Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz talked about the city’s plan to allocate $1 million to target affordable housing on April 19, 2024, in the University of Georgia’s Instructional Plaza South Auditorium.
Girtz spoke in a news conference about the county’s new Future Land Use Plan and some of its goals. The purpose of the plan is to determine realistic areas for increased development density in Athens, consider trade-offs for more efficient land use and achieve both a quality design and affordability.
Athens-Clarke County and consulting group HR&A Advisors completed a study last year that found housing affordability and housing demand to have an inverse relationship, especially in areas of the Sun Belt.
“And that these things together have these cascading impacts on so many other things that we care about,” Girtz said. “On homelessness, on our transportation system, on land use and on the environment.”
With Athens’ population expected to increase by over 30,000 in the next 20 years, the new Future Land Use Plan is expected to come with various developmental districts.
Urban centers are expected to be the most densely populated with the highest buildings, followed by moderately dense town centers and neighborhood centers with adjacent neighborhoods.
Additional plan efforts to combat Athens’ lack of affordable housing also include the implementation of gap financing for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit activity and affordable housing investment options.
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit finances the acquisition, construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing for low/moderately low-income individuals.
Girtz highlighted three areas in Athens that are using this subsidization method, including the north downtown area currently under redevelopment and a new development close to Athens Technical College.
Girtz also expressed interest in hearing the concerns of students at the University of Georgia (UGA), as 65% of UGA’s student population resides off-campus. Similar to native Athenians, these students have also been affected by the county’s supply and demand crisis for housing.
“I feel like by us coming here, the prices are going up,” said De’Ondre Harris, a third-year journalism student. “And that’s not only affecting us, but it’s affecting the locals who actually live here, who actually pay taxes here.”
The Future Land Use Plan is expected to be an active project for the county in 2024, with a final sustainability analysis and Future Land Use Map anticipated to be complete by the end of the year.
Girtz expects to have a full comprehensive plan rewrite submitted to the State Department of Community Affairs by 2026.
Context: This story was completed as a requirement for my Reporting I class during my undergraduate studies.
