The quintessential American dream has always been to own a home.

Unfortunately for Floridians, this dream has morphed into a nightmare that has left too many of us on the front stoop.

That's why the Florida League of Cities has led the charge in forming a powerful coalition. It has created the Florida League of Cities Institute for Community Housing, an undertaking we hope will become a model for the rest of the nation.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the affordable housing crisis, but the institute is designed to ensure that cities have the knowledge and tools to define their role in addressing this crisis.

The institute is holding a series of eight full-day educational seminars for local government officials.

This program is a step in the right direction to ensure that home- ownership remains an obtainable dream.

In Florida today, citizens are being priced out of the housing market, and rents consume larger portions of their paycheck.

In Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando and other cities throughout the state, a full-time worker must earn more than $14 an hour - more than twice the minimum wage - to afford an average two-bedroom apartment.

According to the Florida Housing Coalition, the median existing home price increased 77 percent from 2002 to 2005, while the median family income increased only 1.4 percent during the same time frame.

As home prices balloon, fewer and fewer Floridians are able to afford a home.

A 2002 study by the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy at Florida International University found that nearly one-quarter of all homeowners in Florida experience a cost burden, which occurs when a household spends more than 30 percent of its income on housing.

State government has worked hard to position Florida as an economic haven that attracts potential businesses and bright talent.

Other states compete for the same jobs that Florida seeks. If potential employees can't afford to live where they work, not only does the employee suffer, so does the economy.

Local governments and their elected officials must continue to search for innovative solutions to increase access to homeownership. I think that the formation of the Institute for Community Housing is a bold new step in the right direction

RENE FLOWERS, president, Florida League of Cities, St. Petersburg

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/120106/opl_6507730.shtml