written by Helina Lifshatz, Community Housing & Resources Summer Intern
Affordable housing is not a new idea on the islands. It is not a recent response to rising costs or a temporary solution to a workforce challenge. Affordable housing is part of Sanibel’s history, intentionally outlined within the Sanibel Plan, and part of the community’s long-standing commitment to maintaining economically diverse islands.
In 1979, Community Housing and Resources (CHR) was created because Sanibel and Captiva recognized a fundamental need: the people who work on the islands should have an opportunity to live here. Four years later, in 1983, the City of Sanibel established its Affordable Housing Program. For nearly five decades, CHR has continued that work, serving more than 1,000 families and becoming an important part of the history and fabric of the Sanibel community.
That history matters today.
The need for affordable housing has only become more urgent as the cost of land, construction, and existing homes has continued to rise. Sanibel’s own planning documents recognize that, because of the island’s high land and construction costs, government assistance will continue to be necessary to provide affordable housing for both young and older residents.
Sanibel has historically understood that teachers, caregivers, hospitality workers, tradespeople, maintenance workers, first responders, service employees, and other essential members of the workforce are also our neighbors, parents, friends, volunteers, and community members. They are the people who keep the island functioning every day. When those workers cannot afford to live here, the entire community feels the consequences. CHR has surveyed Sanibel and Captiva businesses, and the results further emphasize this need for expansion: 85% reported that hiring employees is either very difficult or extremely difficult, 63% indicated staffing shortages have forced them to reduce services operating or business capacity, and 93% stated that workforce housing is important or very important to the future success of the business.
The Sanibel Plan also recognizes the importance of keeping affordable housing on the island, rather than expecting lower-income residents to live in other jurisdictions. As the Plan explains, requiring people to move elsewhere would undermine the purpose of Sanibel’s Below Market Rate Housing program and create a two-tier community—one for those who can afford to live here and another for those who cannot.
That is not the Sanibel we should be striving to preserve.
CHR embodies that principle.
For more than 45 years, CHR has been part of Sanibel’s effort to make sure that working families, seniors, and other members of the community have an opportunity to remain on the islands and to call them home. We are an organization with deep roots in Sanibel’s history—one that was created because Sanibel residents and leaders recognized the importance of housing affordability decades ago.
That commitment is also reflected in the current Sanibel Plan update. CHR has been selected to serve on the Sanibel Plan Update Steering Committee, alongside representatives of the Planning Commission, SCCF, the SanCap Chamber of Commerce, COTI, and citizens at large. The Steering Committee exists to encourage public participation and represent diverse community interests as Sanibel considers its future.
Housing is a leading part of that future.
If approved, the proposed Riverview II housing development would bring Sanibel’s affordable housing inventory up to the 3% goal established by the Sanibel Plan and City Charter for the first time in 50 years. We should be proud that Sanibel has a history of recognizing the importance of affordable housing–and we should be equally committed to carrying that history forward.
For nearly five decades, that commitment has been demonstrated through CHR’s efforts and through Sanibel’s own affordable housing policies. Supporting our workforce and affordable housing today is not changing the islands’ character—it is honoring the values and vision that have helped shape them for generations.
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