Bull and other streets are lined with vending boxes, sometimes twelve in a row, blocking pedestrians on public property. Savannah should regulate them as other cities have done. We have a law, erratically enforced, that requires parking lots to be screened with fences, a wall or plantings. Cafes that block the public right of way should be regulated. The zoning board too often grants variances for parking requirements.
Suburbs have strictly residential zones.
The historic district should also have protected residential zones. Instead of promoting the rental of the squares, which encourages an invasion of catering trucks, amplified music and large numbers of strangers, the city should restrict organized activities in residential squares. We have a great city preservation officer, Beth Reiter, but the historic review board needs a larger staff that can spend more time working with petitioners and stopping unauthorized work. Rising property taxes threaten the balance between residential and commercial use in the historic district. As taxes rise, many homeowners will be obliged to leave.