St. Pete group talks affordable housing, rent control with mayor

St. Pete group gets Mayor Ken Welch

Aaron Dietrich says Mayor Ken Welch recently sat down with the People’s Council of St. Petersburg to discuss policy options that could help renters.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — We have heard call after call for action in St. Petersburg to address affordable housing.

In February, a coalition of groups rallied in front of city hall calling for rent control, threatening a potential tent city protest if change didn’t come.

“Everyday people are looking at the reality of becoming homeless,” said Aaron Dietrich of the People’s Council of St. Petersburg.

Dietrich recently says St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch sat down with the group to discuss policy options to protect renters.

“We are seeing price gouging of everyday working residents in our city,” Dietrich said. “The government needs to step in at some point to protect these people.”

Dietrich says the meeting was a positive step in trying to talk solutions with the mayor. At past public meetings, some city leaders have openly worried about the legal ramifications of enacting rent control.

The People’s Council is still calling for that, while also discussing other policy options with the mayor.

“We have heard the concerns and we are acknowledging those,” Dietrich said. “But what we want to know is…if conditions continue to worsen, how will the city respond.”

Nick Carey is with the People’s Council and the Faith group in Florida, and he says they are pleased to have what seems to now be an open line of communication with the mayor. But, they are still encouraging people who think this isn’t their problem to pay attention.

“It’s very likely to be your problem soon,” Carey said. “In a lot of areas, you’re not even getting the chance to renew at a higher rate, they’re just giving non-renewal notices.”

All while hopeful renters like Leah Rubin-Burrasca are still on the hunt for safe and affordable housing, hoping that relief comes sooner than later.

“There’s middle-class people that can’t find homes anymore,” she said. “What I’ve seen is deplorable.”

The People’s Council is planning to have a meeting on April 6 to meet with renters and others calling for affordable housing reform to decide what will be the best path forward for change. Dietrich says they plan to continue staying in contact with the mayor and proposing alternative policies designed to help renters.

We reached out to Mayor Welch’s office about the meeting, he said:

“We are always open to having a dialogue with stakeholders in our community on issues important to them and all of us. Our meeting with the St Pete People’s Council was an excellent opportunity to share our vision and hear from representatives concerned about affordable housing. We all have the same overarching goal: ensuring every St. Pete resident has access to safe, affordable housing.”

The post St. Pete group talks affordable housing, rent control with mayor first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

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