Bristling against an assessment of Gwinnett County’s affordable housing that said the county could do more to make such homes available, County Commissioner John Heard on Tuesday questioned the ramifications of not participating in a federal fair housing program.
“Is it the first time somebody’s asked such a ridiculous question?” Heard wondered rhetorically. “I’m a very strong believer in local government and I want to resist federal government mandates to every extent possible.
“Short of seceding from the Union, I’m just wondering,” he said.
Heard’s comments came after a presentation about the impediments to fair housing choice in Gwinnett, compiled as part of grants the county received from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Heard asked if the county’s transportation funds or other money would be compromised if Gwinnett elected not to take $7.1 million in HUD grants this year, and more in the future.
Other commissioners said the money had been used to help expand opportunities for seniors and for other improvements, and the funds would likely be difficult to replace. They also noted that fair housing is federal law.
“We’re required to meet these mandates, as you call them,” Commissioner Jace Brooks said.
After the meeting, Heard said he had “homework to do” in order to better understand the funding vs. the requirements. He also noted that in order to advance the community, and get the highest return on Gwinnett’s continued growth, the county needed to decide “what sort of citizen profile” it wanted to promote.
HUD’s programs are good, Heard said, but he is wary of recommendations for improvement that included less restrictive zoning in order to make affordable housing more available.
“I don’t want the federal government telling us how we have to do our zoning issues, and it’s edging toward that,” he said. “I’m against the federal government involving itself in local governing processes.”
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