08/17/2023
The big local news of the day is the 300+ home development being built in Centerville. Yes, despite WMAZ's headline, the quotes from the developer in the article, and even the US Postal Service telling you it's in Warner Robins, it is not. The land is located at the corner of Dunbar Road and Highway 41, and is completely within the Centerville city limits.
Why is it such a big deal? The land was recently sold, and the new owners are building *rental houses*. As if that isn't bad enough, the houses range from 925 to 1275 square feet (with a carport instead of a garage), and will rent from $1850 - $2350 per month. These are... quite small, and they are priced well above the local norm (my own house is much bigger than the largest of these homes, and the mortgage payment is less than the lowest rent).
The outrage is real, mostly because of the pricing, but also just the fact that our area needs *affordable* housing, and lots of it. I'm not talking about subsidized places - just normal houses for normal, middle class folks. But also, "How can those idiots in government let them do this?" "It's just pure greed all around". "Blame the local officials". Those are some of the comments I have seen.
Let me assure you that this is not the fault of city government. The original developer planned to build homes to sell, and the zoning for "single family residential" was approved (by Planning and Zoning as well as the city council, though before I was elected). We learned only a month ago that the land was sold to a new developer whose specialty is "build-to-rent". Unfortunately, as long as the new owners build in compliance with the zoning for the development, we cannot keep them from proceeding. I asked if there was anything that could be done, and the response I got was:
"There is a lot of chatter about limitations on build-to-rent developments, however most attempts have been met with successful constitutional challenges related to fair housing and discrimination."
Now I have my own opinions about what constitutes "fair housing", and this does not qualify. I'd love to hear reasonable suggestions on what can be done to discourage this type of development in the future - or even whether you think it should be discouraged. Keeping in mind of course, that most folks out there don't want the government (at any level) telling them what they can or cannot do with their private property. Let me know what you think.
Grove Landing on Dunbar Road will have its grand opening in October.
