstall: He said he’s not against a new performing arts center, but the city needs to have a plan for paying for it. “And I don’t really see that too much right at the moment,” he said. Shoffstall also believes the city will need to have oversight over the SPAC project to make sure the money is being used responsibly.

Trice: “I think the city got scammed,” she said. She has several concerns with the SPAC proposal, including that the center will have to compete with Sarasota Orchestra’s future concert hall, which is going to be built near Interstate 75.

Anne Snabes covers city and county government for the Herald-Tribune. You can contact her at asnabes@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @a_snabes.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Elections 2022: Sarasota City Commission candidates talk affordable housing