Decatur City Commissioners are considering a pilot project intended to bring more affordable housing to the city. They are also considering an easement for a Google Fiber Hut that would allow the company to continue its efforts to bring high speed internet into the city.

City Commissioners meet tonight, Dec. 7. The meeting starts with a 6 p.m. work session and will be held at City Hall, located at 509 North McDonough Street. All meetings are open to the public.

Commissioners will consider an intergovernmental agreement with the city’s Development Authority to purchase property at 230 Commerce Drive. The property will be used for a Cottage Court Pilot project. According to the meeting agenda, “A Cottage Court is a development of smaller single family homes that share common green space in order to provide a more affordable housing option for young professionals, empty nesters and service-sector employees in a targeted income range (typically 80 percent of median household income).”

The meeting agenda says the intent of the project is to encourage private sector developers to pursue more affordable housing developments in the city. The rising cost of housing in Decatur has been a source of debate among the community as older residents with smaller homes are priced out of the city to make way for larger – and far more expensive – single family homes.

Google Fiber has been working to bring its services to the Metro Atlanta area. City Commissioners are being asked to consider a utility easement for a Fiber Hut adjacent to the Ebster Pool pump house by the Police Department on Atlanta Avenue. Each hut serves about 20,000 homes, connecting them to Google’s gigabit broadband via fiber cables.

Also on the agenda: City Commissioners will consider accepting a Community Action Plan intended to promote diversity in the city. To see the plan, click here.