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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2023
Jefferson continued from lA
Weitz said that Jefferson
is likely to buck these na
tional trends for a while giv
en its strong school system
that attracts young families
looking for single-family
homes, but eventually the
demographics will impact
the city as well.
In addition to complet
ing the annual update to the
city’s land use plan, Weitz
said the city would soon
start work on the 5-year up
date, which will be due to
the state in October 2024.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at its
July 10 meeting, the Jeffer
son council:
• reappointed Roy Plott,
Patrick Brewer and Doug
Turco to the Jefferson Pub
lic Building Authority.
• postponed final action
on an annexation, rezoning
and variance for 57 acres on
the bypass for an assisted
living facility and commer
cial development.
• swore in Alex Crawford
to the council to replace
District 5 councilman Clint
Roberts who resigned due to
moving out of the city.
Alex Crawford (R) was sworn into the District 5 seat on the Jefferson City
Council during the group’s July 10 meeting. Crawford is replacing Clint Rob
erts who resigned the position after moving outside the city. Crawford’s fa
ther, Steve, is shown holding the Bible for the swearing in. Crawford’s brother,
Andy Crawford, a local attorney, did the swearing-in oath for the event.
Housing continued from lA
currently being built, or will soon begin
construction.
In Commerce, the situation is a little
different. The city has seen some growth,
but it’s been slower than the rest of the
county. Still, school leaders have en
couraged the city to lure in higher priced
housing which pay more in school taxes
and also typically bring in a higher-edu
cated populace whose children often help
bring up standardized school test scores.
In addition to the pressure from local
school districts, city and county leaders
have also adopted tougher residential
zoning rules in recent years. One signif
icant aspect is that many area jurisdic
tions have increased the minimum size
of single-family housing, a move that
has pushed up the cost of buying a new
home.
WHAT ABOUT AFFORDABILITY?
While there is a lot of momentum
around the county to slow growth via
greater government control, the impact
has been to push up the cost of housing
and narrowing options, making it diffi
cult for low to moderate income families
to afford a home. On top of that, a broad
public disdain for apartments, townho-
mes and other high-density rental hous
ing has kept those options to a minimum
across much of the county.
One area that has more openly em
braced higher density housing has been
the City of Pendergrass. The small town
has seen a boom in housing and just re
cently opened a large apartment com
plex. Pendergrass is also undertaking the
unusual process where a private develop
er is creating a “downtown” that includes
a mix of townhomes and other higher
density housing options.
Still, housing in Pendergrass isn’t
cheap. And city leaders have come under
fire from some in the county for its rapid
growth and the impact that is having on
schools in the area.
NEW JOBS TO FILL
But access to affordable housing is
becoming more important as the county
has added thousands of new jobs, many
of which pay moderate wages. A 2021
county housing study noted the difficulty
of how higher priced homes are squeez
ing out more moderate priced houses.
“If housing doesn’t exist at all price
points, higher income people will buy
‘down the ladder,’ leaving the fewest op
tions for those with the lowest incomes,”
that report states.
This issue of affordable housing has
also hit other areas as well. The Jackson
County Habitat for Humanity recent
ly dedicated its 20th home, but leaders
say that it’s become increasingly diffi
cult to match Habitat homes with buyers
because most local governments have
raised the minimum square footage of a
new house beyond what their clients can
afford.
Another local group is also attempting
to deal with a lack affordable housing in
the county. iServe Ministries is hoping
to partner with the county government
to lease some land to build a tiny home
community, Village of Hope, as transi
tion housing for families in need.
Leasing land from the county for such
a project would allow the small homes to
be built, something that can’t be done on
private land where county zoning rules
would prevent a tiny house community.
(Local governments are exempt from
their own zoning rules.)
MORAL OBLIGATION?
One of the questions in the debate for
lower-cost housing is does the communi
ty, which has worked to attract new in
dustries and thousands of new jobs, have
a moral obligation to help facilitate hous
ing for those workers?
Some government leaders don’t seem
think so. At a council meeting a couple of
years ago, one local city leader suggested
that his community didn’t need to pro
vide “affordable” housing and that work
ers in the town’s industries could live in
Gainesville where apartments and other
options were available.
Critics of suburban housing policies
say that rather than continuing to create
subdivisions where all the homes are in
the same price range, more multiple lev
els of housing sizes and prices need to be
built within those developments.
But that flies in the face of public per
ception where subdivision homeowners
want to be “protected” from lower priced
housing in their neighborhoods, believ
ing that mixed housing models suppress
home values.
Currently, Jackson County imports a
lot of its labor that work in area distri
bution centers and other large industries.
But that may not last as the labor market
becomes tighter and people want to live
closer to where they work.
A lack of affordable housing in the
community could restrict future industri
al growth as developers shy away from a
market that can’t provide housing that is
affordable.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Jefferson’s city planner said this week
that one of the main aspects in housing
in the coming years will be driven by
changing demographics. Boomers want
to sell their larger homes and downsize
while many younger adults don’t want to
own large homes on large lots and many
prefer to rent rather than buy.
