ACC Updates: October Agenda Setting Meeting

Hi everyone! My name is Cole Hendricks, and I’m a member of the Policy Analysis Center. On October 15, the Athens-Clarke County Commission (ACC) met for an agenda-setting meeting. The live stream of the meeting and the full agenda are available on ACC’s website. Among the chief issues commissioners discussed were a proposal for a housing/retail development (agenda item 5, 4:20 in the live stream) and a proposal to franchise Clarke County trash services (agenda item 11, 1:33:00 in the live stream).

Discussion on Proposed Mixed-Use Development

Following the passing of this week’s consent agenda, the ACC Planning Committee put forth a planned development proposal for a mixed-use Commercial-General (CG) plot owned by Bethlehem Land Holdings. This proposal would allow the owners to move forward with a planned development on the plot located on North Avenue. The plan proposes adding 128 multi-family units to an existing housing development, surface parking and a gas station on the plot. The planning committee suggested that the commission approve the development when brought to a voting session, on the condition that it does not intrude on a path south of the development that connects North Avenue and Bray Street.

The proposed residential units would be stratified to provide mixed affordable housing units, with 20% of the proposed units going to those who make under 80% area median income (AMI). Affordable housing is a major issue in ACC. The most recent data from the US Census Bureau suggests that nearly 27.1% of ACC residents are in poverty, well above the national average. As of 2023 the Athens Homeless Coalition found that there are 342 homeless individuals in ACC. Commissioners Link, Houle, Davenport, and Thornton, expressed support for more affordable housing in Athens, though many of these commissioners had reservations. Thornton suggested that the AMI could be lowered from 80% to 60% for these units (though she did not specify why), and many others had specific reservations regarding the proposed gas station.

The plan to build a gas station in such close proximity to the proposed units raised concerns among multiple members of the commission. Though the planning committee assured commissioners that the development aligns with current building codes and poses no risk to residents, the commission remained skeptical of possible health impacts. These public health concerns have merit. Commissioner Myers brought up during the meeting that research suggests that living in proximity to a gas station has significant adverse health effects. Though Commissioners Link and Davenport considered whether the benefit of new affordable housing may outweigh this concern, Commissioners Houle, Thornton, Myers, Culpepper, and Hamby proposed either changing the commercial development from a gas station to something else or removing the commercial development altogether.

Commissioner Houle also put forth an idea to the commission that gas station development be removed as a by-right development on commercial zoning. Currently, landowners on commercial-use land in ACC do not have to consult the government for discretion before building a gas station on properties. Houle’s suggestion would make it so that the development of all new gas stations in ACC would have to be run by the commission before construction.

Ultimately, the commission will call the planned development to a vote at the next voting session rather than place it on the consent agenda. It is likely to inspire further debate on the need for affordable housing as well as the future of the commercial development on the property.

Discussion on Clarke County Trash Services

Following the discussion of the planning committee’s proposal, the Commission moved towards a heated discussion regarding a Legislative Review Committee (LRC) proposal to franchise Clarke County trash services. For context, ACC is divided into the Urban Service District (Athens) and the General Service District (Outer Clarke County). Each handles trash pickup differently. The Urban Service District utilizes city-run municipal services for all residents, while the General Service District (GSD) operates on a market system. In the Urban Service District, the City requires all Athens residents to use the services of the city-run Solid Waste Department. In the General Service District, individual neighborhoods and residents are allowed to either pay for the services of one of five permitted providers or self-haul. 

The system in the GSD is an unconventional one as multiple commissioners noted throughout the meeting and in the LRC proposal. Franchising and municipal services are the two most common methods for trash pickup in other county and city governments in Georgia. The LRC’s proposal would make it so that the GSD’s services would shift to a franchising system. The ACC government would then designate trash pickup companies to service five “zones” of the GSD (with one zone being turned over to the Solid Waste Department). This would essentially grant those solid waste management companies sole jurisdiction over their designated area(s), disallowing other providers in that area and banning self-hauling.

Proponents of this change, such as Commissioner Davenport and the LRC (chaired by Commissioner Myers), say the changes have numerous benefits. They state it would reduce the stress on Clarke County roads, limit carbon emissions from truck volume, minimize littering and illegal dumping associated with self-hauling. The commissioners also claim the proposal would save ACC money. The LRC’s report estimates that the ACC government spends $900,000 each year to clean up litter and illegal dump sites in the GSD. The report further estimates that similar franchisee systems in other local governments (ie Columbus Consolidated, City of Savannah, etc.) offer services up to 45% cheaper for residents than those provided in the GSD’s market system.

There were several opponents to the proposal, including two Clarke County residents and Commissioners Hamby and Thornton. They argued that the change could put some of the five permitted trash-hauling companies out of business, raise resident costs by monopolizing trash services and be detrimental to those who self-haul, both by forcing them to pay for trash services and by potentially disincentivizing them from recycling.  

Other Commissioners did not explicitly oppose or support the change. Rather they had suggestions for how to best implement or modify the proposal. Commissioners Link and Culpepper, for example, suggested that ACC should have more stringent permit requirements for the franchisees to ensure mandatory recycling services and assured quality of customer service, which has been a concern raised by Clarke County residents.). Others, like Commissioner Houle, suggested that the City of Athens’ Solid Waste Department could be expanded further into Clarke County, uniting ACC under one system.

There seems to be a consensus that the current system in the GSD is outdated, but there is still much debate on what the best alternative is. However, it is clear, regardless of how the vote proceeds on this issue in the upcoming voting session, that this is an issue of high public interest. Commissioners Hamby and Myers remarked that this proposal has been debated for over 16 years. Several other commissioners commented that they had been receiving phone calls and emails about this issue for months prior.