"No one knows what will work better than the people who live in a community," testified College Park Mayor Bianca Motley Broom.Washburn, a veteran of the real estate industry, said he brought the bill because governments are "overly restrictive on housing production." The bill’s heavy-hitting supporters include the state Home Builders Association, Chamber of Commerce and Habitat for Humanity and Kia Georgia.
"The intention is to take away the ability to make choices for a homeowner in the interest of: 'Well, we don't like vinyl siding in this county so we're not going to allow vinyl siding,'" Washburn testified in committee Tuesday. "Where they're trying to keep out bad actors, they're keeping out good actors like us," Habitat for Humanity of Georgia president Ryan Willoughby told Axios.Gov. Brian Kemp has not publicly supported nor weighed in on Washburn's legislation but has prioritized expanding workforce housing given the struggle companies have housing employees.