Savannah City Council approves zoning for multi-family housing, legislative wish list

Savannah City Council was back in action Tuesday, passing a range of items from zoning for a multi-family development at the Habersham School to the city's 2024 wish list for the Georgia General Assembly.

Council also held its first of two budget hearings, which drew public comment from four community members. The aldermen also authorized the Chatham Savannah Land Bank Authority and the Community Housing Services Agency Development Inc. to use city money for the acquisition and renovation of four apartments at 1826 Florance St., which would be designated for medically fragile persons who are experiencing homelessness.

Here is more on the items passed Tuesday:

Habersham school development given path forward

Before council Tuesday were a couple of items that pave the way for a maximum 25-unit multi-family housing development on the site of what was most recently the Gould Cottage Campus of the Habersham School on 505 E. 54th St. in Ardsley Park. The proposed development would preserve the historic building, once used as a home for children, and its rear carriage house.

The item passed 7-1 with support from District 4 Alderman Nick Palumbo, who represents the district where the proposed development sits.

The main building would have 11 units, and there would be construction of three new 4-unit quadraplexes, according to the proposed plans. The restoration of the carriage house would create up to two units.

Palumbo expressed vocal support for the two items at Tuesday's meeting, dubbing the project an example of multi-family housing done right. The developer is Bludworth Holdings LLC.

"We are lucky to have someone local who is willing to invest in this space," Palumbo said.

Before the two items came before council, they were approved with unanimous support of the Metropolitan Planning Commission on Oct. 17, and the MPC's staff also recommended approval. There were a handful of public comments at the Oct. 17 meeting that expressed concern over a multi-family development in a neighborhood that largely consists of single-family homes. There were no public comments of the same kind at Tuesday's meeting.

MPC's staff recommendation noted there are four other quadraplexes within a few blocks of the proposed development and stated the project matches the development pattern of the neighborhood.

Read here: City worker pay raises at top of requests for Savannah's $560 million 2024 proposed budget

City's legislative priorities focus on housing

City council held a workshop before its regular meeting Tuesday to hear a presentation on the city's top priorities for the Georgia General Assembly in the upcoming 2024 session. The list was later unanimously approved by council during the regular meeting.

The list of priorities leans heavy on policy changes that would help Savannah address its housing shortage. About half the list deals with policies related to affordable and workforce housing, said City Manager Jay Melder. Some of those items include allowing impact fee exemptions for affordable housing developments, allowing the city to issue housing opportunity bonds and allowing incentives for the creation of affordable housing through the expansion of enterprise zones.

Also included on the list is the creation of a local homeless court and a law that would permit cities to destroy unclaimed, confiscated weapons. Also at the top of the list is tort reform, which would cap the city's legal exposure in the same way counties in Georgia already have.

Multiple council members in attendance expressed support for the list during the workshop.

"This is definitely an impressive list," said District 6 Alderman Kurtis Purtee.

One item that prompted discussion was a priority that hopes to amend the state definition of blighted properties to include vacant and abandoned land parcels. The current state definition requires parcels have existing structures, and the city seeks to expand that definition.

At-Large Post 2 Alderwoman Alicia Miller Blakely had the definition of that priority read into the record during the regular council meeting so that the public could understand what properties would qualify as blighted under the proposed change, she said.

The full list of legislative priorities can be viewed here.

"Innovative" housing arrangement for homeless

The item for Chatham Savannah Land Bank Authority and the Community Housing Services Agency Development Inc. to use city money for the acquisition and renovation of the Florance Street apartments also received unanimous approval.

The approved resolution came from the Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless reporting frequent requests about the need for affordable housing for medically fragile persons, according to the resolution passed Tuesday. Those persons could include individuals who have recently been discharged from hospitals.

Up to $220,000 of money from Savannah's Housing & Neighborhood Services Department is designated for the Land Bank Authority to purchase the property from its current owner Mercy Housing, a nonprofit that manages Savannah Gardens. The investment to the Land Bank Authority is a repayable grant agreement with the city, according to the resolution.

Another $480,000 can be leased from Savannah's Affordable Housing Fund for CHSA's renovation of the property. Just below half of that allotment will come from the Galvan Foundation's AHF investment that is earmarked for the Cuyler-Brownville neighborhood.

Melder called the authorization innovative, and CHSA Executive Director Anita Smith-Dixon said the arrangement was the first of its kind she had seen.

"This is a dignified way for individuals to be able to recoup," Smith-Dixon said. "I am ecstatic that our mayor and council supports this initiative.

Read More: Nonprofit to convert 19 city-owned properties to affordable housing. Here's how it happened

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah City Council holds meeting before Thanksgiving