Last week, the Colquitt County Board of Commissioners declined to expand housing opportunities for poorer county residents.

A proposed change to the zoning ordinance would have decreased the size of a primary residence from 900 square feet to 720 square feet, opening the door for smaller manufactured homes. Several factors play into the cost of a home, but if all else is equal, a smaller home costs less than a bigger one. Allowing a smaller house would mean someone who could not have afforded a larger house could now have a place to live.

Between the time the ordinance change was proposed and when it was considered by the county commission Dec. 6, commissioners heard from a number of homeowners who opposed the smaller houses. Those homeowners were concerned that their property values would decrease if a smaller, manufactured home were put in next door.

The commission tabled a decision Dec. 6 to seek more information, but when the question came back up at the Dec. 20 meeting, commissioners let it die without a motion.

Democracy worked the way it’s supposed to: A representative government considered a rule change, the change was publicized, the representatives’ constituents made their opinions known, and the government balanced those opinions and made a decision. The homeowners’ concerns about their property values is legitimate, and the board of commissioners were responding to those concerns when they decided not to change the ordinance. We are not criticizing that specific decision.

But Colquitt County has a housing shortage, especially housing for poor people. Over the years, The Observer has done stories about the issue. Here are a smattering:

• In 2018, the Moultrie City Council approved a stricter building maintenance code to try to ensure renters were not stuck in sub-standard housing. Landlords warned the move could make some of their houses unavailable or the added expense could price them out of the reach of poor people.

• The Sunlight Project examined affordable housing across South Georgia in August 2019. At the time, the Moultrie Housing Authority had 328 housing units; all were booked and had waiting lists, and the waiting list for one-bedroom apartments had been closed because so many people were already on it.

• The State of Georgia directed federal money to helping renters to stay in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. At best the program has been chaotic, and a Moultrie resident shared his frustration in a July 2022 article.

• In October, Colquitt County school officials described their work with homeless students, of which the system has more than 200.

There’s been some positive news too. Just last week, the Moultrie City Council is approving rezoning for two duplexes. In April, the city approved zoning for apartments and a subdivision on Doc Darbyshire Road. Developers are quietly building apartments in Moultrie and subdivisions just outside the city limits.

Allowing smaller homes would have helped a small group of people, and maybe it would have harmed more people than it helped. Maybe the county commission was right. But the city, the county and local residents need to understand that people — even the poorest among us — need a place to live.

To meet those needs, we may have to change some rules.