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Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Mariah Parker and Columbus City Councilmember Walker Garrett (Photos courtesy Parker and Garrett)
Two of Georgia’s six largest cities stand poised to adopt sweeping LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances, bringing protections to some 300,000 more residents.
But a similar effort in the state’s second-largest city stalled amid concerns over how to enforce the policy. Such policies are in place across Georgia in 12 municipalities, with 11 passing in the last three years.
The policies ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion and several other factors in private employment, housing and public accommodations. The complaint process, fines and revocation of business licenses vary by ordinance. Several also call for tracking hate crimes.
Athens-Clarke commission back resolution to address homelessness
onlineathens.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from onlineathens.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
North Athens Verizon cell tower approved, despite opposition
onlineathens.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from onlineathens.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Madeline Polites and Cooper Holmes perched outside the last remaining historic home on the lot on the corner of East Broad and Wilkerson Street with signs reading “Shame on Landmark Properties” and “Athens, Say No to a Parking Deck in Pottery Town.” Polites, Holmes and even Athens semi-prominent Pink Flamingo would go on to continue their protest most afternoons for several days, waving at passing cars as they honked in support.
The lot is part of a larger expansion project by Landmark Properties to develop student housing and subsequent parking decks in the historic neighborhood known as Pottery Town. In the past week, homes have been demolished to prepare the property for building.
Charlotte Norsworthy
For the Athens Banner-Herald
A deal that would enable student parking to be built on public property fell through in December, but the result of this dispersal will likely mean the demolition of the part of Athens known as Pottery Town.
The Deal
Landmark Properties announced in 2019 that it would be breaking ground on its Phase II development of The Mark, a luxury student housing complex on Oconee Street just outside of downtown. The Phase II tower will include 160,000 square feet and 436 new beds, and it will be located directly behind the existing complex in the Pottery Town neighborhood along Wilkerson Street.