Council will be having a second workshop this month (yay Leap Year!) focused on “housing.” Specifically, “Staff to compile and provide a comprehensive housing report detailing the City of Tampa, including CRA’s, commitments and expenditures for short term, midterm, and long-term housing; further, staff to report on a comprehensive report that includes housing needs assessment, quarterly housing updates, and the road map to address housing.” This was initially motioned by Council member Clendenin but over the last 4 months this workshop has become a catch-all for all housing related discussions.

This is the point I remind everyone that it’s a workshop and by rule nothing can be decided formally. As such, there weren’t any back up materials in the agenda for the weekend. That’s not to say staff won’t have a presentation available later in the week or other supporting data, but for a broad topic that has been in the headlines I’m not sure providing it on the agenda in advance would be productive.

And this is the point where I say I am not even remotely an expert on the topic. But Nicole Travis is and I trust her and her staff to provide honest, objective and actionable options to City Council. I will refrain from speculating what will be discussed at this workshop but I do believe the Land Trust will be one.

Finally, this is the point where I remind anyone reading that Council approved $50 million in the budget for fiscal year 2024 through the mechanism of a municipal bond for the Land Trust. I do not believe there was any intention of spending $50 million this year.

What I do know that was at the top of the list last fall was an opportunity to buy a hotel that would be converted to short term housing for people currently living on the street. The number 200 sticks out in my mind. Long term, that property would be converted to another form of affordable housing still under the control of the Land Trust.

Also, if you want to play a drinking game on Thursday, take a shot every time someone says “10,000 homes”.