As I pen my first SRQ Daily column, I must start by sharing that I’ve been so moved by the warm, generous welcome I’ve received from this incredible community – THANK YOU. I am thrilled to be here serving as the new president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation. It is an honor to be at the helm of this remarkable 27-year-old philanthropic organization. 

My first day at Gulf Coast was June 1, after serving as chief philanthropy officer at Greater Cincinnati Foundation. I have spent my entire career serving the philanthropic and nonprofit communities. In my previous role, I led the creation of an affordable housing impact investment pool, which resulted in more than 900 new affordable housing units for the residents who need it the most. Gulf Coast’s priorities include affordable housing, the environment, and mental health. I feel fortunate to lead a bold, proactive team at Gulf Coast that works passionately to ensure we have a strong, positive impact on our region. Gulf Coast takes a community leadership approach that requires us to focus on the greatest opportunities for impact in our region, and I want to continue to grow that impact.

You may be wondering what brought me to the Gulf Coast region. I vacationed in this area frequently with my family, and when the opportunity to work here presented itself, everything seemed to align and it was the best decision for me and my family. My wife, Tami, and I are proud parents to two young men, both who share a love for football (and keeping their parents humble). What drew me to this region are the amazing people, the culture of philanthropy, and the incredible assets in this community. 

Our region is brimming with beautiful beaches, dynamic arts and cultural organizations, rich history, generosity, and so much more. Every turn I take, there is something new and exciting to explore, from the Venice Urban Forest, to The Bay Park, to the Legacy Trail and beyond. I am impressed that here, coupled with the perfect sunsets, our inspiring community works together to address opportunities and celebrate our greatest wins. 

I am grateful to our Board of Directors, CEO Search Committee and Mark Pritchett for ensuring the success of a smooth transition. I am honored to join this team, as I learn how Gulf Coast’s deep impact has helped the region through bold and proactive philanthropy in partnership with donors, government and fellow funders.

I am excited to continue to strengthen our relationships with philanthropic families who have been catalysts for impact, working hand in hand with the Gulf Coast team to transform our region in so many meaningful ways.  

I have started meeting some of our impressive nonprofit partners. Please know that Gulf Coast stands ready to help you as we always have. 

I look forward to meeting more community members, elected officials, business leaders and the like as I continue to get to know Southwest Florida. 

Gulf Coast is in a strong position as I start my tenure. We have surpassed granting $515 million in the areas of health and human services, civic and economic development, education, arts and culture, and the environment. We were named one of the “Best Nonprofits To Work For” nationally by The NonProfit Times in 2010, 2011, 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2023. Our values of integrity, collaboration, leadership and excellence are seen and felt in all that we achieve together with our community and philanthropic partners. 

Thank you for welcoming me to my new home.

Phillip P. Lanham is President and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation. 

The City of Sarasota is in the middle of some very important and very difficult zoning text amendments to encourage the building of attainable housing within the city, especially in downtown. It is not an easy piece of legislation and has been years in the making as it started with some very difficult comprehensive plan amendments that required a supermajority vote. We are now on the home stretch of completing this effort, but the city must remain laser-focused on the original intent; this is where well-intentioned mission-creep can essentially nullify an incentive to create affordable housing.

Attainable housing has been identified by almost every level of government as an important priority. This crisis has worsened over the years and has not only affected the private sector workforce, but now the government workforce too. Hiring in both the private and public sectors is an enormous problem. Many workers simply cannot afford to live in the city. 

There has been universal agreement that local government regulation of density and other areas of development has generally been an impediment to housing and greatly contributed to the problem. This agreement stretches across multiple levels of government, academia, and think tanks. The Federal government is now offering grants to local governments to rewrite their codes to accommodate more density and housing. This year, the State government has passed the most significant legislation in decades removing some types of approvals in certain situations from local governments entirely. 

Luckily, the City of Sarasota is ahead of the curve and began efforts years ago to reduce regulation, which was choking off the creation of attainable housing and housing in general. Mandates found in the comprehensive plan and zoning code didn’t give developers many options and it was forcing the market to create luxury units as opposed to allowing for smaller units which lend themselves to workforce housing. 

The city’s zoning text amendments are the implementing tool for changes in the city zoning code to incentivize the creation of attainable housing. Incentivization through Increasing density and providing for the ability to create other types of housing and deregulation have been the key elements of this effort.

The most important thing the City Commission can do in finalizing these zoning text amendments is to make sure they don’t start slipping mandates and requirements into the code and creating complex formulas that have no basis in development financial reality.

Every added complexity and requirement adds cost. Every single one. Whether it be mandating where in a building an attainable unit is created, requiring units of different sizes on each floor, or mandates of which type of attainable unit is created. Each mandate has a cost attached to it, and each mandate is a disincentive to the creation of attainable housing.

The City of Sarasota must remember the ultimate goal is to create more housing units, to push down on the housing market, and to incentivize the creation of attainable housing. End of story. There is no other goal. Social engineering, mandating the types of materials used, mandating the mix of units, mandating amenity access, all of these things create bigger deltas in the market and can cause a developer to not deal with the complexities of it all.

Simplicity in implementing the goal is key to the City being successful in their attainable housing efforts. Less regulation means more attainable units. The Argus Foundation congratulates the City of Sarasota on its efforts to date. We encourage the City Commission to continue forward and finish this effort without adding additional regulation and to remember the original intent of this effort.

Christine Robinson is Executive Director of The Argus Foundation. 

Image courtesy Pixabay