The City of St. Pete has become the first municipality in Florida to adopt a provision into its City Code allowing affordable housing to be built on land owned by religious institutions regardless of underlying zoning, following the passage of a new state law earlier this year.
While the Florida Senate Bill 1730, often referred to as “Yes In God’s Backyard” or YIGBY, gives cities the option to allow affordable housing on faith-owned land, it does not require them to do so.
St. Pete’s new provision turns the state statute into a clear and usable local process.
Many congregations own property that is no longer fully used for worship or parking but was historically difficult to redevelop because it is zoned institutional or public use rather than residential.
Before SB 1730, affordable housing could be built on church land only if a city approved a rezoning, conditional use, or comprehensive plan amendment.
There was no special entitlement tied to religious land, and projects were subject to the same discretionary land-use review processes as any other rezoning request.
As a result, many congregations never pursued housing projects at all.
The Live Local Act, approved in 2023, expanded where affordable housing could be built in Florida, particularly in commercial and mixed-use districts. But because it didn’t clearly cover institutional land, churches and other houses of worship were left in limbo.
SB 1730 addressed that gray area by giving cities the ability to approve affordable housing on land owned by religious institutions, regardless of the underlying zoning, as long as at least 10% of the homes are affordable.
Crucially, the state law allows YIGBY but does not spell out review processes, development standards, or how projects move through local approval. St. Pete’s ordinance fills that gap.