Savannah City Council voted down the latest proposal for its housing toolkit Thursday, temporarily ending recent zoning proposals aimed at increasing housing supply amid a citywide shortage.
The new zoning amendments would have allowed new multi-family housing types in specific community business and office zoning districts. Proponents of the measure touted it as removing barriers to build new housing in areas it is not currently permitted.
The item failed due to multiple council members expressing the need for more time to understand and consider the proposal. The measure split council 5-4 and was the third consecutive meeting the item was considered.
“I was just unsure with it, and I needed more time,” said District 2 Alderman Detric Leggett,
who voted no.
Leggett was joined in opposition by At-Large Post 2 Alderwoman Alicia Miller Blakely, District 1 Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier, District 3 Alderwoman Linda Wilder-Bryan and District 5 Alderwoman Estella Shabazz.
Mayor Van Johnson, At-Large Post 1 Alderwoman Carol Bell, District 4 Alderman Nick Palumbo and District 6 Alderman Kurtis Purtee supported the proposal.
The zoning amendments would have primarily impacted areas south of DeRenne Avenue in the city’s fourth and sixth districts, where a plethora of business or office/institutional districts line the Abercorn Street corridor. Those district’s aldermen, Purtee and Palumbo, were staunch proponents of the measure.
Palumbo said his urgency was based on the existing housing shortage and ongoing issues with housing affordability in the city. Savannah needs 464 new housing units each year by 2030 to meet projected demand, according to a Coastal Georgia housing needs assessment by the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“The (housing) crisis isn’t going away, and the future is going to be built by those bold enough to take on these challenges,” Palumbo said.
Multiple of the opposition council members said they were generally supportive of the proposal but wanted to allow more time for consideration. Leggett said he wanted more time specifically to understand how the proposal could impact the second district, which covers Savannah’s core neighborhoods from River Street to Victory Drive.
Wilder-Bryan was also supportive of the proposal but added she wanted to see more investments in the Savannah Affordable Housing Fund to help promote more home ownership. Council put $3 million into the fund in its 2026 budget.
“If we’re going to really say that we’re working for housing, then this budget coming up we need to put more money (into the fund),” she said.
Thursday's item was no stranger to council.
Council's Aug. 27 meeting featured a workshop on the proposal where council members were able to express concerns and ask questions of city staff. The proposal first appeared on a city council agenda on Aug. 13, and the measure was crafted after a mobile workshop in April where council visited sites that could benefit from the proposed changes.
The late August workshop also resulted in an amendment to the proposal based on concerns from Lanier, who wanted to prevent small-sized business parcels in her district from being converted to housing. Lanier said there is a need for community retail in the first district and wanted to keep those parcels available for business development.
Lanier supports the proposal in principle but voted against it Thursday to allow other council members the extra time they needed, she said. Lanier also said she hoped for a continuance and wants an opportunity for the zoning measures to pass.
Thursday’s vote went fast with no discussion. Johnson called the vote quickly, avoiding alternate motions to continue the item or further debate it. The mayor said that after multiple meetings and discussions, “at some point, you have to move on it.”
He added there may be ways for the item to return, such as if an opposition member requests it for reconsideration, or if he places it back on the agenda himself.
“I don’t know how much time (council members) are going to need,” he said. “But the staff did what we asked them to do.”
Evan Lasseter is the City of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@savannahnow.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah council rejects zoning measure aimed at increasing housing
