.NzU3Nw.NzU3Nw

MINUTES HOUSING RESOURCES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE APRIL 6, 1967 Members of the Housing Resources Com1nitte e E x ecutive Group m e t on Thursday, April 6, 1967, at 10:00 a, m. in City Hall. The follow ing members w ere 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 follow ing panels were not represented at the meeting: Land Acquisition Panel Public Housing Panel Mr . Ale x ander revie w ed the general functions of the Housing Resources Committe e and informe d the participants of the Housing Resources Committee Office that had b e en established in th e City Hall. He also advised that Col. Malcolm Jon e s has b e en assigne d to coordinate th e housing program and Mr. William Gates, as consultant on FHA matters, is assisting in th e office one day each week. He announced that 'the City has also just approved a secretarial position for this office to be fill e d as soon as possibl e . Mr. Al exand e r th e n introduced Mr. M. B. Satt e rfi e ld, E x ecutive Dir e ctor of the Atlanta Housing Aut hority, who brie f e d th e group on the public housing program. Mr. S a tterfie ld r e porte d on the numb e r of public housing units at the pr e sent time: 1. Ther e ar e pr e s e ntly 8, 8 74 units w ith virtually no vacancie s . 2. 650 u n its a re unde r con struction a t th e McD a niel Str eet Proj e ct. 3. A bid has b ee n a c ce pte d for 140 unit s ext e nsion to th e P erry H ome s P r oj ect . �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 u s eable . Developers are being encourag e d 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 include: 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 gr o up brie fly r ega rding 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 pointe d out, as Mr. Satterfie ld did, that the main problem he has encountered is in securing suitabl e and avaiiabl e locations for th e se units. He expr e ssed a desir e to see more non-profit spon s or s willing t o c a rry through on a proj e ct to con s truct such hous ing unit s : Col. Malcolm Jones then reviewed with the members of the Committe e the various pieces of informational material made available t o them today a nd brought the s e r e ports up to d a t e on changes that have t a k e n plac e . H e also pointe d o ut th e diffe r ent pr o p ose d proj ec t s on a m a p of the city so the me m b e r s might see the di s tribution of the u n its . The follow ing revisions w ere r e ported in the F e bruary 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 1968 1970 1969 1971 (1550) (316) (257 3) (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 r e asons. This report was to advise the Committee of the situations existing. The Chairman n ext recommende d and reques ted the following to the Committee: It was established for the first Thursday of 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 requested the Legal P ane l to inv es tigate the feasibility of amending and broad ening Federal l egislation concerning financial assistance to home owners in urban renewal and code enforcement areas whose homes are condemned. At pr esent, home owners in urban renewal areas and Federal approved code enforcement areas are th e only persons eligible for such assistance. He feels that such assistance should be city-wide. 4. Mr. Ale xander asked that encouragement be given to neighboring communities to have good Workable Programs. Atlanta 1 s program is in good order but this does not apply to all other communities in Metropolitan Atlanta. 5. He asked the L egal Panel to investigate the State tax law s. He feels the pre sent tax laws are favorable to retention and creation of slums. �r 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 Chamb er of Commerce 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. H owever , it will be some time before this information is complete. 9. He expressed his concern over the difficulties that are b e ing 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 architects familiar with the housing programs. The professional organizations of these 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 developers 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 determine if such codes are practical ai:-i.d feasible. 12. He requested assistance from the Social Problems Panel in providing solutions to the many problems being created in the location of these housing units. 13. There are several areas of the city that have not been touched for additional low cost housing and he feels a much more aggressive program is needed. He referred to such areas as Vine City and Mechanics ville. 14. He asked the members to consider the problem of relocation of people displaced while units are under construction and to come up with some �Page Five workable way to build these 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, ><l .,..--2 -&c--• .; ~ ~---~-. ·_;,- t,..-,~' .--,__,, __, ~ ,,,, /7 /"- ~ " - I (._ •_.e--- . Malcolm D. J' ·q 1:7 Supervisor of inspection Services Director MDJ:fy �