Ybor City survey: affordable housing tops residents’ concerns; workers flag parking and safety

Consultant Robert Allen of HCP Associates presented the 2025 biannual residents-and-workers survey for Ybor City, reporting 253 residents and 206 workers were surveyed. The study used an 'expectation-gap' metric (importance vs delivered) to rank issues: residents placed affordable housing first, followed by retail diversity, cleanliness and safety; workers ranked affordable parking highest, with personal safety and parking accessibility among other concerns.

Allen summarized trends over the last decade: personal safety declined in relative importance among residents while affordable housing rose sharply. Among workers, affordable parking jumped to first place with a sizable expectation gap. Allen said about 71% of residents and 69% of workers support prioritizing enhanced lighting; both groups also favored more cameras and patrolling. He noted the streetcar continues to enjoy high approval among users, while the district remains largely car centric.

Board members responded that the CRA previously designated roughly 30% of funds for affordable housing but acknowledged a limited project pipeline. Members discussed parking turnover issues caused by meter policies and the need for business parking strategies and lighting plans. Directors committed to follow-up briefings with parking and mobility staff and to prioritize those measures in CAC workplans.