NEWS

Over the past 18 months, the Savannah Area Chamber has joined partner business organizations in discussions with the City of Savannah and neighborhood groups to provide feedback on a proposed expansion of the Hotel Overlay District (HDO), which was first adopted in 2018.

To be clear, our position was that an expansion was not needed, since in the entire expansion area, no hotels are currently permitted by right. Representatives from several Savannah neighborhoods petitioned the City to enlarge the boundary, which led to the full study that is available, HERE.

Led by the Tourism Leadership Council, the business groups clarified our position that most of the study area is residential, and therefore unsuitable for hotel development. However, the major commercial corridors that run through the HDO should be retained for business purposes.

In the end, the study presents three options for consideration by the Planning Commission, and will ultimately end up in front of City Council. The three options include two different approaches for small hotel development in specific areas of the overlay district, and a third option for no hotel permitting in the entire HDO.

The current schedule calls for an initial presentation to the Planning Commission on August 26, with formal recommendation scheduled to be considered on September 16. That recommendation would then go to the City Council.

Throughout the process, there are plenty of ways to provide comments to the City, Planning Commission, and City Council. For now, comments may be directed to pl******@********ga.gov. Stay tuned to the Chamber newsletter for future opportunities to attend meetings and provide additional feedback.

The Chamber will continue to follow this closely, and we welcome your input at in**@*************er.com. A whole webpage explaining the history of the HDO, the study, and additional documentation is available HERE.