The Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Terwilliger Housing Center has selected Florida’s Live Local Act as the recipient of the 2024 ULI Robert C. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award.
The award was created in 2011 to honor the late Robert C. Larson, former president of the ULI Foundation and longtime ULI board member. The Larson Award is part of the Terwilliger Center’s Housing Awards Program, which recognizes exemplary state and local programs and policies that support the production, restoration, and preservation of affordable workforce housing.
Florida’s Live Local law, which goes into effect in July 2023, will be the largest housing investment in the state’s history. The Live Local Act, enacted to encourage the production of affordable housing, authorizes multifamily and mixed-use housing developments in commercial, industrial, and mixed-use zones as long as 40 percent of the units are constructed. Streamline the approval process for developers by requiring local governments to do so. Specified as affordable. The law also incentivizes production by pre-empting local zoning laws, providing developers with a dedicated funding source and state and local tax incentives to build affordable housing.
“Our state legislators have enacted the smartest legislation in the Legislature, which will make more housing available to the public. . . . This is sorely needed. “It also provides affordable workforce housing, which also eases traffic and is exactly where it’s needed to avoid more cars on the road.” said Russell Galbutt, managing principal of Heights. “And the really smart thing to do is for municipalities that don’t want construction in their area to request administrative approval instead of setting up multiple overlapping committees.
“Florida has become an attractive location for families looking for affordable housing. However, the growing number of residents is driving up housing costs and preventing Florida from becoming the new high-cost market. “We need new housing supply,” said Ron Terwilliger, founder of the ULI Terwilliger Housing Center. “I applaud the state of Florida for encouraging housing production with bipartisan support. On behalf of the Terwilliger Center, I commend the state of Florida for its role as a model for elevating the role of other states in providing solutions to local housing challenges.” I would like to congratulate the Live Local Act.
The Larson Award was first decided at the 2024 ULI/Charles H. Shaw Forum on Urban Community Issues, held virtually by the Terwilliger Housing Center on May 9, 2024. The title of the forum was “State and Local Policy Innovation.” The forum’s findings are summarized in the report “Building the Future: Innovations in State and Local Policy to Promote Housing Supply,” available on Knowledge Finder.
The forum was chaired by Doug Abbey, co-founder of IHP Capital Partners and former chairman of the ULI Foundation. The Live Local Act was announced by Anthony De Yurre, partner at Bilzin Sumberg.
Other speakers include:
Mark Egge, Member of the Montana Governor’s Housing Task Force, Bozeman, Montana; Brian Essenberg, Director, NHS Redevelopment Corporation, Chicago, Illinois; Anthony Fusarelli, Planning Director, Arlington County, Virginia; Olivier Herrenkamp, Housing Advisor to the Mayor of Boise, ID Sara Karlinsky, Research Director, Turner Center, University of California, Berkeley, Boston, MA Crystal Kornegay, CEO, MassHousing, Inc. Beacon Community, Boston, MA Dara Kobel, President, Development LLC Linda Mandolini, President, Eden Housing, Oakland, California Matthew Murphy, Executive Director, Furman Center, New York University, New York, New York Brianne Rothstein, Thrive Consulting, Minnesota Founder and CEO of Minneapolis. Jenny Schuetz, Senior Fellow, Brookings Metro, Washington, DC Michael Wilt, Senior Manager, External Relations, Texas State Afforable Housing Corporation, Austin, Texas
If you have any questions about the Housing Award Program, please email us. [email protected].
