City Commission Votes No on The Set Affordable Housing Request
- FOD
- May 27, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 3, 2022

Delray Beach has an affordable housing crisis, and a solution was presented to the commission on Tuesday May 17th, which would have cost the city nothing.
Commissioners Juli Casale and Shirley Johnson, along with Mayor Petrolia voted “No”.
Their no vote effectively shut down a role the City of Delray Beach could have played in supporting an affordable housing initiative for single family property owners in Delray’s historically African American neighborhood at no cost to Delray taxpayers.
The commission was asked to allow 5 foot side setbacks instead of 7.5 feet on these county work force housing lots. The program would cost the city no money, no resources and no land but would allow the city to gain affordable housing. The only way the city would have had to participate was by allowing smaller side setbacks that it permits under its own workforce housing program.
“It’s a no brainer,” said Commissioner Ryan Boylston. “It’s an innovative program that we need more than ever…I don’t want to approve a few of these. I want as many as the county will develop.”
The innovative solution was developed by Thrive, a community asset development firm working along with The Set Neighborhood Alliance. Their program, “We Are Home” is a new model for attainable housing. The model matches landowners or legacy families with developers who have county work force housing credits they must fill. The model provides families at the lower income level, who own vacant or dilapidated properties, the opportunity to build single family work force homes.
With the “We Are Home” program the property "owner/buyer" would have to qualify for a mortgage to build their home and they would also have to qualify for Palm Beach County’s work force housing, which provides a subsidy for down payment.
The co-founders of Thrive, Kristyn Cox and Sara Selznick, addressed the commission in public comments at the meeting. Cox pointed out “the owners of these properties have only been faced with selling property not building on property that they owned” and Selznick added “We are losing properties to developers and outside investors every day and Delray locals are being priced out of neighborhoods they were born in, raised in and raised their families in.”
Mayor Petrolia raised an objection to granting the setbacks because there are different restrictive covenant requirements for Delray Beach workforce housing than for the county. Delray Beach requires a restrictive covenant that the home remains a workforce housing unit for 40 years and the county only requires the restriction for 15 years.
“The issue of restrictive covenant is something that is being discussed at our own affordable housing committee,” said Anthea Gianniotes, City Development Services Director. “And whether there should be a difference between rental communities versus home ownership which also builds wealth.”
Gianniotes also added, “Most of us rely on our homes’ equity to do things like replace a roof … Banks are hesitant to let you tap equity...because it has to be income qualified to the next person you sell it to.”
When asked by Vice- Mayor Adam Frankel for her recommendation, Gianniotes said, “I think we absolutely have to use every tool we have to get work force housing in our city.”
The 3-2 vote was a disappointment for Delray Beach, Thrive and The Set Neighborhood Alliance but, most of all, for the legacy families who are waiting for their first homes to be built on their land.
We appreciate Friends of Delray for covering this story and truly understanding the inequity and lost opportunity in the City's lack of support for these homes. As an update to the We Are Home project, and like we've seen time and time again, the engaged residents and legacy families of The Set do not give up or lie down. We have had to pull new partners in and have lost quite a bit of time, but these homes will be built. They will cost us more and that will likely translate in the community seeing less of these homes in the immediate future, which is unfortunate given the pressures of the real estate market in Delray Beach and the threat…
I can’t believe the present City Commission is squabbling over what amounts to a 2 ½ feet setback differential for this type of uplifting project during a housing crisis and is designed to help deserving families generate some tangible wealth through market appreciate over a considerable lockup period of 15 years. It always seems like these rules are selectively applied, which is even more is alarming.
Despite how the article reads, understanding the real reason behind the “no” vote (convenienvely not reported) has merit.
A favorable vote would have reduced the local affordable housing inventory by 25 years! (from 40 to 15 years) and would have also allowed builders build affordable housing without the local design element enhancing curb appeal.
Also not mentioned in the write-up is the fact that families in Delray seeking to build homes under the county’s affordable home 15 year covenant, still can! They just cannot also request waivers (by building too large homes on too small lots) that would trigger the local rule. By scaling the proposed home back 2.5 ft on each side, they will not trigger the local 40…
pap1950
Peter Perri
The City Commission/CRA have done this for years and years. When it comes to providing for the citizens of The Set/West Atlantic, they fall miserable short. When it comes to development the east side of Swinton Ave, they have always provided for the people.
it is hard not to imagine they want to do for some and not do for others.
shame on them