Affordable Housing Survey

The City of Key West, following a highly informational affordable housing workshop at the end of January, is conducting a short survey to better understand the needs and desires of the community.

The survey is available on the City’s website at www.cityofkeywest-fl.gov. Just click on the “affordable housing survey” button on the far right. The link takes you to a short survey that only takes a few minutes, but will help guide future planning in Key West.

Affordable housing has been a long-standing issue on this small but expensive island, and city officials – along with a strategic planning consultant – are taking a hard look at creative ways to ensure that housing is available for the workforce and for the future.

During January’s workshop, a three member panels addressed different aspects of the issue. Randy Sterling, the Executive Director of the Key West Housing Authority, noted that the turnover rate in public housing is extremely low.

Ann Ray, Manager of Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, noted that a full-time worker would need to earn just over $33 per hour to rent a typical two-bedroom apartment in Key West. She noted that many in the service industry, teachers, laborers and others cannot pay more than $1000 a month in rent.

Scott Pridgen, the Executive Director and CEO of A.H. Monroe, told the commission that the first step in ensuring affordability was control: a minimum 50-year land use restriction. He also explained the ways in which A.H. Monroe is able to provide affordable housing for people living with HIV-AIDS, as well as the disabled, elderly, and low income individuals.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]