Georgia City Opposes Bill Eliminating Local Control Over Residential Home Design

The Dunwoody City Council in Georgia gave a strong rebuke to proposed legislation that would ban local governments from regulating design elements on one- or two-family properties in the state, reports the Reporter Newspapers.

The proposed legislation would prohibit local government from regulating the color, exterior material, windows, doors, number and type of rooms, and foundation materials. It would not apply to state or federal historic districts, mobile homes, or homes governed by neighborhood associations or covenants.

Dunwoody mayor Denis Shortal and the city council approved a resolution to voice opposition to two bills, House Bill 302 and Senate Bill 172.

The resolution states, in part, that the bills “would completely remove the City of Dunwoody’s common sense ability of local control to set its own quality standards of single-family homes and may jeopardize the safety and lives of our citizens living and working in densely populated areas of our city.”

“I would think such a bill would be the laughingstock [of the General Assembly], because it is an infringement on our rights,” Mayor Shortal said.