Perimeter leaders reject rental housing legislation

By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com

ATLANTA — Legislation introduced last week aimed at improving the affordability of Georgia homes has quickly drawn fierce opposition from officials in several Metro Atlanta cities.

House Bill 517, called the Georgia Homeowner Opportunity Act, was introduced by state Rep. Dale Washburn (R-Macon) Feb. 21 and would prevent local governments from regulating many different building design elements, from the style of porches to the number and types of rooms.

Supporters say HB 517, along with another bill barring local governments from placing moratoriums on new housing construction, would lower housing costs by cutting red tape and encouraging private sector innovation.

However, officials in Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and many other municipalities are skeptical of these claims, citing the “slippery slope” effect it could have.

“This legislation undercuts one of the core functions of all local governments to plan for the growth and development of their community, and it undermines the ability of local residents to have input through their local community planning processes,” Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said March 1.

Speaking at a Dunwoody City Council meeting Feb. 27, Mayor Lynn Deutsch said they have seen several similar bills come through the Gold Dome unsuccessfully in past years, but typically those bills would not have affected Dunwoody.

“Except this year, they added a few things that we do regulate, lot size and frontage. Frontage is the big one, but it's just the beginning,” Deutsch said. “If they successfully pass this, then it opens the door for more, and it doesn't solve the problem.”

Deutsch said Dunwoody and Sandy Springs aren’t alone in opposing HB 517. City leaders throughout the state, along with the Georgia Municipal Association and the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia are currently developing an alternate “carrot approach” to fighting the state’s housing problems by incentivizing builders with funding for things like paving and sewer installation in certain situations.

“If state resources, city resources, county resources are going to be put into some type of … housing development, there needs to be some assurance of affordability,” Jim Thornton, director of governmental relations at the Georgia Municipal Association said to Capitol Beat.

HB 517 was heard before the Georgia House Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Wednesday, Feb. 28. During that meeting, Washburn pushed back against the notion the bill would restrict local government’s abilities to regulate housing standards, saying that the proposal instead seeks to eliminate excessive regulation preventing Georgia from developing “workforce housing.”

“This is preemptive,” he said. “And it is preemptive because we are seeing many, many counties and cities across Georgia now impose a lot of restrictions on single-

See HOUSING, Page 18