A third town hall over housing needs in Cornelia drew nearly two dozen residents, stakeholders and local leaders to Fenders Alley on Wednesday, April 7.
Moderated by Habersham County Chamber of Commerce President Ellie Van Doornum, the town hall echoed themes from previous meetings: a shortage of affordable housing, a need for more senior living options and community skepticism about large-scale developments moving in.
In collaboration with the University of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, members of the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (or GICH) team – made up of residents and local leaders – have taken a closer look at long-term housing strategies for over a year leading up to the three town halls.
Cornelia Community and Economic Development Director Jessie Owensby said the team continues to study other Georgia municipalities to address housing challenges. With high construction costs and developers focused on building large, expensive homes, Owensby suggested the city could attract builders of smaller, more affordable homes through the introduction of new guidelines and mixed-income projects.
“As part of our six month plan, we’re looking to develop builder guidelines,” Owensby said. “(Cornelia) can afford to be very picky about (developers) that we, as a city, select to work with. Therefore, we need to have some guidelines put together, so we can say, ‘These are the neighborhoods (and) this is the types of housing our community wants.”
A major obstacle to affording homes in Cornelia, as discussed during the town hall, is the city standards that requires single-family units to be at least 1,440 square-feet.
For more attainable housing to come to Cornelia, city officials could reexamine the requirement in the near future.
“It was probably appropriate at some point (in the past), and it may be in transition right now,” Cornelia Mayor John Borrow said. “I think that’s the whole point of these town halls – let’s reevaluate and see where we are.”
In a move to model Cornelia after municipalities successfully navigating the housing crisis, Owensby said smaller, more walkable, higher-density housing near downtown areas has been effective in other Georgia cities.
“As a GICH team, we’ve gone to three different conferences and the trend in almost every city in Georgia to solving the housing crisis is higher density, closer to downtown, walkability, smaller footprints, and it’s seeming to work very well for both young professionals and seniors,” Owensby said.
Owensby went on to say the city is looking to redevelop underutilized spaces to possibly construct affordable cottage-style units (no more than 30 per development ) on a small scale within the downtown boundary.
Following the three town halls, Owensby said the most common feedback across all demographics is consistent: the community wants housing that’s more affordable, available, and built on smaller lots.
“We’ve done three town halls in three different locations to reach three different demographics, and what we are hearing is affordability, availability, smaller footprint and smaller lot sizes,” she said. “That is the common theme throughout the community.”
Next steps
Next, GICH will conduct a “window survey” to assess needs in deteriorating areas of the city. Community feedback from the town halls will be reviewed and analyzed by the Georgia Conservancy before it’s incorporated into a comprehensive housing plan for city officials. That plan will guide Cornelia’s City Commission as the board votes on development proposals for years to come.
“I think this is wonderful,” Borrow said following the town hall. “What this reflects is a deliberate effort for us and the city to listen to what our community is saying, to listen to what the constituents are saying and to help us evaluate current market conditions. It’s much-needed, especially with the challenging housing environment we’re in right now.”
A potential fourth, countywide housing town hall could be held later this year. Findings from the town halls and surveys are expected to be shared publicly in August.
