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By: MATT SCHAFER
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A Cobb County ordinance designed to stop college students flowing into residential neighborhoods unintentionally limits gay couples renting out rooms or taking in roommates. Counties throughout the metro area cite similar policies.
“The devil can be in the details about these things,” said Greg Nevins, an attorney for Lambda Legal in Atlanta. “And that can really highlight the fact that these bills are fraught with unintended consequences.”
As Kennesaw State University grew into the third largest college in Georgia, so did the number of students looking to escape quiet hours, co-habitation policies and no keg rules. Investors bought up homes to rent to a half dozen or more college students at a time in two subdivisions north of the college.
Worried about students living in de facto dorms in their neighborhoods, homeowners worked with the Cobb County Commission to craft an ordinance to prohibit boarding houses in residential neighborhoods. The ordinance, passed last year, decrees only two unrelated adults can live in a home. Gay and lesbian couples are not recognized as related under Georgia law, so Cobb’s ordinance means they can not take in friends or let out rooms.
The policy goes into effect May 8, three days after KSU’s end of term. At a Feb. 19 commission meeting, Colleen Anzalone was one of 13 residents who supported turning down exemptions to the ordinance for two houses yards from KSU’s northern border.
“Really it comes down to no more than two unrelated people can live together in Cobb County,” she said.
Cobb County Commission Chairman Sam Olens appeared surprised when asked if the policy unfairly affects the more than 1,300 gay couples in Cobb reported in the 2000 U.S. Census.
Cobb County commission Chairman Sam Olens said the county had not considered that an ordinance aimed at college students could also limit options for gay couples. (Photo courtesy Cobb County)
“Literally, throughout the entire time we worked on the ordinance, your comment today is the first time we’ve heard of anything from this area,” Olens said after the meeting. “It was never part of a complaint from the public. Today is the first time I’ve heard about it.”
There are no active gay political groups in Cobb County, and Georgia Equality, the state’s largest gay activist group, was unaware of the ordinance during its drafting stages.
“Obviously there is a list of priorities for Georgia Equality, but we’re a small organization,” Political Director Kyle Bailey said.
Olens said the policy is not intended to affect gay couples, but admitted it could be interpreted that way.
“One can always look at an ordinance and figure out where it could cause problems for people who were never considered process-wise,” he said. “We did the best we could.”
Anzalone never considered the policy’s broader impact. After the meeting, when asked if the policy equated to a double standard for gay and lesbian couples, she said she didn’t have the answer.
“It appears that you feel like you have less options than straight couples, and I don’t really know what to tell you,” she said. “It sounds like a special case that would have to be addressed by Chairman Olens and the board.”
Other metro communities either have similar ordinances on the books or are working on developing their own.
Like Cobb County, the city of Doraville limits residences to two unrelated adults. Openly gay Doraville City Councilmember Brian Bates researched the city’s policy and said it needs to change.
“The intention is to address the overcrowding of a people living in a particular house, and part of the problem was in thinking through all the permeations of how it could be interpreted,” Bates said. “It frankly was never conceived of how it could have a negative effect on gay couples.”
Athens, home to the University of Georgia, also cites policies that could make it illegal for a gay couple to have a roommate. Mayor Heidi Davison says it can be tough to apply.
“It is a difficult ordinance to enforce, but if an officer has evidence that more than two unrelated adults are living in a home we take action,” she said.
Other metro area housing policies present fewer problems to gay couples because they allow a higher number of “unrelated adults” per household.
In 2006, Roswell City Attorney Bob Hulsey helped draft the ...
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