Petition to Repeal or Reform the Westside Affordable Workforce Housing Overlay District (City of Atlanta)

The City of Atlanta’s Westside Affordable Workforce Housing Overlay District is established in the Atlanta Municipal Code under Part 16 – Zoning, Chapter 37 of the Code of Ordinances. This overlay district includes specific affordability and inclusionary zoning requirements for residential developments located within the designated Westside area. 

Under current municipal law:

Any new residential development with ten or more rental units in the Westside Affordable Workforce Housing Overlay District must include a portion of affordable workforce housing units that remain affordable for at least 20 years and are similar in size and quality to market-rate units.  
Developers must provide at least 15% of units affordable at 80% of Area Median Income (AMI) or 10% affordable at 60% of AMI, based on HUD-defined income levels for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metro area.  

These requirements are part of the city’s broader inclusionary zoning and workforce housing strategy, initiated through ordinances passed by the Atlanta City Council (e.g., Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning adopted November 2017 and expanded in subsequent years). 

While the intention of this policy is to promote housing affordability and socioeconomic diversity in key growth corridors, many residents and local stakeholders have raised concerns about the unintended economic and development impacts of mandating affordability in areas with high growth potential.

Why This Matters to Westside Residents, Businesses, and Property Owners

1. Impact on Development Incentives

Critics argue that mandatory affordability requirements — even with “in-lieu fee” options — add complexity and cost to development projects, which can deter investment in retail, commercial space, and mixed-use centers in the Westside area. 

Some developers choose to pay an in-lieu fee rather than build required units, which could limit on-site economic activity if alternative affordable units are built elsewhere. 

2. Legal Context in Georgia

Georgia state law has a blanket ban on local rent control, meaning municipalities cannot directly regulate rents on private rental housing. This has shaped how Atlanta structures its inclusionary zoning policies — offering options like in-lieu fees to avoid violating state law. 

3. Strategic Location of Westside

The Westside is adjacent to major amenities and infrastructure — including Proctor Creek Greenway, Westside Park, BeltLine trails, and nearby commercial districts. Many residents believe these assets make the area ideal for vibrant mixed-use development that could attract jobs, services, and long-term economic growth. 

What This Petition Seeks

We, the undersigned residents, property owners, business leaders, and taxpayers of Atlanta, respectfully request that the Atlanta City Council take immediate action to restore free-market principles to the Westside by:

Repealing or fundamentally restructuring the Westside Affordable Workforce Housing Overlay District (Atlanta Zoning Ordinance, Part 16, Chapter 37) so that property owners and developers can operate without government-mandated pricing controls or unit quotas.

Ending mandatory inclusionary requirements that artificially dictate how private capital must be allocated, and instead allowing supply, demand, and voluntary market forces to determine housing mix, pricing, and project feasibility.

Reaffirming Georgia’s longstanding prohibition on rent control by ensuring that no local policies function as indirect rent regulation through affordability mandates.

Encouraging economic growth through incentive-based, not mandate-based, policy, including voluntary tax credits, density bonuses, infrastructure investment, and public-private partnerships that attract jobs, retail, and long-term tax base growth.

Protecting property rights and investment confidence so that lenders, retailers, and employers view the Westside as a stable, pro-business environment worthy of long-term capital investment.

Our Principle

Thriving communities are built through economic freedom, capital investment, and upward mobility — not through rigid housing quotas or government-directed development models.

A healthy Westside should be a place where:

Entrepreneurs can invest with confidence

Developers can respond to real market demand

Residents can benefit from job growth and rising opportunity

Property owners are not penalized for success

We believe that economic growth expands opportunity for everyone — and that sustainable affordability is best achieved through increased supply, strong job creation, and broad prosperity driven by market forces.

Statement of Intent

We believe that the Westside area has enormous potential for economic vibrancy and inclusive opportunity, but this potential will only be realized if zoning and housing policies incentivize both private investment and long-term community prosperity, without unintended economic drag.