From million dollar housing initiatives to investments in electric vehicles, our community’s future can be determined by a single vote in a matter of minutes. With this column I intend to provide an easily accessible preview of what could be ahead.
This in no way is meant to cover everything going before our public officials this week, but is a curated look at what happens to catch my attention personally. I encourage you to check out the meeting agendas I post below and on the website to see all the other issues and proposals under consideration.
Stay engaged Savannah,
Eric Curl (Jan. 8, 2023)
The Chatham County Board of Elections is meeting Monday
The agenda was not available to view online, as of Sunday evening.
The Housing Authority of Savannah is meeting Tuesday.
The agenda includes the proposed issuance of $2.1 million in bonds to support the ongoing renovation of Savannah Summit, a 138‐unit senior housing apartment complex at 135 Hampstead Ave. The resolution comes after the housing authority previously issued $15.4 million in tax-exempt bonds for the project in November 2021, enabling the building’s owner, an affiliate of Jonathan Rose Companies, to borrow the funds and move forward with the rehabilitation. The additional funds are needed due to cost overruns resulting from increased construction costs, according to the staff report. The restoration project is expected to be completed early this year.
Annual plan
The board will also consider adopting the authority’s annual plan for the fiscal year beginning April 1. The plan, which describes the authority’s goals, objectives and strategies, must be updated and submitted to HUD annually and is due by Jan. 16.
Once again the plan includes the planned demolition of 315 units at Yamacraw Village, as adopted as part of the authority’s public housing repositioning plan in June 2020. The repositioning plan considered results of the 2019 capital needs assessment that identified properties that could be maintained or rehabilitated, and those properties where needs are beyond repair, and replacement of components is not cost effective. Yamacraw Village, a property constructed in 1941, was identified by the to be physically obsolete and eligible for demolition.
The public is invited to present comments at the hearing regarding the proposed annual plan at 10 a.m. on Monday at the authority’s Neighborhood Resource Center Building A, 1407 Wheaton St. Comments can also be emailed to tbrawner@savannahpha.com up until 9:30 a.m. Monday. So far no comments have been received following a resident advisory board’s review and during the 45‐day public comment period, according to the staff report.
The Savannah-Chatham school board is meeting on Wednesday
The agenda includes the proposed adoption of some policy changes regarding public participation in meetings. The changes provide the chairperson the authority to determine whether comments are in order and the ability to limit the length of time for individual comments. In addition, the changes reduce the “general limit” for comments from five minutes to three, while allowing the chairperson to extend that time.
Electric buses
The board will also consider the ratification of an almost-$10 million EPA grant for 25 new electric buses and $500,000 for eligible charging infrastructure.
The Savannah Historic District Board of Review meets on Wednesday
The agenda includes a petition to remove the historic designation of a building at 301 Alice St. in order for the structure to be demolished for single-family residential units. The early-1950s-era warehouse-style building was added as a contributing building in 2010 along with more than 100 other buildings, according to the staff report.
In addition to finding the building was not built in the 1940s, as the 2010 designation report claimed, the owner, who reportedly uses the space as a construction office and has been involved in local historic renovation project, contends, along with some neighbors, that building has no historic significance. Staff disagrees and is recommending denial of the petition, finding that the building still falls within the local district’s period of significance, 1733-1960, and is structurally intact.
Staff’s review also found that the city’s ordinance does not provide the board with the authority to remove a building’s historic designation. The ordinance only makes this process available to the Historic Preservation Commission, which oversees development projects in the city’s other local historic neighborhoods outside the downtown district.
Historic warehouse renovations
The review board will also consider a petition to renovate a historic warehouse building built in 1874 to accommodate a new restaurant and bar. The modifications are being planned on the second level of the building at
The Tybee City Council is meeting on Thursday
The agenda includes consideration of a proposed agreement with a contractor, Christopher Koncul, who is planning a 10-lot residential subdivision at 708 Butler Avenue. The agreement includes provisions to protect the historic McNeal cottage and trees on the site, while restricting the development to single-family homes.
