Savannah City Council takes housing workshop on the road with 15-stop bus tour
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - City council rolled into Thursday’s meeting on a Chatham Area Transit bus.
That’s because they held a mobile workshop Thursday hosted by the Planning, Zoning and Urban Design team.
It was unorthodox, where council members put boots on the ground to see some housing and zoning initiatives they’ve put into action.
“All the permission slips have been signed,” said Jay Melder, Savannah City Manager.
City manager Jay Melder helped plan a 15-stop tour that focuses on affordable housing and development.
“It’s the most profound workshop that I’ve ever seen in six years on city council,” said Nick Palumbo, 4th District Alderman.
Alderman Nick Palumbo first brought up the idea at a workshop in December.
On Thursday, he and other city leaders went through all six districts, stopping at different places to check in with some of the people who are affected by their votes.
“Thanks to a little known sentence in the revenue ordinance that Bridget put in in 2025, the city was able to waive the building permit fees,” said Briana Paxton, Savannah developer and resident.
Hearing that, Alderwoman Alicia Miller Blakely’s ears perked up.
“A lot of our constituents don’t even know that type of opportunity that they can apply for in order to get to build housing,” said Blakely.
As they went through all the districts, other topics came up.
Redeveloping the Savannah mall, utilizing old shopping centers, create diverse housing development.
Each stop had a recommended action. Some, like in Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier’s 1st district, were about expanding successful programs.
“This was a good opportunity to see a policy that we supported, working and helping residents in the area,” said Lanier.
The city manager did say they plan to do this twice more.
Thursday was about housing and urban design, but the next two are focused on public safety and parks and recreation.
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