Struggling to meet its mandate that requires 15 percent of new units downtown to be affordable, the Miami Downtown Development Authority is asking officials to change the rules.
"The city's Planning Advisory Board unanimously decided last week that it needs more time to review the agency's request to amend a 2002 master development order requiring that 15% of all residential units within the downtown development of regional impact be affordable."
"Agency officials want to extend the boundary to encompass the entire city, citing rising land costs downtown."
"The agency's request 'shortchanges the downtown community,' said Carol Gardner, president of Tacolcy Economic Development Corp., a non-profit that builds low-income housing, including the Edison Towers complex in Liberty City. 'The initial idea was to build the 15% of (affordable) units downtown. They might end up putting the whole 15% in some low-income neighborhood, which undermines what the city asked them to do.'"
FULL STORY: Downtown Development Authority seeks easing of affordable housing mandate

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
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