PORT ST. LUCIE — The city will be expanding the amount of help it gives to some residents looking to purchase affordable housing, after a 3-1 vote at a City Council workshop Monday.
The majority of councilmembers agreed with doubling a $50,000 maximum the council had previously set for downpayment assistance for new homebuyers looking to join the city's community land trust program .
The downpayment assistance increase, an initial pilot program, will be paid for with federal money from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act.
The number of homes added to inventory is estimated at about four, Deputy Director of Community Programs Alex Tasca said. That number could change "plus or minus one or two" depending on the amount of subsidy new homebuyers qualify for.
Though a date has not yet been selected to open the application window, Tasca said, the city expects interest to be extremely high. With roughly enough money for six houses, there could be hundreds of applications.
"We will open a pre-application online and that is how people will put their name in," Tasca said. "We will keep that open for as long as we can depending on how many entries we get because we probably don’t want to exceed about 300-400."
The application window will be advertised at least three to four weeks before it is opened, Tasca said. Once it is opened, a list of names will be randomly selected before being vetted for eligibility.
"We have to do it this way because the demand is high and to keep it as open and fair as possible," Tasca said. "We will never keep a waiting list for programs like this after the grants funds are exhausted, but re-open the pre-application every time we have a new program to open."
Program started with six houses
The city first began its community land trust program in 2022, through its Neighborhood Services Department and in partnership with the existing Community Land Trust of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast. That year, the city sold six properties it had purchased to qualified households, with a maximum income of no more than 80% of the area's median income.
The federal government determines the area median income. In St. Lucie County, it's $84,800, meaning the 80% maximum is set at $67,840, according to Fannie Mae's AMI lookup tool .
As part of the community land trust model, any future sales of those houses must be sold at an affordable price to another qualified household. That price is determined based on a formula using the purchaser's household income. Such an agreement ensures the property remains affordable, increasing the impact of the city's investment.
These funds will be used differently
The houses purchased under the new program would have two key differences from those initial six.
The new model would see potential homebuyers find the house they would like to purchase on the open market, and then they could apply to the city for up to $100,000 in down payment assistance.
Second, the cutoff would be set at 120% of the area median income, rather than 80%. According to Fannie Mae's AMI lookup tool, that percentage would equate to $101,760 for a household.
By taking the down payment assistance, the homebuyer would agree to add the property to the community land trust, taking on those affordability and eligibility requirements for future sales.
Finding the right number to match the housing market
Initially in August, the city council approved a $50,000 maximum in down payment assistance for the new program. However, city staff and community land trust consultant Julie Brunner determined only four available houses would meet city standards to be available under that price. With the bar raised to $100,000, the number of viable houses increases to 28, Brunner said.
Vice Mayor Jolien Caraballo said she had initial concerns $50,000 would not be enough in today's market.
"I'm glad to see we're bringing it back but that it's going to be at 100," Caraballo said.
The lone no vote was Councilman Anthony Bonna, who said he supported the program but wanted a lower assistance amount.
"I'm comfortable with up to ($75,000)," Bonna said, later adding he would also be comfortable with $100,000 if the council had to approve any assistance above $75,000.
Brunner said $75,000 would result in 12 viable properties.
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Bonna's concerns did not sway the other council members or Mayor Shannon Martin.
"The goal is to help as many people as we possibly can," Martin said, later adding she did not want to force people to "settle" for a worse situation to qualify.
A second request to put $970,000 of city funds towards the community land trust program was pushed back to the council's summer workshop, scheduled for July. That would give staff time to review the success of the down payment assistance program, Martin said.
Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Port St. Lucie increases amount of assistance available through affordable housing program
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