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MINUTES / HOUSING RESOURCES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE APRIL 6, 1967 Members of the Housing Resources Committee Executive Group met on Thursday, April 6, 1967, at 10:00 a. m. in City Hall. The following members were present: Mr. Cecil A. Alexander, _Chairman Mr. Lee Burge, Finance Panel Mrs. Sujette Crank, Social Problems Panel Mr. Virgil Milton, Business Participation Panel Mr. Ray Moore, Public Information Panel Mr. Moreland Smith, Construction and Design Panel Mr. Charles L. Weltner, Legal Panel Mr. John Wilson, Non-Profit Funds Panel The following panels were not represented at the meeting: Land Acquisition Panel Public Housing Panel Mr. Alexander reviewed the general functions of the Housing Resources Committee and informed the participants of the Housing Resources Committee Offic e that had been established in the City Hall. He also advised that Col. Malcolm Jones has been assigned to coordinate the housing program and Mr. William Gates, as consultant 6n FHA matters, is assisting in the office one day each week. He announced that the City has also just approved a secretarial position for this office to be filled as soon as possible. Mr. Alexander then introduced Mr. M. B. Satterfield, E x ecutive Director of the Atlanta Housing Authority, who briefed the group on the public housing program. Mr. Satterfield report e d on the number of public housing units at the present time: 1. There ar e presently 8,874 units with virtually no vacancies. 2. 650 units are under construction at the McDaniel Stre e t Proj ec t . 3. A bid has b een accepted for 14 0 units extension to the Perry Homes Project. �Page Two 4. 350 units in the design stage have been submitted to the Federal Housing Administration for review. The Housing Authority expects to let bids on these units this summer. 5. 140 units are under lease under the leasing program. He pointed out these different projects on a city map to give the Committee members an idea of the location of this . housing. He stated that some concern has been expressed for the need of public housing in the eastern quadrant of the city and explained that the main difficulty is in securing any open land in this area that would be useable. Developers are being encouraged to consider this section of the city. He explained that the Atlanta Housing Authority presently has 4, 200 units reserved (allocated) by the Federal Government. He then reviewed the different programs available in providing this lowincome housing. These includ e : 1. Direct construction by the Housing Authority and the Turnkey Program. 2. Purchase and rehabilitation of older and existing houses. 3. Leasing by the Housing Authority of standard dwellings. At this point Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. spoke to the group briefly regarding the housing program. He said that he was greatly impressed with the interest being shown in efforts to get more low-income housing underway in the city. He pointed out, as Mr. Satterfield did, that the main problem he has encountered is in securing suitable and available locations for these units. He expressed a desire to see more non-profit sponsors willing to carry through on a project to construct such housing units. Col. Malcolm Jones then revi ewe d with the members of the Committee the various pieces of informational material made available to them today and brought these reports up to date on changes that have taken place. _ He also pointed out the different proposed projects on a map of the city so the members might see th e distribution of the units. The following revisions were reported in the February 20, 1967, report: �Page Three No. Units 1967 Firm 3092 (1226) Probable 4685 Total 7777 Categor1y Under Consideration 3405 Doubtful 2968 Total (1226) Estimate When Available 1970 1968 1969 1971 ( 1550) (316) (2573) (912) (500) (700) (4123) (1228) (500) (700) 14, 150 ·Col. Jones also distributed a report concerning the problem areas of the program. Currently there are 4, 900 units in all categories which are facing serious difficulties for various reasons. This report was to advise the Committee of the situations ex is ting. The Chairman next recommended and requested the following to the Committee: 1. A monthly meeting date. the month at 10:00 a. m. 2. He requested all panels to submit the names of their Chairmen and Vice Chairmen as soon as possible. 3. He reques ted th e Legal Panel to investigate th e feasibility of amending and broadening F ederal l egislati on concerning financial assistance to home owners in urban renewal and cod e enforcement areas whose homes are cond emned. At pres ent, home owners in urb an ren ewal areas and Federal approved code enforcement areas are the only persons eligible for such assistance. He feels that such assistance should be city-wide. 4. Mr. Al exander asked that encouragement be given to neighboring commw1ities to have good Workable Programs. Atlanta's program is in good order but this does not apply to all other communities in Metropolitan Atlanta. 5. He asked the Legal Panel to investigate the State t ax laws. He feels the present tax laws are favorable to retention and creation of slums. It was established for the first Thursday of �Page Four 6. He announced that the Finance and Non-Profit Panels have been combined. 7. He advised that he and Mr. Lee Burge are looking into the need for formation of a Housing Development Corporation. Suggestion was made that the Chamber of C ommerce be asked to look into the matter and to assist. 8. At the present time he is trying to. get some information from the City Planning Department regarding the available land in the city. However, it will be some time before this information is complete. 9. He expressed his concern over the difficulties that are being encountered in securing approval of sites. This is caused by various reasons, as indicated in the special report distributed by Col. Jones. He feels that this is becoming a very serious problem and that something must be done as soon as possible to try to provide solutions to these :problems. 10. The Committee and office staff have been approached many times by developers requesting that they refer them to lawyers and archite cts familiar with the housing programs. The professional organizations of thes e groups have been asked to supply the Housing Resources Office with a list of those persons familiar with and interested in this field and these lists will be furnished the develop e rs upon request. 11. He recommended to the Construction Panel that they take under advisement the, various codes of the City of Atlanta and other agencies to det ermine if such codes are practical and feasible. 12. He requested assistance from the Social Pr oblems Panel in providing solutions to the many problems being created in the location of these housing units. 13. There are s eve ral areas of the city that have not been touched for additional low cost housing and he feels a much more aggr e ssive program is n ee ded. He referred to such areas as Vine City and Mechanicsville. 14. He asked th e members to consider the problem of r e location of p eople displaced w hil e units are under construction and to come up w ith some �Page Five workable way to build thes e units without completely disrupting the neighborhood. 15. He proposed that a task force be set up in the areas of prime consideration to improve communications with the residents. After a short discussion period the meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a. m. Respectfully submitted, ~~- d}e-cL !-~~ , ·,: ,--; ........ ~ ,,.,,,. -. -·;.""'~~· ' ' Malcolm D. Jone Supervisor of ii<s'pection Services Director MDJ:fy �