Lifelong residents of a tiny Georgia island who are descended from slaves are pushing to give voters a chance to override local zoning changes that they say threaten one of the last Gullah-Geechee communities in the U.S. South.

Georgia’s population is growing, and that growing population needs housing. A new study by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation says some counties and municipalities some might need to change their zoning to allow for greater housing density.

The sculpture would have been half the size of a football field and some residents interpreted it as "scary" and "nightmarish."

The Historic Preservation Commission says the buildings, including the Campbell funeral parlor that serves Black Savannahians, have "contributing status."

Macon-Bibb Planning & Zoning approved the museum’s amendment that could allow special events in the county’s historic residential districts. 

American suburbs mandated single-family homes generations ago, often to segregate areas by race and class. New laws allow more-affordable options like townhomes but construction so far has been slow.

Local officials say they were led to believe a 100-acre landfill project was a waste-to-energy plant. When prompted, top county leaders issued letters in 2014 and again in 2015 saying a solid waste handling facility would fit with local planning rules — approval county leaders are desperately trying to claw back now.

Buildings are concentrated in places that are likely to be hit by a disaster such as a hurricane, flood or wildfire, researchers found. That includes both urban and rural hotspots.

In many American neighborhoods, it's illegal to build anything other than a single-family home on most lots zoned for residential properties. Take Sandy...

On most residentially-zoned lots in American neighborhoods, it is illegal to build anything other than a single-family home. In Sandy Springs, 85% of...