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r .HOUSING RESOURCES COMMITTEE Minutes December 12, 1S68 The Second Annual Meeting of t he Housing Resources Committee was held on Thursday, December 12, ~963, in Committee Room 2, Second Floor, City Hall to review and discuss the work of the Committee in the low-income housing program during the past two years. November 15 mad;:ed the completion of the second year stnce the Mayor established the Housing Resources Committee on November 15, 1966, in his co·nference on Housing. Copies of invitational notice, list of those invited, with attendance indicated, and other related documents are attached to the file copy of these minutes only. Chairman Alexander opened the meeting at 10:30 a.m. and called on Alderman Cotsa k is for a statement which he had asked to make. Mr. Cots akis commented on revision of the Building Codes for the City of Atlanta, particularly to allow experimental housing to be built in the Model Cities area. He said that if any one had any chnges of the Building Codes which they desired be made, that they should bring proposals for specific changes to the attention of the Building Committee. Mr. Alexander then called on Malcolm Jones to eemment en the aoeomplisbments of the Housing R~sources Committee. Mr. Jones said that November 15, 1968, ma7ked the completion ef the first two years' activity of tbe Housing Resources Committee in i ts effort to promote and accelerftte the Low•income Housing Progrem in Atlanta, for which the goal was 16 1 800 low and medium income housing units during a five year period (1967-71), announced by the Mayor in his Housing Conference eGtablishing the HRC on November 15, 1966 . He then stated that tho ftwo. yQar goal is now in the pipeline and that the current status of the low and medium income housing Pl!'Ogrem shows : Completed Under Construction In Planning In Sight 3 1 217 units 6,278 units 7 1 337 units t8",2ffi units Total This slightly exceeds (by 32 units) the 5 year geal of 16,800 units and is only 305 units short. in the first two categories, of the aoticipated need for g,ooo units during the first two years of the program. �• He also stated that the Housing Resources Committee has accomplished: 1. Promotion of low and medium income housing and coordination of efforts in this field. 2. Establishment of the Greater Atlanta Housing Development Corporation ·to assist local nonprofit housing corporations. 3. Acceptance by the Federal Government of use of prefabricated re l ocateable units as temporary relocation housing. 4. Expansion of the base f or Federal Grants and direct Loans, now authorized in the 1968 I-Iousing Act. 5. Urged early a doption by the City o f mi niature Urban Re newal projec ts , t o c l e ar s lums, under the new l y adopted Neighborhood Development Progra m author i zed by the 196 8 Housing Act. 6. Urged revision of previous conventional pl3nning concepts in an e ff ort t o get certain areas rezoned to permit i mprovement o f such areas f or residontial use. 7. Urged the di~persal o f future Public Housing in small developments on scat t ered sites. 8. Creation of interest in the l ow-income housing program by nonprofit organizations and f ormation of several such organizations. 9. Served as~ catalyst in neighborhood interest for improvement of Vine City through Urb~n nenewal. 10 . Propo sed and obtained concurrence o f the Board of Education to draft legislation t o authorize developers to build schoo ls simultaneous with development of housing projects, except in Urban Renewal areas. 11. Participa ted in Atlanta Conference on Equal Opportunity in Housing . 12. Worked with Model Cities ' staff in establishing its reh~bilitation program and in site selection for experimental housing. 13. ~ointed out to City officials the necessity for the principle that site selection for low-income housing should include a planning function and responsibility. �• Page 3 Mr. Jones then stated the six requests which were made to the Planning and Development Committee and the Zoning Committee in Special Meeting on August 2, 1968: 1. Asked the Mayor to designate either an existing committee or appoint a new committee of the Board of Aldermen to assume a responsibility in the field of low-income housing. 2. Revision of the Building Codes for.the City of Atlanta, particularly to allow experimental housing to be built in the Model Cities area. ..... Revision of the Ordinance governing non-conforming use of land to allow structural changes in improving dwel l ing units to meet requirements of the Bousilg Code. 4. Accelerate the urban renewal program p articularly in the Nash-Bans, Vine Ci ty, and other areas outside the Mode l Ci ties area. q 5. Authorize the Atlanta h ousing Authority to request 2,00 0 additional units of p ublic housing. 