A plan to help Marco Island businesses provide affordable housing to their employees will be heard by City Council members at their Feb. 20 meeting.
Marco Island Planning Board members asked city staff in January to make changes to the proposed ordinance and heard those updates on Feb. 2.
The Board, by a vote of 5-1, is recommending approval of a Land Development Code amendment to allow a process for owners of multi-story commercial buildings to remodel upper levels for workforce housing. Board member Geoff Fahringer was at the meeting but left for an appointment before the vote, said Chairman Jason Bailey.
The concept of affordable housing is a contentious topic that has some Marco Island residents complaining that more people will be on the island. Others are concerned about who might be living near them, questioning legal work status. Many employers say employees living on the island could mean less traffic, something else residents complain about.
“We’re walking on a razors edge,” board member W. Mike Hogan said. “We’re pushing essential workers further north and further east. And that’s a business owners’ cost of doing business, but we’re trying to give an opportunity here and I think it’s slim. We’re on a 4-by-6 lot of sand and it’s not getting any bigger.”