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Subcommittee recommends six zoning tweaks to boost homeownership in Athens-Clarke County
Summary
A subcommittee convened by Commissioner Thornton proposed six incremental zoning changes—permit ADUs, legalize townhomes on smaller sites, allow modern manufactured homes, enable flag-lot subdivision, encourage starter homes, and reduce parking minimums—to increase housing supply and broaden ownership opportunities; staff will be asked to move the items through planning processes.
Matthew Hall, a University of Georgia law instructor who spoke for the subcommittee, told the commission that Athens-Clarke County's zoning code has historically outlawed many smaller, more affordable housing types (townhomes, duplexes, small-lot homes), an outcome he said emerged from mid-20th-century land-use changes that had exclusionary effects. He argued that modest code changes could restore missing housing types and help address the county's supply-and-price imbalance.
Danielle Gilmer, a subcommittee member, presented a six-item package described as "low-hanging fruit" to expand…
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