When Khalilah Few opened her salon, Creative Crowns Collective, in 2023, she didn't think her business savvy would put her at odds with the local government. But two years later, she now finds herself in a legal battle with Clayton County, Georgia.
After outgrowing her original studio space, Few signed a two-year lease for a new salon housed in an old barbershop in Jonesboro, a city in Clayton County, in March. She invested over $30,000 into the property and applied for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in April to open her salon. Despite meeting the legal requirements for a permit, the Clayton County Zoning Advisory Board and the Board of Commissioners denied Few's application in July.
Instead of the law, county officials cited a "saturation" of similar businesses in a 5-mile radius, arguing the salon would not "grow Clayton County smartly." Commissioner DeMont Davis, whose fourth district includes the new location of the salon, even noted that Few's plan "does align" with the county's economic development plan but still voted against it, saying Few's business was "just in the wrong area."
