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EXTRA CT from ATLANTA I S COViMUNITY IMPROVE1"1ENT PROGRAM REPORT SECTION TWO : DE VC:LOPING AN AFFI RMA TIVE Rii;LOCATION PROGRAM

AN AFFIRYIATIVE RELOCATION PROGRAM The fa ctual analysis of r elocat ion housing practices and relocation housing re s our ces a s relat ed to those persons and f~m lies displaced by governmental action presented t hus f ar r esult s in on e unavoidable conclusion: Atlanta does not have the housing r es our ces t o me et the needs of nerso::1s t o be displ a ced bv future governmental action. Before Atlanta can proceed with e:-,,.,-panded code enforcement and urban r enewal activities it must increase its lo·,ri n come hous in~ s t ock . In addit ion, an aff irmative relocation program f or Atlanta must include chanees in orJanization, procedures , and policies .appropriate to the findi ngs of Section One of t his report. Section One shows the need for a definite syst~~ of low-to-moderat e income housing planning which will provide replacement housing at t he time of disolacement. It also reveals the need for overall coordination of community development efforts; better record keeping and data use; improved timing of relocat ion counseling services and survey; improved use ofex:isting r elocation resour ces ; and an improved policy of local initiative in providing l ocal assi stance to displacees when such aid is not available through existing progr ams. The f ollowing recommendations have been devised to meet the needs outlined. T'ney are presented in t wo categories: (1) recommendations of an interim nature f or immediate act ion to alleviate the present low-income housine shortar;e, and (2 ) re commendations on orgnnization, procedure , and policies considered necessary for effe ct ive long ranee r elocation and r elocation housing planning. Recma~cndation 3 That a Housing Resources Bureau be established a s a major division within t he pr oposed Community Development Department r ecommended as a part of th e r e organization pl an of the "Government of the Ci t y of Atlanta - A Survey Report" by t he Public Administration Servi ce •

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i: •;: ~:: + • :· . :~ .. . . ' .. �- - ------ C 2 It is the intent of t his re commendation that "Hous ing Plannine" be elevated to a posi tion never before a chieved i n Atlant a a s a highly technical entity with its own staff. Responsibili ty would be broadly bas ed and not narrowly confined to urban renewal obj ect ives. The major activity would be the plannine of housine resources t hrough research for all t ypes of displa cement and relocation needs; therefore, t his new t e chnical division could be called - for lack of a better name - "Housing Resources Bureau". The proposed Housing Resources Bureau shoul d have as its hea d an as s istant to the Community Development Department Director. It should be staffed with capable, inf ormed economic analysts and planner~ with demonstrated knowledge of t he housing i ndustry~ the community, and t he local housing market. This new governmental agency would have the following responsibilities: A. Research Maintain a continuous inventory of hous ing in the City of Atlanta by size of unit, whet her f or sale or rent, condition of unit, type of unit compared to signi fi cant rent/cost ranges, and specific location. In addition, the Housing Resources Bureau would retain sufficient data on the characteristics of t he low- income t o moder at e-income population and their housing locations and needs as ne cessary for a continual assessment of market potential. Although costly, t he r etention of such housing and population data would be an extremely valuable planning t ool f or both public and privat e interests . Futher more , thi s fun ction is seen as t he only pra ctical way definitive "client analyses" can be achieved to obtain the best pos sibl e housing balance in the area or to plan for maintaining that balance with t he cr iteria a ttached to the various exi s ting and proposed housine assistance progr ams . The Housing Resources Bureau would i dentify t he potential of us e of housing assis tance proerams in advance of all governmental community redevelopment projects. Th.rough cooperat i on with the appropriate agencies t he 11·Bureau 11 would program and initiate l oan, gr ant, or unit r es ervat i ons f or housing assistance at a time sufficient to assure such housing f acilities are "on t he ground" at the time people are displ aced by governmental projects . B. Public Inf ormation Periodically, r eports would be issued and di stributed t o realtors, devel- opers., banks, and concerned publi c or privat e agencies . These reports would i ndi cate existing housing imbalances determined by comparing the characteristics of the eY.is tine hous:in[.{ stock t otbe changine character of area ecomomy and population . .. �- - -- - - - - - ~-- - . J C. Technical Assistance The Bureau would be responsi bl e f or providing designated city agencies with inf ormati on on housing and populat i on chara cteri s tics necessary t o the major report f orms re quired in the administration of t heir programs with the Federal Government (Workable Proer am f orms , Survey and Planning Applications for urban renewal, public housing r eservation inf or mat ion, etc.). Such infor mati on would be of a desi gnated f ormat confined ; to housing and tenant character isti cs and provided at designated intervals. This responsibility would provide i mportant consistency and, hopefully , improve understanding and a ccuracy of su ch data. The Housing Resources Bureau would purposef ully solicit and encourage a s s is tance and support f rom area r ealt ors , developers, and the like, by offering special s ervices in defining and describing special housing market needs, and, where appropr i ate, applying information on the potential use of governmental assistance programs for low-to moderate-income housing markets.

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