The Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission heard from experts about affordable housing policy changes on Tuesday.
University of Georgia Professor of Law Matthew Hall spoke during a work session Tuesday as part of a subcommittee on local zoning changes. He said current zoning practices—which decide which types of buildings can be constructed in certain areas—continue a legacy of exclusion from the 1960s.
“What previous generations of this committee did was take the types of housing that were available to poor people and to African American people and make them illegal, and that’s the way we got the zoning code we have now,” Hall said.
The subcommittee suggested several ordinance changes aimed at increasing availability of denser housing options like duplexes and townhomes around Athens.
Commissioners Melissa Link of District 2 and Carol Myers of District 8 said that while they support the ideas, they expect residents of single-family areas to push back on changes.
