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Graduate students and Grove Park residents urge caution on proposed household definition change
Summary
At an Atlanta Zoning Committee meeting, graduate student leaders and a Grove Park neighborhood representative raised concerns that a proposed change reducing the allowable number of unrelated occupants in a household could displace students and affect neighborhood advocacy.
Council member Westmoreland, chair of the Atlanta Zoning Committee, opened the committee’s public-comment period and heard two speakers who urged caution about a proposed change to the city’s definition of “household.”
My name is Will Reichert. I am serving as chair of the graduate student senate at Georgia Tech. I'm here today on behalf of the graduate student body, to convey some concerns we have about the proposed change in definition of household. As you all know, it's currently defined to allow up to 6 unrelated individuals to live in the same household and the proposed redefinition would bring that down to 3. We have worries about how that might affect, a lot of our student population, specifically in the Home Park neighborhood.
Reichert, who identified himself as chair of Georgia Tech’s Graduate Student Senate, told the committee that many students share housing in groups larger than three and that reducing the household limit could risk displacement of student residents near campus.
Andre James, who identified himself as chair of public safety and zoning for the Grove Park Neighborhood Association, said Grove Park residents will monitor zoning proposals and attend committee meetings to advocate for neighbors. "We do have a lot of initiatives happening in Grove Park. And so we just wanna make sure that we are advocating on behalf of the the neighbors that live there," James said.
Committee members took no formal action on the household definition during the meeting; the speakers’ remarks were recorded during the public-comment portion. Chair Westmoreland noted for the record that state law restricts committee public comment on items after legislation has been introduced and sent to the Zoning Review Board, explaining why some issues may later be outside this public-comment forum.
The comments join a series of community inputs the committee will consider as it refines zoning definitions; committee members did not indicate a vote or timetable for deciding changes to the household definition during this session.
Ending: The committee adjourned after completing the legislative agenda. Public-comment speakers said they will continue to follow future zoning items as they progress through the review process.
