Commission to Mayor: Let's Revisit The Home Occupation Ordinance

It came at the end of Tuesday's monthly Athens Clarke County Commission meeting, and lasted only a few minutes. But it could appear again.

It's a special called meeting. And it happened because Mayor Denson wouldn't put an item on the agenda after a Commissioner asked her to do so. So the Commission held a meeting to consider the issue.

The issue was one she wasn't interested in visiting, she said, about allowing people to board dogs in their homes. The real issue for Commissioner Jared Bailey was the local government's home occupation ordinance, which hasn't been updated in 20 years.

Bailey told the Commissioners that 95 percent of all jobs in Athens Clarke County are created by entrepreneurs. He wants to make sure Athens remains friendly to entrepreneurs. Given that the home occupation ordinance was written before the Internet existed, he said it's time for the planning department staff to review the ordinance to make sure it's up to date.

A motion to have the department do this passed unanimously. Some Commissioners said later that unless Mayor Denson addresses their concerns and ideas about agenda items, there will be other special called meetings in the future.