Affordable Housing - I've been a number of places lately where the subject of affordable housing has come up, and have heard a common question about why the city is "doing nothing" to solve the problem. Which parenthetically is a problem all over the United States, with the exception of a few places where nobody wants to live...

The press has reported a number of things the City Commission has taken on, i.e. the development of a density bonus program and the consideration of things like inclusionary zoning. The City is also certain to be an active participant in the Community Housing Trust that Sarasota County has launched. Yet I continue to hear people ask why we aren't doing something now!?

What I am happy to point out is that we are, and have been for a number of years, in cooperation with Sarasota County through our joint Office of Housing and Community Development. If you've seen my City Focus program this month on Channel 19 you already know about this department and their amazing work. In round numbers they've helped more than 2000 Sarasota families in the last five years achieve the goal of affordable home ownership. They have brought tens of millions of dollars of federal and state housing funds into this community, and leveraged that money with private sector funds many times over. (I will provide more exact numbers very soon.) They are also often overlooked in our discussion of this vital issue.

To learn more about their wide range of available housing assistance programs, you can check them out on the web at http://www.sarasotagov.com/LivingInSarasota/Contents/Housing/Programs.html. There you can also read the "2005-2010 Consolidated Plan" which outlines the guidelines under which they work. It's pretty impressive stuff, and a good example of cooperation between the City and County cooperation that tends to pass under the radar.