The Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission voted this week to approve Athens First United Methodist Church’s request for a special use permit for 110 W. Hancock Street, the site of the 100-year-old Saye building. With the special-use permit, the church will be able to replace the Saye with 12 parking spaces.
Lawyer Edward Tolley, speaking on behalf of Athens First United Methodist Church, praised the proposed parking lot plan, calling it a beautification effort for that corner. He listed some of the benefits of the proposed plan, including a handicap ramp, substantial grass strips, new sidewalks, 13 new trees and Bermuda sod.
The decision effectively ends the years-long battle over the Saye building, which began back in 2018 when Athens First United Methodist Church first applied for a demolition review permit. Community concern for the Saye prompted a moratorium on all demolition permits and eventually, the creation of the local West Downtown Historic District. The Saye’s inclusion in the new district then led to the denial of the church’s demolition application in 2020.
Athens First United Methodist Church ended up filing two lawsuits against Athens-Clarke County, resulting in a mediation agreement where the city agreed to remove the Saye building from the West Downtown Historic District and allow the demolition and construction of a parking lot. Despite the settlement, the requests still had to move through the formal approval process, going before the Historic Preservation Commission for the removal from the historic district and the Planning Commission for the special use permit. Both boards unanimously recommended denial. In both cases, however, the decision was ultimately in the hands of the Mayor and Commission.
Despite pushback from the community and a petition with over 1000 signatures, on April 1st the ACC Mayor and Commission voted 7-3 to remove the Saye from the West Downtown Historic District. Tuesday, they voted 8-2 to approve the special use permit, with Melissa Link and Tiffany Taylor voting against the motion.
In dissent, District 2 Commissioner Melissa Link explained, “There’s absolutely no reason to approve this. We’ve given the go-ahead for the demolition – there is no reason to incentive that by allowing a special use which is in clear violation of all our policies, all our planning documents and all our staff and the expert citizens we appoint to decide on these matters.”
Athens First United Methodist Church has said that the parking lot is a temporary solution while they consider bigger plans for the parcel.
This article comes to Now Habersham in partnership with WUGA News
