Whereas, Savannah is experiencing an acute shortage of deeply affordable housing, and the Housing Authority of Savannah (HAS) has, over the past two decades, eliminated more deeply-affordable public housing than it has replaced;

Whereas, of the roughly 1,300 deeply affordable public housing units demolished or redeveloped by HAS in the last 20 years, only ~760 mixed-income units have been built, none of which are deeply affordable public units, resulting in a net loss of hundreds of homes for low-income families;

Whereas, the dismantling of deeply affordable housing disproportionately harms Black communities, working-class families, seniors, and long-time Savannah residents who face escalating rents, limited voucher acceptance, and displacement from their neighborhoods;

Whereas, Savannah DSA has already been serving—informally and without mandate—as a coordinating hub among residents, community organizations, and allies, including acting as the primary support structure for the Yamacraw Village Residents’ Council (YVRC), disseminating critical information, elevating resident demands, and successfully bringing HAS and public officials to the negotiating table;

Whereas, DSA has become recognized locally as a trusted advocate and effective organizer in housing-justice campaigns, and this trust presents a meaningful opportunity to build a broad, durable, citywide coalition dedicated solely to expanding deeply affordable housing and protecting residents from displacement;

Whereas, during a recent discussion with long-time community leader Elder Ned—widely regarded as a moral center of Savannah’s organizing ecosystem—he emphasized the urgent need to bring organizations together where “their interests intersect” to discover opportunities for collaboration and support each other voluntarily without pressure or top-down direction;

Whereas, a recurring public forum that brings together residents, tenant groups, neighborhood leaders, socialists, preservationists, researchers, and other community partners would allow shared work to emerge organically, strengthen community ties, reduce duplicative efforts, and help address Savannah’s housing crisis more effectively and democratically;

Therefore be it resolved that:

1. Savannah DSA authorizes the creation of an open, recurring public Forum on affordable housing issues, tentatively named the Savannah Affordable Housing Coalition Forum, intended as a voluntary gathering space for organizations, residents, advocates, and unaffiliated community members concerned with deeply affordable housing,

2. the initial structure described in this resolution shall serve only as a starting framework, with the explicit understanding that Forum participants at the first meeting may revise, modify, expand, or replace this framework by consensus to establish norms that best serve the group,

3. the Forum shall hold no authority over any participating organization or individual or to delegate any task to such participants, and shall exist solely to facilitate communication, coordination, shared problem-solving, and mutual support on a voluntary basis,

4. the Forum shall not be a formal voting body, except for initial consensus votes to agree upon the basic structure of the Forum.

5. the Housing Working Group co-chairs (or designated group member) shall convene and facilitate the first meeting, during which participants will collaboratively:
    (a) define shared expectations and goals for the Forum,
    (b) determine how agenda-setting will function moving forward,
    (c) agree on how facilitation responsibilities will be shared in future meetings, and
    (d) establish any initial norms for participation,

6. before the first meeting, DSA shall solicit agenda submissions from any organization or individual, and will compile them transparently into a proposed agenda; if submissions exceed available time, they may be grouped, merged, or rotated in a fair and neutral manner to ensure broad representation,

7. the default agenda-setting model for the first meeting shall be one of open submission, transparent clustering, equitable time allocation, and the rolling forward of any items not addressed, until participants collectively establish a permanent agenda-setting process,

8. after the first meeting, the Forum shall—through consensus—determine its ongoing structure, including facilitation rotation, agenda procedures, and meeting flow, with no expectation of adopting formal bylaws unless the group later elects to do so,

9. participation in the Forum shall remain open to organizations, resident groups, unaffiliated individuals, researchers, service providers, and grassroots collectives regardless of political affiliation, provided they share an interest in housing justice and deeply affordable housing,

10. the Housing Working Group shall provide periodic updates to the chapter on Forum attendance, themes of discussion, emergent collaborations, and opportunities for DSA engagement, independent of DSA’s general membership.