Where’s the Affordable Housing?
I just read the article in this week’s Flagpole, “Athens is Growing Up” (City Dope, Jan. 17), and I had to write. I attended dozens (hundreds?) of ACC meetings of all kinds—mayor and commission monthly meetings, the Workforce Housing Study results, Athens Federation of Neighborhoods, Athens for Everyone, the 2018 comprehensive plan meetings and others. I often spoke and asked questions at some of those meetings, which I attended from 2015–2021. I was specifically interested in the elected officials (whose job is to do what’s best for the citizens of Athens) and trying to convince them that Athens needs additional affordable housing.
The meetings for the 2018 comprehensive plan were held in 2017; they were citizen input meetings where the attendees were invited to let our government officials know what were the issues that we thought the M&C should address, including education, health care, transportation, housing and other basic needs of any city. Out of curiosity, I decided to check out the previous comp plans (they’re written every 10 years in every county in Georgia), which were 1998 and 2008. Both of those comprehensive plans included strong opinions about Athens needing additional affordable housing. I wonder why, 20 years later, affordable housing still isn’t available for so many people/families.
Yes, they added “affordable housing” to the 2018 plan, but has anyone noticed any increase in affordable housing? I haven’t. I’ve seen a lot of huge apartment complexes, right downtown and around the UGA campus, which are designed for student housing—very nice student housing. High-rise apartment buildings which have ruined the skyline and texture of Athens. There’s a new humongous apartment nightmare on Lexington Road heading east from downtown. There must be eight to 10 buildings, each about 6 stories high. [Editor’s note: The commission approved those apartments after the developer agreed to set aside 10% of units at below-market rents.] It startled me when I first saw it. It reminded me of when construction began on The Mark on Oconee Street several years ago, which isn’t a compliment.
I’m disgusted with the promises by Athens government officials to create additional affordable housing for the people who live here for more than four years. The Workforce Housing Study, which cost ACC in the neighborhood of $80,000 back in 2016, showed that Athens needed more housing for individuals (who are starting to make up a larger and larger percentage of Athens’ population) should be taken into account. Individuals who don’t want or need four or five bedroom houses with all the bells and whistles high-end houses include. It also revealed that the housing stock (housing that was already present & occupied) was old and in need of renovations or repairs. So why has that study been ignored?
I’m simply convinced that no matter what the people of Athens want, and tell the government officials their needs, the government officials won’t do what we’d need them to do. They’re inviting growth that’s gotten way out of control with all the things we don’t want or need. I will be very surprised if any affordable housing is created over the next few years. Jesus wept.
Paula Loniak
Arnoldsville
Questions About Hamas
Hamas has taken over hospitals in Gaza using them as military bases, most recently Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Why are the Arab nations silent about the fact that Hamas is using innocent Palestinians as human shields in Gaza?
Why won’t Egypt open its borders to Gaza refugees?
Here’s yet another question: Why won’t the Arab nations form a coalition to help the innocent Palestinian victims of Hamas in Gaza, welcoming them to their countries and providing them with safe haven?
One answer is because they want Israel to do their dirty work. They don’t like Hamas because it is a terrorist organization, and they don’t want anybody tainted by Hamas entering their countries. Moreover, these governments have never been concerned about the welfare of Palestinians. Egypt refused to accept Gaza and its Palestinian citizens after they lost it to Israel in 1967. In 1967, Jordan refused to accept Israel’s offer to return the West Bank and its Palestinians citizens to Jordan in exchange for peace. History has shown us that the leaders of the Arab countries want neither Hamas nor Palestinians in their countries, but rather they choose to use Palestinians as political pawns against Israel. How tragic.
Why are Palestinians the only refugees in the world whose status is passed down from one generation to the next? Israel rescued hundreds of thousands of Jews who had to flee persecution in Arab lands, including Yemen, Morocco and Tunisia, among others. Blended into Israeli society after the first generation, they were no longer considered to be refugees, but rather Israeli citizens. Why cannot the Arab countries do the same for Palestinians? Why have Arab oil riches not been used to help Palestinians escape poverty, in the past as well as right now? Because the governments consider them to be most valuable as political pawns and human shields. How tragic.
I bemoan the pain and loss inflicted on Palestinians—not just by the war in Gaza and by West Bank extremists, but even more so by their very own people. How tragic.
Marilyn Gootman
Athens
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