The Mayor and Commission of Athens-Clarke County convened their regular voting meeting on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, starting at approximately 7:00 PM. The packed agenda included a consent calendar, two major zoning actions, a debate on relocating Fire Station 5, and multiple housing and funding items.
Item 13 – Macon Highway & Puritan Lane (RM-1 to RM-2 PD Rezone)
Item 14 – East Athens PD Amendment (585 Vine Street / Farm to Neighborhood)
Item 17 – Fire Station 5 Relocation (4730 Old Lexington Road)
Item 16 – 159 Marlin Street Short-Term Rental
Item 13 (Macon Hwy/Puritan Lane) The commission discussed community benefits, tree canopy requirements (a 60% total canopy proposed), and the non-binding, work-in-progress nature of the mill house relocation. The motion to approve passed 7–3 (Commissioners Link, Taylor, Fisher opposed).
Item 14 (Vine Street PD Amendment) A deeply divided discussion. Commissioner Fisher sympathized with community distrust but acknowledged the applicant's stated goals. A substitute motion by Commissioner Thornton to table the vote for 30 days to allow for fact-finding and further community conversation failed on a 5–5 tie, with the Mayor voting against the hold. The original motion to approve by Commissioner Taylor then passed 7–3 (Commissioners Link, Taylor, Fisher opposed). The debate exposed significant fractures regarding trust, development, and community engagement in East Athens.
Item 17 (Fire Station 5 Relocation) Following extensive public testimony, Commissioner Davenport moved to hold the item for 30 days. The motion passed with the explicit goal of allowing staff to gather an updated statement from the Fire Chief, obtain a detailed appraisal analysis, and review the recent IAFF study. If the purchase option cannot be extended during the hold, the item will be denied.
Item 15 (360 Hawthorne Extension) A rezone from CG to RM-2. Commissioner Link moved to approve with a CDO restricting building scale. Passed unanimously.
Item 16 (159 Marlin Street STR) Discussion focused on the impact of short-term rentals on housing stock. Commissioner Hamby spoke against approving new STRs. The motion to approve passed 6–2–1 (Commissioner Wright abstained, Commissioner Fisher recused).
Item 19 (Pedestrian Improvements) Held for 30 days for a community meeting.
Item 21 (Hawthorne/Oglethorpe Intersection) Held for 30 days due to pending property negotiations.
Item 22 (ARPA Reallocation) Approved, sending funds to the Center for Racial Justice and Black Futures and Affordable Housing.
Item 24 (Opioid Settlement) Approved unanimously.
Our first Tuesday of September voting meeting is upon us, and so uh I'm gonna go ahead and ask the clerk to call roll for us. Here, Taylor, here right, present Fisher, Johnson, Culpepper, here, here, Thornton, here, and the we have a quorum. All right, thank you, madam clerk. I appreciate it. As always, uh, we're gonna read the civility pledge provided to us by the Georgia Municipal Association, and that reads that the way we govern ourselves is often as important as the positions we take. Our collective decisions will be better when differing views have had the opportunity to be fully vetted and considered. All people have the right to be treated with respect, courtesy, and openness. We value all input, and we commit to conduct ourselves at all times with civility and courtesy to each other. Um first formal item of business today is approval of the minutes of meetings of Tuesday, August 5th, and non-voting meetings of Tuesday, August 12th, and Tuesday, August 19th. Do I hear such a motion? So moved. Okay. All right, I've got a motion from Commissioner Taylor and a second from Commissioner Fisher. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed. All right. Hearing none, motion carries. Um I do need a motion to add item number 24, which is the latest of the kind of long sequence of opioid settlements, uh, because uh we just received final text today. So could I get a motion to add item 24 to the agenda? So moved. Thank you. All right. I've got a motion from Commissioner Wright and a second from Commissioner Taylor. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed, please, same side. Hearing none, motion carries. Uh Madam Clerk, do we have any written communications tonight? There are none. All right, thank you, ma'am. All right. Uh tonight we have several opportunities for public input, and so I want to describe that sequence for everybody. Uh we have an opportunity for public input on the consent agenda. We have an opportunity on each of the two new planning and zoning items. We have an opportunity on old and new business, and then at the conclusion of tonight's meeting, we have an opportunity for public input on any topic that was not on tonight's agenda. Uh generally speaking, with the slight exception of zoning, that's a three-minute opportunity per person for public input. You see a light in front of the clerk, it turns green when you begin speaking, turns yellow when you have 30 seconds remaining, and it turns red when your three minutes has concluded. And we'll thank you for your time with us tonight. Uh if you do provide public input, please let us know your full name and your place of residence so we can accurately capture that for the record. There are cards on the podium. If you fill one of those out and just drop it in the gray box uh just across the door from the podium, that will allow us to make sure we do that accurately. So I would first like to ask members of the commission, is there any consent agenda item uh currently we have consent agenda items one through twelve that any member of the body would like to remove for later discussion. Would anyone like to remove any of those consent agenda items again? One through twelve. Uh Commissioner Johnson. Nope. Okay. All right. I'll uh have attorney Drake read the ordinances associated with the consent agenda items.