6. Adop tion o f a revised district zoning map based on the new La n d Us e map t o i nc l ude adequate areas f or l ow-income hous ing. Mr. Jones then pointed out r e su l ts to date of the above indica ted req u ests. Mr . Alexa nd er t hen c a l l ed on Mr . w. w. Ga t es , Consultant to the Comm i t t e e , to d i scuss the Impl ica tions of the 1 968 Housing Act. Mr . Gat es o p ened b y st a ting t h at the Na tional Housing Ac t was pass e d b y Co ngress on Aug u st 1 , 1965 , that t he legisl a t i o n provides t he too ls J iincentiv e s and s ucces s in mee ting t he n a t i o n~l objec tive will l ar ge depend o n : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Sponsor interest Av ai l ab i lit y o f la nd at a rea s o nable p rice The mo rtgage mo ne y marlrnt Municipal coo peration Fundin~ by the Congress in 1969 Building code and zoning restrictions Mr. Gates then discussed four sections of the Act: Section 238, Section 231, Section 236 and Section 235. Section 2 38: Establishes a new Special Risk Insurance Fund which permits the Federal Housing Administration to assume / �Page 4 higher mortgage insurance risks in connection with both l ocation and credit charachteristics that were unacceptable under the mutual mortgage insurance fund. Section 237 : Provides , on an experimental basis, FHA mortgage insurance to finance home ow nership f or low income families who would not q ualify under normal credit standards. Section 236 : The tenant under this program will pay 25% of his famil; c income and ~i!D will pay the difference between the amount co l lected and the amount of the rent. Limited to families whose incomes are not in excess of 135% of initial admission levels of public housing. Section 235 : This section places heavy emphasis on home ownership and provides that if the purchaser of a new home or a living unit in a condomimium will pay at least 20% of the family's income and 9UD will pay the balance of the monthly mortgage payments. Mr. Gates closed his discussion by stating that "The impact of this bill on housing shou ld be tremendous. The tools are available as never before ." Mr. Alexander then discussed Future Direction of the Committee. He said that the Committee requests that the May or and Board of Aldermen give consideration to these proposals and advise us accordingly in a revised statement of mission for the Committee: 1. All bodies concerned with housing review the present and continuing need for low income housing. 2. Eliminate existing slums and provide housing as needed in the area for those who wish to remain there. 3. Place housing near jobs and public facilities in the City of Atlanta and throughout the metropolitan area. 4. Continue efforts to promote innovative low-income housing construction in Atlanta. 5. Continue to aid efforts to eliminate social problems connected with housing. 6. Further involve the business community in the housing program. 7. Assist nonprofit groups and developers in their efforts to obtain land and construct housing. �I Page 5 8. Promo te and explain the new general housing act and the fair housing act . 9. Cons ider national and l ocal l 0gisla ti on usefull to the h o using p rogram. 10. Assist in the stEbilization o°f existing neighborh oods and encourage the construction of middle and upper inc ome residenti al developments in the City o f Atl~nta. 11. Att e mpt t o involve persons in the s lums in the business s ide o f demolit i on, r ehabilitati on or erecting new u n its . 12 . Cont i nue efforts t o sell the need f o r l ow-income h o using to the p eople of metrop ol itan Atlanta . Mr . Alexander then discussed Unfinished 3usineas. Some o f the p h a ses o f tha initia l pr o g ram which are no t fi n is hed are : / / 1. Completion o f pr o jects now in pla nn ing. 2. Legislatio n pending that will allow the ci ty t o lease schools t o be built by develo p ers simultaneously with housing pro jec ts , except in urba n r enewal are as . 3. Invest i gation of pr o blem~ relating to cod e restrictions o f innov ative buildi ng . 4. Activati on o f Board f or the Great er Atlanta Ho using Development Corporatio n . 5. Obtaining of additiona l sites in areas where low-income housing is needed . Mr . Alexander made a closing statement thanking the staff , members o f the committee , Federal Agencies, Atlanta Housing Autho rity , Planning Department , Building Department , Public Works Department , members o f the Board o f Aldermen, Mayor Allen a nd the members of the Press, Radio and TV Organizations for their cooperation and assistance . Mr. Al exander then called on Mr . Charles F . Palmer , member of the Public a ousing P~nel of the Committee, to discuss a Resolution the Pa nel had prepared. Mr. Palmer stated that the only logical conclusion reached is that (1) subsidized housing must be fairly distriduted throughout the city a nd, (2 ) that the only politically feasible way to do this is by a "pac kage deal" simultaneously presented to Council by the Mayor and Atlanta Housing Authority with �Page 6 overwhelming community support. He stated that the opion of the sub-committee is that it is not too late to resubmit those rejected zoning applications through the "package plan" on a simultaneous basis to meet the city's needs for subsidized .housing and that the Mayor, the Board of Aldermen and the Atlanta Housing Authority should proceed to do so forthwith. · Mr. Palmer then stated that if the same energy, zeal and leadership of our "power -structure" and city officials that was mobilized to build our dazzling stadium, luxury apartments and magnificent hotels and office buildings in our urban redevelopment areas had been app lied to providing subsidized housing for those who were bu l ldozed out of slums to make