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Council holds public hearing on whether to keep Savannah's Stevens Day local homestead exemption amid new state option
Summary
Savannah City Council held a public hearing on state law changes that create a new statewide homestead exemption option; speakers including neighborhood representatives urged Savannah to maintain its existing Stevens Day local exemption and several public commenters said Savannah's policy is preferable to the state's new option.
The Savannah City Council on Feb. 13, 2025 held a public hearing to gather community comment on whether the city should opt out of the state's newly available homestead exemption option under Official Code of Georgia 48-5-44.2 and retain its existing local Stevens Day homestead exemption.
Mayor Van R. Johnson and staff framed the issue as part of a series of hearings. Staff and the mayor said Savannah’s long-standing Stevens Day exemption (adopted locally in 1999 and cited by the mayor as the local “gold standard”) already provides protections the state option aims to extend to other communities. Speakers at the public hearing — including a representative from the Edgemere-Sackville neighborhood — urged council to keep Savannah’s exemption in place and not adopt the state alternative.
One resident, Patricia Jenkins Spady, and another commenter representing a neighborhood group explicitly told council they preferred Savannah’s current exemption over the state offering. Council closed the hearing after several public comments and said it would schedule additional public opportunities before making a final decision.
Staff noted the subject is complex and that state lawmakers continue to propose amendments to HB 581; council members emphasized they wanted to hear from different parts of the city before acting. No formal vote to adopt or reject the state option occurred at the Feb. 13 hearing; the item was a public comment opportunity and the hearing was closed after the scheduled speakers and public comments were received.
Ending: Council said it will hold additional hearings and provide further opportunities for public comment before taking any final action on whether to opt into or opt out of the state homestead exemption option.
