Rays plan to be voted on by Pinellas County Commission; critics still concerned.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Following Thursday’s historic vote on the new stadium for the Rays, the focus now turns to the Pinellas County Commission.

The commission must still pass their part of the agreement, with a vote scheduled for the end of the month.

Not everyone is in favor of the plan. Dylan Dames with Faith in Florida is concerned the agreement doesn’t do enough to provide affordable housing.

“Council member Richie Floyd said it best, he said the public should know that this deal doesn’t guarantee affordable housing the second the ink is dry,” Dames said.

He said the city held workshops and listened to what residents had to say, but he said little of the residents’ concerns were acted on in the plan.

“This could be a good opportunity for a mixed income project, or some other kind of bold, non-market housing solution, but as we got closer to the time, it didn’t look like we could get that from the city,” Dames said.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, who worked to help frame the agreement, said he’s confident the plan will provide affordable housing units.

“This is only a piece of our overall housing opportunities for our plan,” Welch said. “We are targeting almost 8,000 units by 2030 and so the 1,250 units is substantial. I have high confidence that’s going to happen.”

The Pinellas County Commission will vote on the plan ,and Mayor Welch said he’s optimistic it will pass.

“The county has been involved since the start,” he said. “I’ve talked to the chairs, whether it was Charlie Justice or Kathleen Peters, or even Janet long to make sure they were involved on it.”

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