MPC to Consider Expanding Hotel Ban to Three Historic Districts – Savannah Agenda

By Eric Curl

Oct. 5, 2025 – The Metropolitan Planning Commission is set to consider a proposal on Tuesday that would extend the city’s existing Hotel Development Overlay District to include the Victorian, Streetcar, and Cuyler-Brownville Historic Districts, effectively banning new hotel construction in those areas.

However, MPC staff is recommending denial of the full ban, instead suggesting a more moderate approach that would continue to allow limited, small-scale hotels in designated corridors through a special-use permit process.

The amendment, submitted by representatives of the Victorian, Thomas Square, and Cuyler-Brownville neighborhood associations, seeks to expand the overlay boundaries that currently restrict hotel development in the Downtown Historic District. If adopted, the change would make hotels a prohibited use within the three neighborhoods unless future amendments specifically allow them.

The petitioners say the move is necessary to protect historic character and preserve housing in areas facing increasing development pressure from tourism-related projects.

Background

The Hotel Development Overlay District was created in 2018 in response to public concerns regarding the proliferation of hotels downtown. The district was designed to control where hotels could locate and to separate “large” hotels (75 rooms or more) from “small” hotels (16–74 rooms).

At the time, planners studied the potential impacts on the Victorian and Mid-City areas but ultimately confined the overlay to the Downtown Historic District.

The current proposal revisits those earlier discussions as neighborhood groups seek stronger limits to prevent tourism from encroaching into residential areas.

According to city data, the proposed expansion would affect 653 parcels covering roughly 114 acres, including portions zoned Traditional Commercial and Office and Institutional–Expanded.

Staff Concerns

In its report, staff cautioned that using an overlay to “regulate or prohibit a particular land use” can conflict with the intent of base zoning districts, which are designed to balance compatible uses. The report suggests that a “clear public-interest rationale” is necessary to justify banning hotels where they are otherwise allowed.

While acknowledging residents’ concerns, staff said the request “is not linked with the furtherance of any particular area or corridor plan” and lacks empirical data demonstrating that hotel development poses an imminent threat to neighborhood character or housing availability.

The report also notes that Savannah previously studied multiple overlay scenarios, including options allowing “boutique” hotels of up to 40 rooms, but neighborhood leaders rejected all partial approaches in favor of a total prohibition.

Recommendation

Instead of approving the blanket ban, MPC staff recommends adopting Option 1 from the city’s 2025 Hotel Overlay Expansion Study, which they say would maintain the “Traditional Business” character of corridors like Anderson and Henry streets while preserving neighborhood scale.

Staff also recommends allowing the conversion of contributing or historic buildings, originally built for multifamily or nonresidential use, into small hotels (16–40 rooms) with the Savannah City Council’s approval through a special-use permit.

That approach, the report states, would “balance desired corridor character with adequacy of infrastructure to support commercial activity, including hotel development.”

Voices of support, opposition

There is a note on the agenda report that technical issues were preventing the addition of some public comments, but links to some of the correspondence received were included.

In a joint letter to the MPC, the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tourism Leadership Council urged officials to reject the proposed expansion of the Hotel Overlay District, arguing that it “makes no substantive difference in the way a proposed hotel would be considered” and should therefore remain as is. The groups said they had made “significant concessions” during discussions but that neighborhood representatives “refused to budge,” and asked the MPC to consider only the “least expansive option” (Option 1) if changes move forward.

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Jason Combs, vice president of the Thomas Square Neighborhood Association also took issue with the position of the chamber and TLC that neighborhood leaders refused to make concessions, noting that they agreed to test a compromise position of 40-room hotels. The proposal was “soundly rejected” by the majority of the almost 800 respondents to the survey, Combs said Sunday via text following this article’s initial publication.

Meanwhile, local property owner Amy Brock voiced support for the proposed expansion of the overlay district, saying in her letter that it “sets fair and common-sense boundaries” that allow hotel growth “in the right places” while protecting residential neighborhoods.

“This amendment doesn’t stop growth—it simply makes sure growth is done responsibly,” Brock said, adding that it helps “keep our neighborhoods livable and welcoming.”

And Thomas Square resident and business owner Lane Shorkey urged commissioners in an email to “vote to block hotel development in the Thomas Square/Starland district and extend the hotel development overlay through to Victory Drive.” Shorkey said that the area “lacks the infrastructure to support an influx of visitors” and more hotels would threaten affordable housing and the neighborhood’s “vibrant and artistic” character.

“This is not the moment for more hotels,” Shorkey said.

The MPC is scheduled to hear the petition at the 1:30 p.m. meeting on Tuesday at 112 E. State St. The commission’s recommendation will then go to the Savannah City Council for final consideration.

See who else is meeting and what’s on the agenda at Meeting Agendas Archives – Savannah Agenda