room for these majestic structures, the goal of pub lic housing which our Mayor proclaimed so long ago would now be nearly reached. Then, as spok esman for the Ch airman of the Sub-Committee on Public Housing and on the sub-committee's behalf, moved that our full Committee does now reaffirm its position on "package rezon i ng", and calls upon its fel l ow organizations of the City and those responsible f~r its implementation to cooperate to put it into effect. The Resolution was duel seconded and the Chairman called for discussion. Mr . Al e xa nder then suggest ed that s i nc e t h is was included in the requests made on Augusut 2, 1 968, to the Zoning Committee and the Planning and Development Committee of the Boa r d o f hldermen a nd had been r e f erred to t he Planning Depar t ment , the Committ e e should f irst a ddress t he Pl a nn i ng Department a s to curr ent s t a tus of t he proposa l. Mr . Palmer dec lined the sugge st ion and asl~ed f o r a formal vote on the motion to a dopt t he Res o lution . It was ad opted unani mous ly . Mr • .Alexander then s howed the Commit tee slides that were taken of the slums as they exist today in certain areas of the City , particularly Lightening , and as a contrast the new low-income replacement housing devel opments such as : Wheat Street Gardens, College Plaza, Allen Temple, McDaniel Street apartments for the Elderly, Hollywood Road Project, Bankhead Highway, Friedship Gardens, 'fhom~sville U. R. Project and the London Towne Houses. Mr. William Howland then commented on the f ive houses in Linwood Park which have been rehabilit11 t od by \..ACOR under the 221 (h) progr~m. The Chairm~n then called on Mr. Dan Sweat, Director of Governmental Liaison, for comments. �Page 7 Mr, Sweat stated that the statistics released by Col. Jones and the CommitteG were impressive and that the influence of the Committee's success was not confined to Atlanta's housing program alone but has also been f~lt at the national level and that housing experts from over the country have commented on the Atlanta approach and on the excellent program of the Housing Resources Committee. He stated that hio :f..:- olini; is that the story behind the statistics is where the real meaning of this Committee and the Housing Pr ogram is to be found. He said that the work of the Committee has made 211 the city aware of the desperate need for decent housing for the less fortunate, less affluent citizens of At l anta; that it has helped bridge the gap of credit~bility bet ween the City - the institution - the power structure and a very large and important segment of our com~unity, and most important, this p rogram started the Ci t y out on a new direction so long needed. He stated that the Al dermen understood this need when they refused to p ass Urban Renewal Survey and PlanniQs applications until the housing relocation needs were met. The Mayor realized the need when he cal l ed the Hous i n g Conference and established this committee and it was obvious that the private business leadership recognized it when, the members of the Housing Resources Committee, responded as has been done. ,r .I 1 ., Mr. Sweat then pointed out that t he resultant changes are re f lected in a report given by n o ward Op enshaw, Director of Redevelopment of the Housing huthority, at the last CACUR meeting. Mr. Openshaw pointed out that o f the 10,033 units begun in urban renew~l projects i n 1968 , 884 un its have been completed which is 21 times the number of housing completed the previous year in urban renewal areas. During the sane period, o nly 484 ,units were demolished in urban renewal areas. So, for the first .time in the history of Atla n ta 's urban r enewal pr o gram, more housing units were compl e ted in urban renew~l areas than were demolished. Mr . Sweet concluded by saying, "We have finally turned the corner in our urban redevelopment pr o gram and are headed in a new direction so l ong s ought ." Mr. Archer D . Smith , IIX , Chairman of the Legal Panel , made a warning statement that we · are deluding o urselves if we take the figur~s presented end quit working; that we have got to be realistic and get behind the pa c ka ge zoning p lan . Upon inquiry from the Chairman, Mr. J ones confirmed that sites for all of the 7,337 units shown as In Pla nning, have not yet been rezoned. �Page 8 In reference t o the figures pertaining to Public Housing, contained in the Summary of Status Repor t (Encl. 2, Second Annual Report), attention is called to the fact that although the 5,476 units shown as Completed, Under Construction and In Planning categories, fall short by 4,100 units of the 5 year · goal, it is however within 110 units of the 2 year goal of 5,586 Public Housing units announced . in the Mayor's Housing Conference, November 15, 1966. The meeting adjourned 11:30 •~e. Respectfully submitted, P·~ 11 ~~ .) '~ d,.1' t / 1/kl.( ~ . i'.A5vQ/ Malcolm D. n Housing Coordi ator MC Encls: Resolu ti on b y :?ublic Housing Sub-Committee · Article, ., tl ant a Constit u t ion, December 13, 1968 Editorial, Atlanta Journal, December 14, 1968 Editorial, Atlanta Consti t ution, December 16, 1968 An Official Opinion of WSB-Radio/At lanta, Dec. 22, 1968 Edi t orial, WSB- 'l'V, January 1969. Edi t oria l , WSB- TV, January 3, 196 9 2, �