After Osceola County’s decision last month to opt out of offering tax incentives for affordable housing, Kissimmee has followed suit — joining others in Central Florida and around the state.

On Tuesday evening the City Council unanimously and without discussion voted to opt out of offering property tax exemptions under the Live Local Act — enacted in 2023 and amended in May with the goal of incentivizing developers to keep apartment rents low and boost stock of affordable housing.

Osceola and Kissimmee’s decision to opt out comes as as other cities and counties across the state — Pasco and Brevard counties — and in Central Florida — Lake County, Seminole County, Winter Park and Maitland — do the same.

After pushback from counties and municipalities statewide who said they were losing too much tax revenue to the tradeoff, the Legislature amended the law and allowed cities to opt out of the incentives for developers. Five developments in Osceola are set to receive roughly $80 million in tax exemptions in 2024, according the property appraiser’s office.

Neighboring St. Cloud also may soon join the growing list of those opting out.

“We do have, at least tentatively, on the agenda for next week’s City Council meeting a discussion about an item that would not opt out of the Live Local program but eliminate tax exemptions for programs that are requesting to qualify,” city spokesman Andrew Sullivan said. “That’s what’s proposed of course but by next week after the council meeting things could be different.”

Kissimmee’s decision will impact the predicted apartment growth in a city where council members are convinced the need is great and are invested in creating more affordable housing. The city is in the process of developing a plan to convert garages into affordable units and is set to complete the area’s first city-run affordable housing apartment complex, Haven on Vine.

The estimated 61% growth in apartment units coming to the Kissimmee market over the next four years will not get incentives to keep their units affordable after Tuesday’s decision, according to data compiled by Rent Cafe, an organization that analyzes apartment data nationwide. Data shows that by the end of the year the Kissimmee market will have 2,679 new units — second highest in the region.

That trend in Kissimmee is a stark difference to Orlando, where data forecasts a nearly 34% decrease in new units between 2024 and 2028.

However, regional data shows the city has enough stock of affordable housing for middle-income renters, a requirement municipalities must meet to opt out based on information from the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida.

The latest Shimberg annual report identifies a surplus of affordable and available units in the Orlando-Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area, city staffers said in their report to commissioners explaining their recommendation to opt out of the exemption.