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Government Affairs Director Garrett Wiley with the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (GAHBA) joins the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast to discuss the growing housing affordability crisis. On the All About Real Estate segment, Wiley joins host Carol Morgan to discuss the increase in moratoriums nationwide, the revised Atlanta tree ordinance and more.
With an extensive background in politics, Wiley’s first job out of college entailed working for a Georgia state senator, which led to working on several political campaigns, including a United States senate campaign in Louisiana and a mayoral race in Jacksonville. Wiley later served in economic development and government affairs for the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce and Jackson EMC. After working in business development for a commercial construction firm, Wiley transitioned back to government affairs for the GAHBA and has been there for two years.
Wiley said, “It’s been a blast! We have a great team and I love working with our members.”
As part of the government affairs team, Wiley helps to handle the seven GAHBA chapters and the many events those groups host, as well as tracking local legislation and over 70 municipalities within the greater Atlanta area. Serving nine counties, the government affairs team is tasked with building relationships with local city and county staff members, including code enforcement, planning and development, fire marshals and many more. While Garrett is a registered lobbyist, he is really here to act as a liaison between the GAHBA’s many members and the politicians that make up the many local governments around the metro area.
Wiley said, “Our goal is relationships…to be the catalyst and liaison between our members and the government departments that we work with.”
The government affairs team’s top priority is the ongoing litigation between the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and the Henry County government. Two years ago, Henry County presented a nearly 500% increase in impact fees on builders for single-family homes. The GAHBA put together a task force of builders currently working in the county and hired Dr. Chris Nelson, the original architect of the impact fees law in Georgia, to help stop Henry County from passing the impact fee increase. While the attempt was unsuccessful at stopping the increase, it was not the 500% increase originally recommended, and Wiley and his team still work hard to reverse the impact fees. The association is working with attorney Simon Bloom and has filed within the Henry County government to challenge the processes of the impact fees.
Wiley and his team also track local government lot-size changes, design standards, code changes and moratoriums. There are several reasons to clarify why moratoriums are increasing within local governments, but the top explanation given by those local governments is infrastructure needs. With many builders starting projects in rural areas within populated counties, governments are placing moratoriums on builders because of increasing infrastructure demands. Many local governments are also changing development codes, especially to address build-to-rent housing, and while the changes are in process, governments are requiring all residential construction to stop.
Wiley said, “The unfortunate part of moratoriums is that they happen without a warning.”
To learn more about the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, listen to the full interview above, or visit www.AtlantaHomeBuilders.com.
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The Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio “All About Real Estate” segment, presented by Denim Marketing, highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact Denim Marketing at 770-383-3360 or fill out the Atlanta Real Estate Forum contact form. Subscribe to the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast on iTunes, and if you like this week’s show, be sure to rate it.