ODESSA, Fla. — Driving through Pasco County, new apartment complexes continue to pop up nearly everywhere, and it's showing no signs of slowing down, spurred by the Live Local Law. However, Pasco County leaders said that the law is creating problems.
“They are everywhere now, and there’s more coming,” Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano said of the apartment boom in the area.
Mariano said the amount of new apartment complexes could double in the next five years, spurred by tax breaks and other incentives available because of the Live Local Law. That law was passed last year with the intent of creating more affordable housing in Florida.
The law allows for tax breaks for developers, the easing of density and height restrictions, and puts a rent cap at 30% of income while also prohibiting rent control.
Mariano and fellow commissioner Kathy Starkey are among Tampa Bay-area leaders in Tallahassee Wednesday to meet with state lawmakers and try to convince them to make tweaks to the law because of the damage they said it’s causing.
The complexes are sometimes built on land that could have been used for commercial businesses that bring jobs to the area.
“In Pasco County, we are a job-poor, house-rich county. And we have put millions of dollars in investment into infrastructure and roads to incentivize businesses to move to our area to create more jobs,” said Starkey.
Mariano pointed to the new Gary Plastic Packing company that brought its operations to Pasco County and is hiring 500 people.
“Like 54% of our people have to leave to go outside the county to go work. And if I can create jobs here, I reduce congestion. I reduce travel time. I improve quality of life. And I let people work close to home,” said Mariano.
The commissioners said another problem is the property tax breaks the apartment complexes get, which means less money in the coffers to pay for essential services.
“So not only do we lose commercial corners that would pay taxes, but these apartment complexes won’t pay any taxes or very little,” said Starkey.
Two existing apartment complexes in Pasco County, including the Gallery at Trinity in Odessa, are applying for millions in tax credit through the Live Local Law as are many more around the state.
But two bedrooms here cost between $1800 and $2200, which commissioners say doesn’t seem to fall into affordable housing at all.
Mariano said if they don’t succeed in getting changes to the law, Pasco County would consider another moratorium on the construction of new apartment complexes, something they’ve done in the past.
