The terminology here is getting mixed up . Affordable housing is a definition by the federal Gov't that allows people making a certain amount of household income based on the number of adults and children living in the space that are under 18. If they meet the requirements then they may be eligible for a subsidy. Not all low income housing qualifies for all subsidies. One major problem is that if a familly or living group increases their combined income above the maximum the owner or non profit that owns the building has to evict the family or the unit will not be eligible to receive a subsidy in the future. This forces people to not report income or just not try to improve themselves and it maintains family groups in a system of poverty.
Workforce housing is derived from the median household income in a defined area. Workforce housing would be considered what that group of people could afford if they used 30% of their take home to pay for housing. Many resort communities have a problem with workforce housing.
I was Mayor of a resort community in Washington State for 12 years. We transitioned from a logging, summer resort area to an aerospace tecnology community and faced a horrific housing shortage for most people not working in the aerospce industry. We watched large productive orchards in the county split up into mini ranches. The urban areas were mandated by the state to void all zoning requirments in regards to minimum lot size, and Auxilary dwelling units were allowed where ever they could be built.
From what I see here in the Villages, the developer is addressing the problem head on and is developing housing for the work force directly relating to the Villages. It would be nice to see companies like Microsoft and Boeing take the same interest in their repective areas of influence.
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