Zunzibar is on the way
Savannah’s purveyor of the nationally renown Conquistador sandwich, Zunzibar will be opening a location on Tybee Island, according to an entertainment license application going before the city council. The request comes after an alcohol license for the business was approved on Dec. 8.
The restaurant’s location is listed as 1115 US 80, where Gerald’s Pig & Shrimp previously operated before closing last year, as reported by Jesse Blanco in his Eat it and Like it blog.
The property’s previous owner, Gerald Schantz, sold the site for $1.15 million in July, according to the sales record. The restaurant and bar will operate from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and feature live music, while adhering to local noise ordinance, the application states. Established in 2005, the South African-inspired restaurant currently has a location in downtown Savannah at 236 Drayton St., as well as Atlanta.
Short-term rental ordinance update
The council will also consider an amendment to the city’s short-term vacation rental ordinance, which adds a section that sets out to preserve the remaining portions if any clauses or sentences within the ordinance is found to be unconstitutional.
The proposed amendments come as the city faces second lawsuit from Tybee Alliance, a coalition of property managers and owners who have accused the local government of overreach in their short-term vacation rental regulations, as reported Saturday by the Savannah Morning News.
The Savannah City Council is meeting on Thursday.
The agenda includes the proposed transfer of 19 city-owned vacant Properties in the Cuyler-Brownsville Neighborhood to the Chatham-Savannah Land Bank Authority to facilitate the development of affordable and workforce housing by the Galvan Foundation.
The land bank authority will make the property available so the New York-based nonprofit can acquire the properties and develop housing for sale and rent, according to the staff report. The land bank authority will return at least 90% of the net sale proceeds to the city, under the plan.
Galvan in turn will reportedly raise and invest upwards of $5 million to develop housing on the acquired vacant property, with development expected to begin in 2023. In addition, Galvan will also provide $1 million to the city’s Savannah Affordable Housing Fund for housing improvements, new housing and down-payment assistance. The proposed investment is in addition to $50,000 that Galvan contributed to the fund in 2022.
Rezoning for marina, restaurant
The council will also consider a developer’s petition to rezone 12500 Apache Avenue from residential to a maritime business classification in order to construct a restaurant and marina. A restaurant with a marina called Bells Landing previously operated at the site before being destroyed by a fire in 2006. On December 20, the Metropolitan Planning Commission recommended approval of rezoning petition.
Cumming street property transfer
The city council will also consider the transfer of 214 Cumming Street to the land bank authority to the owner of the house at 216 Cumming Street to facilitate the development of a room addition and driveway. The owner of 216 Cumming, Rudolph Moore, has cared for the lot at 214 Cumming for years with the hope of purchasing it, as I reported in a 2015 article on city owned properties I wrote back in my Savannah Morning News days.
Park naming
The council will also consider a request to name an unnamed park in Carver Village at 1000 Bowden St. to “George Washington Carver Neighborhood Park”. As described in the staff report, “Carver, was an agricultural scientist and inventor who developed hundreds of products using peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. Born into slavery before it was outlawed, Carver left home at a young age to pursue education and would eventually earn a master’s degree in agricultural science from Iowa State University.”
The naming petition has the support of Carver Village neighborhood association and Historic Sites and Monuments commission.
The Chatham County Commission is meeting Friday.
The agenda was not available online as of Sunday evening.
A look back at last week’s coverage
In case you missed them, below you will find links to last week’s stories.
City donates downtown property to assist health clinic
No agreement in place more than a year since Savannah fairgrounds sale approved
Vacant 37th Street station’s new owner has food truck service in mind
Plans submitted for new Hutchinson Island apartments
Kiah House structural evaluation underway says new owner
Savannah movie studio developer denies lawsuit allegations
#StayEngagedSavannah
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