MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — Monroe County Commissioner George Emami plans to have 20 tiny homes built on Smith Road.
"There's nowhere to rent in Forsyth," Monroe County resident Joel Harbin said.
Which is why Harbin, a Forsyth native, purchased a tiny home.
"I happened to come across this house and was able to buy it and figure all the logistics out for that, so it was really kind of a life saver for me," Harbin said.
He says his tiny home was the more affordable option, but in Monroe County none of them are available to rent out.
"Monroe County has a terrible deficiency of rental property," Emami said.
This is why he says he would like to have twenty luxury tiny homes built on Smith road, available for people to rent.
"They're going to be built with the same quality materials that you might see in a $400,000 to $500,000 house, just on a small scale," Emami said.
Emami owns the land, and all homes would be managed by his relator company, The Brokery.
He says the company will be in charge of the house upkeep and maintenance.
"It'd be really cool to create a community where people who are into the tiny home thing, could live together and enjoy one another's company," he said.
Kathy Sheets moved to Monroe County in April and says she and her husband originally had some concerns about Emami's idea.
"When we first heard about George's plan, we thought it might change some type of zoning that would allow cookie cutter subdivisions," Sheets said.
Sheets also says they thought the tiny homes were available for anyone to rent night by night.
Since Emami owns the land that the tiny homes will be built on, this will be residential zoning and not a subdivision.
Emami says these homes will be available to rent long term.
"I think after hearing more of his vision and his plan, I think I'm okay with it. It's his land, if that works for him, let him do it," Sheets said.
On December 28, the city will decide whether or not to move forward with this plan.