Actually, it started a couple years ago.  A report was presented to the commissioners and the public that we were 30,949 affordable housing units short.  Crisis was the word coming from everyone’s lips after that, but the problem was: no one ever looked closely at how the department arrived at that figure.  I did - and was aghast to find that nothing built before 1992 was calculated into the inventory of affordable housing on hand.  That means the whole city of Golden Gate was not in the report!  Nor was Naples Manor (1351 units), nor was the Gateway Triangle (between Davis Blvd. and U.S.41 at the entrance to East Naples), nor was Thomasson Rd., Bayshore Dr., Mohawk Heights (located between these streets), nor was Treetops, Trail Acres, Estey Ave., Rattlesnake Hammock Rd. condo’s, and on and on in East Naples, NOR was most of Immokalee!  These areas were all built before S.H.I.P. funds were created, but SHIP funds was the benchmark used in determining what we had on hand and what was needed.      No matter how I tried to point out this glaring error, no one wanted to listen.  Finally, after sounding like a broken record, my concerns were heard.  The commissioners have asked for an ACCURATE count of what we have on hand, and what we actually need. 


    Now, counts can be accomplished in many ways to arrive at varied results.  For instance, if you obtain a list of properties “valued” at today’s prices, you’ll get one answer, but if you obtain a list of the price the property was last sold for, you’ll get a completely different picture.  The property value will give you the information as to what is on the market today (where people can buy property), but if the list is based on what the owner paid for the property, you’ll find the number of homes our work force is living in right now!  Obviously these figures paint a very different picture from each other.  It will be interesting to see, once we count all the homes I mentioned previously, what the figure will actually be.

Another concern I’ve had is in The Comp Plan for Collier County, which says we shall not concentrate all the affordable housing in one area (those aren’t the exact words, it’s what they sum up to be).  That is all well and good, but the Land Development Code, the book that tells you how to accomplish the Growth Management Plan (the Comp Plan), there is no definition for concentration or over-saturation.  Without a definition, nothing is restricted.  There is also no definition for affordable housing, so what IS affordable housing?  Is it a price range?  Rental?  Does it include low-low income, low income, and moderate income?  What should be in the count? 

Now, the concentration can also be calculated in many different ways, as the count was for the number of affordable housing units.  First, what area is included in the count?  Is it by street?  By commission district?  By community?  Each figure gives you a different total and can paint a different picture.  For instance, East Naples is divided into four (4) commission districts!  Each district also includes other parts of the county, which can skew the concentration figure tremendously.  Now in the case of Golden Gate City, if taken by itself and not included with any other part of that commission district, the outcome is very clear: It’s all affordable housing with only a few exceptions.  But, when you combine it with other areas in the same commission district, the figure becomes skewed again.  That isn’t what we’re looking for, in my opinion.

What we must do is stop the concentration of low income housing to particular areas or we’ll have slums, blight and crime.  You remember what happened in many major cities when they located all their “projects” in one concentrated area.  I don’t want to see that happen here.  I want all of us to be able to walk on our streets safely, to live relatively crime free, to feel pride in each of our communities.  That is what I am striving for. 

    I really don’t care what the figures say when they are submitted to the Board of County Commissioners, I just want them to be fair, honest, accurate, and not skewed to paint an untrue picture.  When we can arrive at those figures, we should also learn what we have on hand and what we need to plan for every year to house our future workforce. 

    Another figure I’ve been calling for is how our work force is divided by wage categories.  What percentage of our work force is in the low-low income category, what percentage is in the low income category, what percentage is in the moderate, medium, essential service, and gap categories?  Once we have THAT figure, we’ll know how much to build each year, where, and in what categories.  We must plan for our future workforce, and the future of Collier County.  If we only build farm worker housing, all we’ll attract are farm workers, but there will be no one to rescue them, to teach their children, to nurse them to health, etc.   What I’m saying is, I want us to build a well-balanced community.  Is there any other way?  I think not.