Those trends could, over the longer
term, change how local governments
regulate housing. If smaller homes do
become more fashionable after three de
cades of larger-home developments, that
could help motivate local governments to
drop minimum home sizes.
For now, however, there don’t appear
to be any local government officials
who are willing to champion lower cost
housing options no matter what the lon
ger-term trends indicate. Nor, for that
matter, have local industry leaders begun
to openly lobby for changes in communi
ty zoning rules to help create affordable
housing options.
In that void, the louder public voices
calling for larger homes and larger lots
will continue to hold sway as a way to
slow growth.
That might work as a short-term strat
egy, but it will certainly push up the cost
of housing (and property values) and in
the long-run, could result in an expen
sive, homogenous housing stock that is
disconnected from the nation’s broader
demographic trends.
WELCOME TO HOSCHTON
Hoschton’s new mural, which faces Bell Avenue, was painted recently by a
student art group from the University of Georgia.
Lawson approved as Hoschton’s acting mayor
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The Hoschton City
Council approved Coun
cilman James Lawson as
its acting mayor following
the resignation of Lauren
O’Leary, who is moving
out of the city.
The city is slated to hold
a special election in No
vember for the remainder
of O’Leary’s term, which
runs until 2026.
The council selected
Lawson, a councilman
since 2020, as acting
mayor on Thursday (July
6), a day after O’Leary’s
resignation became offi
cial. The decision wasn’t
unanimous, however, with
Councilperson Debbie
Martin voting in opposi
tion in a 3-1 decision.
The decision over who’d
have the city’s authorized
banking signature wasn’t
unanimous either, as both
Lawson and Martin volun
teered for that duty. Coun
cilperson Fredria Sterling
made a motion to approve
Lawson, and the motion
passed with a 3-1 vote,
with Martin voting “no.”
Meanwhile, Councilman
Tracy Carswell announced
during the meeting that
he’d remain as mayor pro-
tem after no other coun-
cilmembers expressed
interest in the position.
He will serve in that role
through the remainder of
his term, which expires at
the end of the year.
With Oleary’s departure,
Hoschton’s seven-member
council is now down to
four members. O’Leary’s
resignation, the third on the
council this year, followed
those of councilmen Adam
Ledbetter in February and
Scott Mims in March.
City leaders knew for a
couple of months about the
mayoral vacancy. O’Leary
announced in May that her
husband had taken a new
job that would require her
family to move away from
Hoschton.
Her resignation became
official on July 5.
In her resignation letter,
O’Leary expressed her
gratitude for her time in
office, which lasted a year
and a half.
“I’m grateful for the op
portunity I’ve had to serve
the citizens of Hoschton,
and it has been my plea
sure,” she wrote. “I wish
nothing but the best for
the City of Hoschton, and
I know there is nothing but
greatness for the future of
Hoschton.”
Community invited to celebrate
retirement of Commerce Fire Chief
Commerce Fire Chief ment and honor his service, at the Commerce Civic
Kevin Dean is retiring after The Commerce City Center. A reception will
41 years of service. Council will present a follow at 6:30 p.m. in the
The community is invit- proclamation to Dean on civic center’s Cold Sassy
ed to celebrate his retire- Monday, July 17, at 6 p.m. Room.
JACKSON COUNTY
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)
ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE JACKSON
COUNTY AIRPORT SEWER EXTENSION PROJECT
Date: June 28,2023
This project will extend sewer service to the Jackson County Airport from
a connection with the City of Jefferson sewer system, totaling approxi
mately 1.5 miles.
Services to be provided will include preparation of a Preliminary Engi
neering Report and further design services if Federal or State funding is
awarded. This project may include ARC funds in compliance with CFR
200 for Procurement. This procurement action may also lead to additional
project contracts and/or contract addendums for Preliminary Engineering
Report (PER) and design and construction administration services for state
and federally funded projects. This is not a request for retainer services.
The complete RFQ can be found at the Northeast Georgia Regional Com
mission website at www.negrc.org.
All contracts are subject to Federal and State contract provisions prescribed
by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. This project may be
covered under the requirements of Section 3 of the HUD Act of 1968, as
amended and Section 3 Business Concerns are encouraged to apply.
Jackson County also abides by the following laws: Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964; Section 109 of the Housing and Community Develop
ment Act of 1974, Title 1; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair
Housing Act); Section 104(b)(2) of the Housing and Community Develop
ment Act of 1974; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amend
ed; Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA); and the
Architectural Barriers Act of 1968.
Interested parties should request copies of a Statement of Qualifications
Form and, if needed, a Section 3 Solicitation Package prior to preparing
and submitting their qualifications. Submissions should be received no lat
er than 5:00 PM on July 31,2023. Qualifications received after the above
date and time may not be considered. Jackson County reserves the right
to accept or reject any and all submissions and to waive informalities in
the proposal process. Statement of Qualifications and Section 3 Certifica
tion form requests (i.e., request for Section 3 preference) and qualifications
packages (4 copies) should be submitted to the name and address listed
below:
Kenneth Morris, Budget and Purchasing Manager
Jackson County
67 Athens Street
Jefferson, GA 30549
(706) 367-6309
KMorris @ j acksoncountygov.com
OPPORTUNITY
