STUART, Fla. — WPTV is following up on what officials said is a significant lack of affordable housing on the Treasure Coast — and specifically in Martin County.
This comes after we reported Wednesday on Florida Senate Bill 102, known as the "Live Local Act," which state Sen. Gayle Harrell said is meant to increase affordable housing opportunities across the state.
"We have a real housing problem in the state of Florida," Harrell said.
It's a problem Mike Readling, the executive director of Martin County's Habitat for Humanity, has seen skyrocket in the past few years.
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"We've definitely seen the need increase. I mean, if you talk to anybody in Martin County, they'll tell you that housing is an issue," Readling said. "When I started here, I felt like we had a pretty good handle on the affordable housing issue in Martin County, but it's just ballooned so much that it's out of control."
According to rent research company Zumper, the cost of rent for a studio apartment in Stuart increased by 147% this year compared to last, as of February.
Martin County Administrator Don Donaldson said the issue began when an influx of people started moving to Martin County during and after the pandemic.
"They're coming from areas that have higher-dollar homes, and they're buying places with cash, so that has affected us in that the housing cost has gone up significantly," Donaldson said.
Readling added the issue is compounded by more and more people moving into the county, many of whom have come from areas devastated by Hurricane Ian.
"We had people that called us and told us they're living in their car, a husband and wife with two dogs, a husband and wife with two kids," Readling said.
One of those people struggling to find an affordable home is Andrea Nannini.
"It's pretty depressing, actually," Nannini said.
The full-time working mom of two cleans pools on the Treasure Coast and in Palm Beach County. She's been searching for a place she can afford that's big enough for the three of them for two months now but hasn't had any luck.
"I'm pretty defeated," Nannini said. "To find out you're basically going to be renting a hotel room for way over $1,500 a month just didn't make sense to me. I was shocked at the prices they were asking for."
In Nannini's case, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator shows a single parent with two children would now have to make at least $46.24per hour in order to live in the county. However, the county's average worker makes $23.08 — half that figure.
"I mean, essential jobs that this county needs in order to survive and run as well as it does, a lot of those jobs are getting priced out of the market because they can't afford a place to live," Readling said.
Readling said in the past, he saw more service industry workers asking for help with housing, but now he said it's everybody: from teachers to firefighters to police officers and more.
"We're going to start losing those teachers," Readling said. "We're going to start losing those policemen."
Donaldson said the county is aware of the problem and is working on multiple approaches to address it.
"We partnered with Habitat for Humanity. We built some projects in Indiantown," Donaldson said. "We built some roads to allow [people] to come in."
Donaldson said the county is looking at multiple other approaches to the problem, including creating workforce housing for teachers and firefighters, and businesses creating workforce housing for their employees.
In addition, they are looking at partnering with a housing trust to create additional non-government housing options that are affordable.
"I think the marketplace is adjusting in a lot of different ways. We're seeing changes in wages, and things like that. Florida's having to adapt, and especially South Florida, to a new economy as well as how we deal with housing," Donaldson said.
Readling said he hopes more action is indeed taken.
"It's something that needs to be addressed," Readling said.
Nannini agreed, knowing she'll be OK to stay put for now, but said she worries for those who don't have that option.
"I happen to be fairly lucky that I still have a place, but I can't imagine if I had some sort of situation that I really needed to get away from," Nannini said, "so something definitely needs to change, something needs to happen."
Harrell said she believes the "Live Local Act" will help with the problem by changing certain zoning requirements for bigger affordable housing units to be built within the county. She said if that does happen, those units would not surpass Martin County's four-story and 40-foot limit for buildings.
Donaldson said he doesn't feel the bill will help, and said he feels one of the other approaches the county is looking at will be a better avenue to address the problem.
"I think simply by overreacting and putting lots of density in a particular place can have unintended consequences, both in how we deal with the environment and clean up, so personally, not speaking on behalf of the board, the unintended consequences can be significant just by adding density," Donaldson said. "There are other ways, I think, to deal with that, and we will adapt."
The "Live Local Act" also received backlash from several residents who worried it would only increase the growth and traffic in Martin County. Currently, it passed the committee and heads to the House floor.
If you or someone you know is struggling with housing, you can call 211, which has several resources that can help.