The Florida Keys could receive up to 1,300 new workforce housing units thanks to an initiative proposed by the state’s department of economic opportunity.
On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott approved the proposal as part of an effort to combat the Keys’ growing affordable housing crisis, which worsened last year after Hurricane Irma battered many of its working-class neighborhoods, including Big Pine Key and Cudjoe Key.
New development in the Keys must first be approved by the state, since it’s considered an area of critical state concern.
The state requires residents to leave Monroe County within 24 hours of a hurricane making landfall, but under the new proposal, residents living in those affordable housing units would be required to evacuate 48 hours before, prior to other residents, according to WLRN.
Local governments now have the option to choose to participate in the initiative. Each community in the Keys could get up to 300 units. [WLRN] – Amanda Rabines