At the October 22 BCC Meeting, agenda items 9A and 9B pertaining to the development of the Mattson at Vanderbilt Residential Subdistrict were approved with four commissioners in favor.
The subject property consists of 5.88± acres located on the north side of Vanderbilt Beach Road. The Mattson proposal includes a maximum density of 150 multifamily rental units, which is approximately 25.5 dwelling units per acre. This is a significant increase in density compared to the initial authority of 16 dwelling u
nits per acre that was approved for that zone. 30% of the dwelling units are committed as rent and income-restricted: half for households whose incomes are less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and the other half for households whose incomes are less than 100% of the AMI. During the meeting, another amendment was proposed to include 10% of units for households with less than 50% of the AMI and another 8% for those with 120% AMI and below. This brings a total of 48% of the dwelling units for ‘affordable’ housing.
Several concerns were raised by public speakers, particularly traffic congestion and stormwater management. Traffic added to Vanderbilt Beach Road was a major issue raised by surrounding neighbors in the corridor. Considering the proposed density increase in units, there will be a corresponding considerable increase in traffic congestion. Project design with the U-turn site outlined has seen fatal road accidents in recent years. People in the area wanted to be assured that the stormwater from this project would not flood into Village Walk and other neighboring communities. Citizens expressed their disappointment in learning that the project will result in a decrease in open space in the area, from 60% to only 40%, once the project is done, affecting the quality of life of current residents.
The most recent statistics from County staff show that 1,882 ‘affordable’ housing units have been approved but are still unbuilt, while 1,691 ‘affordable’ units have been approved and are currently under construction but not yet available. This means that over the last three and a half years alone, the County has approved a total of 3,573 individual income-restricted units that are still pending development.
Given the substantial number of ‘affordable’ housing units still unbuilt or currently under construction, it is imperative to evaluate the impact of projects like the Mattson development.