ALEX POPP/APPEN MEDIA

State Rep. Long Tran (D-Dunwoody) speaks to the Dunwoody Homeowners Association at its annual meeting Sunday, Feb. 26. Tran gave an update on upcoming legislation that could impact Georgia residents.

ty,” 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 singlefamily homes … We should not allow cities and counties to impose such restrictions that housing costs are much higher than they have to be.”

No action was taken at the subcommittee meeting, but members later announced HB 517 would be eligible for further discussion at their session on March 1, 2023. Results from that meeting were not immediately available.

But even with more discussion, some local lawmakers say the bill is unlikely to move forward without some big changes.

In an email to Appen Media, state Rep. Shea Roberts (D-Sandy Springs) said that despite Georgia’s affordable housing shortage and hearing from concerned residents on both sides of the issue, she would not support the bill in its current form.

“I agree that HB517 is not the answer,” Roberts said. “But I do hope municipalities around the state will begin to think about more creative zoning categories that would allow for smaller lots and house square footages so we can offer more opportunity for first-time homebuyers.”