Housing has been a growing focus for Georgia cities and for GMA particularly in recent years since the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic disruptions and displacements it caused. At the association's May 1 Board of Directors meeting in College Park, GMA staff outlined the organization's policy work and efforts to document what cities are doing on housing, and board members from six cities shared what's happening in their own communities.
GMA's Policy Work
Noah Roenitz, Manager of State Relations at GMA, traced how the association's housing work has developed. During several recent legislative sessions, the topic of housing and the causes of increased housing costs have been debated. In response to the ongoing debates, the Housing Access and Affordability Task Force brought together GMA, ACCG, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Realtors, the Georgia Homebuilders, and Georgia Habitat for Humanity. The task force has continued to meet and is currently developing a housing toolkit to give local governments and other organizations practical guidance on addressing housing needs in their communities.
What GMA Has Documented
Brian Wallace, GMA's Director of Content Strategy and Research, presented findings from a review of media sources covering roughly five months. GMA identified approximately 140 housing stories involving more than 80 Georgia cities, a number that's almost certainly low.
A few examples show how varied the activity has been:
- Earlier this year, Thomasville approved its first rezoning under a new Traditional Neighborhoods Infill District, encouraging infill development in older neighborhoods.
- Miles Crossing Senior Residences recently opened in Columbus with 90 mixed-income units, 80 of them priced at 50 to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).
- Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz highlighted plans for more than 600 new affordable units over the next two years.
- A $78,300 TAD grant in Statesboro is putting 10 century-old houses back into service as affordable senior rentals.
- Watkinsville recently voted to allow accessory dwelling units as a conditional use in its South Main Street Scenic Corridor.
What Board Members Are Doing
Six board members then shared what's happening in their own cities.
Albany Commissioner Chad Warbington described a city working to shift its population from renting to owning. About 60 to 65 percent of Albany residents rent, and the city has been using its land bank to put new homes in neighborhoods where private developers wouldn't build on their own.
Perry began to focus on housing in 2015 when a community assessment revealed conditions that prompted city leaders to act. Mayor Randall Walker described more than $9 million in CDBG and CHIP grants used to fix up deteriorating homes, LIHTC projects for residents who can't afford market rates, and Commodore Manor bringing 35 affordable apartments downtown. New single-family construction is on pace to hit 500 homes this year.
Cornelia is a smaller city dealing with a familiar problem: the jobs available locally don't pay enough to buy a house. Councilmember Mark Reed said the city started by commissioning a housing needs assessment through the Georgia Conservancy. Several projects are underway, including a 60-unit LIHTC development through Circle of Oak, a domestic violence services organization that will house clients on the same site where it provides services.
Atlanta Councilmember Byron Amos described a $100 million housing opportunity fund matched by $200 million from the private sector, a commitment to 20,000 affordable units, and reforms to the city's development approval process to cut costs that were being passed on to buyers and renters.
Macon-Bibb Mayor Lester Miller described a blight tax now set at 15 times the normal property tax rate, high enough to get the attention of owners who have let properties sit vacant. The school system recently joined the program. Tindall Fields, funded through the affordable housing trust fund and the land bank, has made a point of using minority contractors, building local construction capacity alongside new homes.
Tifton Mayor Julie Smith came to the housing issue as both a mayor and a realtor, which made the census data hard to ignore: 60 percent of the city's residents were renters. A financial literacy program now in its third year has helped residents who had never owned a home get to a point where they can. A private developer invested $15 million to transform a blighted trailer park across from an elementary school into one of the nicer apartment complexes in the city.
The Common Thread
No two cities at the table were approaching housing the same way. What makes sense in Atlanta isn't the playbook for Cornelia. The cities getting things done are the ones that have figured out which tools fit their situation and found partners to help use them.