City of St. Petersburg is First Florida Municipality to Adopt 'Yes in God's Backyard' Provision and Increase Affordable Housing Opportunities

City of St. Petersburg is First Florida Municipality to Adopt 'Yes in God's Backyard' Provision and Increase Affordable Housing Opportunities

Dec. 12, 2025 - This week, City of St. Petersburg City Council approved an ordinance adopting the 'Yes in God's Backyard' (YIGBY) provision into City Code, which empowers the City to work with local faith communities to expedite and increase opportunities to build affordable housing. The City of St. Petersburg is the first local government entity in the state to adopt this provision following the passage of SB 1730 (2025).

"The City of St. Petersburg advocated for the 'Yes in God's Backyard' ordinance because we believe that it takes an innovative, comprehensive approach to tackle the affordable housing crisis. I'm proud to announce that St. Pete is leading the way statewide in instituting this provision, but our work on this issue is just getting started," said Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. "We look forward to continuing to engage our local faith-based communities and using this ordinance as a way to increase affordable housing opportunities for all of our residents. I want to thank our partners in the Florida Legislature for supporting these efforts and assisting with the passage of this vital provision."

Mayor Welch and the City of St. Petersburg recognized that congregations are trusted community anchors that often hold underutilized property with potential for housing and advocated for this provision as part of an innovative, inclusive, and forward-thinking approach to solving St. Pete's affordable housing crisis. Mayor Welch first called for this provision in 2024 in an open letter in The Weekly Challenger and has worked with local legislators to secure its passage. A link to the 2024 letter is available here: https://theweeklychallenger.com/open-letter-from-the-mayor-to-st-petersburg-residents/

"St. Petersburg is once again leading the way with thoughtful, community-focused solutions to our housing challenges. I was proud to work alongside Rep. Cross at the state level to pass language enabling this ordinance and even prouder to see my home city become the first in Florida to put it into action. I am grateful to the Mayor and City Council for their partnership," said State Senator Darryl Rouson.

"The passage of this YIGBY ordinance, which empowers local governments to authorize affordable housing on properties adjacent to places of worship, shows what we all know: St. Petersburg is leading the charge on affordable housing in Florida. This policy reflects the strong partnership and commitment by our city and the state of Florida to serve the people that make our communities so great. I'm proud to have played a part in helping to realize this important step forward and look forward to seeing its implementation in St. Pete and across the state," said State Representative Lindsay Cross.

"This reflects our commitment to thinking creatively and pursuing every innovative approach to expand affordable housing in St. Petersburg," said City Council Chair Copley Gerdes.

"Across Florida, many faith-based groups own well-located, underutilized land that could be transformed into desperately needed affordable homes. Recognizing this potential, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 1730, giving localities a new discretionary tool that empowers religious institutions to meet their communities' housing needs by building homes in their own backyards. Now, a little over five months after YIGBY became law, St. Petersburg has stepped up to be the first locality in Florida to formally activate this new affordable housing tool. Once again, St. Pete is setting the pace on local housing policy, and they deserve major credit for their leadership," said Florida Housing Coalition Chief Legal and Policy Director Kody Glazer.

Approval of this ordinance continues St. Petersburg's leadership on affordable housing. The City of St. Petersburg was the first city in Florida to adopt the affordable housing provisions included in HB 1339 (2020) and the City dedicated a larger portion of its American Rescue Plan (ARPA) Dollars to affordable house than any other municipality in Florida.

With City Council approval, this provision is now part of the City Code and empowers the City to work with houses of worship to advance affordable housing development on land they own or control. The City's Office of Community Impact is supporting this ordinance through the development of a new program that combines education and individualized support to engage local houses of worship in affordable housing opportunities. This program will help set up participants for success by offering feasible development pathways and educating on how to build lasting capacity for faith-based affordable housing projects.

The Office of Community Impact's new program will also provide direct technical assistance to interested faith-based organizations. This one-on-one support can include facilitating readiness assessments, screening sites for early feasibility, advising on partner selection and deal structures, helping with predevelopment planning and budgeting, guiding navigation of City regulatory processes, and producing congregation-specific action plans.

Congregations or houses of worship interested in learning more about YIGBY or getting involved in affordable housing opportunities can contact Chief Impact Officer George Smith at [email protected].

More information and a copy of the ordinance is available in the December 11 City Council agenda on page 198: https://cms5.revize.com/revize/stpete/2025-12-11%20Agenda%20Packet%20w.%20AddsDeletes3.pdf?t=202512100940070&t=202512100940070