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lrlHl[E IR fE lf\J [ \/V [E R NE V..- SLETTER OF THE C I TIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR URBA N R E NEV.; AL Vol. 5 No. 7 Atla n t a, Georgia July 1967 DEAR TH OF LAND ZONED FOR A P ARTMENTS BIGGEST HO USI NG HEADACHE, ALEXANDER TELLS COMMITTEE By comparison wi t h "vhat is required for Atlar..~2.' s five year housing endeavor, only a minuscule quantity of land z oned for apartments is available, Cecil Alexander, housing resources committee chairman, reported to our executive committee July 19. Said Mr. Alexander : "Vac a nt l and now zoned for apartments totals 482 acres, but of this total 125 a c res i s committed for low income housing and. 122 acres has been turned down as unsuita ble . Another 31 acres have been planned for other purposes. That leaves 204 acre s , bu t u sually only one-third of the acreage turns out to be suitable, so that mean s only 68 a cres are available for the housing program. It is estimated that a total of 1, 565 acres are actually needed, so with only 68 acres available, it makes a bleak pictur e ." M r. Alexander also pointed out that while most Atlantans regard F ive Poi nts a s t he center of the city, that is not geographically accurate. He adde d that onl y 18 of t h e available 68 acres are located east of Five Points. He stressed t h e p o i nt that h ousing needs reach out beyond the city limits to present a truly m etro a rea problem. Said he: "The acreage of open land is much larger in the west and n o rthw est sections of the city. When you try to go east you run up against DeKalb C ounty, which h as no workable program. Housing is now a metropolitan problem. T o be r e a listic, we are going to need something like 4, 500 acres zoned for apartm ents. V: e mu st come up with an over all plan to distribute this as widely as p os s i ble. " By contrast with the bleakness of the available land picture, Mr . Alex and e r report ed encouraging figures in firm and probable commitments for hou s i n g u nits . He listed 5, 244 as firm, 2, 965 as probable, The combined total of 8, 209 comes t o almost half the five year goal of 16, 800. In addition, 8, 000 units are being considere d , w i t h 2, 830 more regarded as doubtful. The grand total of more than 19 ,000 r epresent s about 95 per cent of what is in sight at present, Mr. Alexander estima t e d . Sumrr:. e d up the speaker: " V.;e must have a realistic determination to build housing i n quantity to develop a market for it. We need a new zoning ordinance quickly o r ~evel ope rs and non-profit groups will become discouraied and go to other cities . " Mr. Alexander also called the committee 1 s attention to a new departure i11. housing being carried out by National Homes in the Thomasville project area where some modification of code re gulations is bein 6 tried. He cited this experiment, after pointinJ out t hat code enforcement can cause hardships to home owners outside urban renewal projects. Su c h owners cannot obtain the low interest loans for rehabilitation which are availa ble i n s ide urban renewal areas. HOUSING PICTURE NOT ALL GLOOM:Y, TOTAL OF FIRM AND PROBABLE COMi.VU:TMENTS SHO\VS Followin g M r • .Alexander's talk, Executive Committeeman Edgar Schukraft pointed to the example of Minneapolis as having built housing throu 6 hout the city. Said he : "Ne groes and poor people should not be shoved off in one o.irection. We must look ten years ahead . At lanta is supposed to be a new city, but it will be a city without understanding u nl e ss all of us r ealize that Negroes and poor people are the entire city's respons i bility." Executive Committeeman John V ilson made the point that an overall plan is ess e ntial. Alderman John Flanigen, chairman of the aldermanic zoning comffiittee , expr e s s e d hearty support of Mr. Alexander's call for an updated zonin6 ordinance. Said he , "In connection with what Mr. Alexander has said, the first thing I said to Mayo r Allen was that we need a new zoning ordinance. I uon't want to hire an outside group of consultants. I'd like to see a committee of local men s tudy the zoning ordinance a nd r e vi s e i t ." Then speaking of the scarcity of land in the eastern section of the city, Mr . F l a ni 6 en s aid the situation there was almost as crit ical as it has been in Buttermilk Bot t oms , w ith r e gard to relocation of people in new housing. Sa id he: " There just isn' t any vacant l a nd wher e h ousing can be put to take care of people who must be relocated. ;i Commen tin3 on M r . F lanigen' s r emarks, said C ha.ir m a n Somm erville: "From what / .- lderman F l a nig e n h a s said, i t is indicated that this committee or its successor will have to be in bu s i n e ss fo r a long tim e ." �-2PORTABLE HOUSING ON TEMPORAR Y BASIS IS SEEN AS NEW RELOCATION EXPER I MENT The Atlanta Housin 6 Authority is asking federal approval of a plan to provide portable h ous ing for temporar y relocation use, Lester H. Persells, AHA redevelopment director , e xplained to our executi ve committee. Said he: " We have some reason to believe that t he f ederal government will 6 0 along with our plan to put portable housing on vacant land on a temporary basis. For example, 100 to 150 families could be relocated in thi s kind of housing for a year or a year and a half while permanent housing is being constructed. Thi s is an experimental approach and could be used in the Bedford .. P ine area. 11 Commenting on Mr. Per sells' remarks, Chairman Sommerville said our com rr, ittee was keenly interested in s uch use of portable housing and would like to be kept fully informed of any further developments. FOUR GEORGIANS BEGIN YEAR'S TRAINING AS U. R. INTERNS .FOR HQlJSING AUTHORITY Special ~uests at the July 19 meeting were four young men who are be ginning a year's training i n urban renewal as inte·rns with the Atlanta Housing Authority. At the end o f their cour se of paid t r aining, they may become staff members or go to positions elsewh ere. AU four a r e Georgians . Following are brief biographies: .JAMES P . BI NG, born in Waycross, graduated from Center High School here, then majored in Social Science at Morris Brown Colle 6 e, from \,vhich he was graduated last May 31: DARRYL R. CHANEY, Atlanta born, after being graduated from Hapeville High School, a ttended West Georgia College, then transferred to Georgia State College, fr-om which he v,ill receive his BBA August 17; CURTIS PARRISH, born in Waycross, a graduate of Center High Sch ool, then attended Morris Brown College, after completing his unde rg raduate work there, worked a year as social teacher and football coach at Dr e x el C a tholic Hi gh School, Atlanta; SHELLEY B. STANLEY, born in Dubli n , after graduation from Mathar Academy, Camden, S. C., attended Daniel Payne College in Birmingham, Ala. two years and then finished his college education at Paul Quinn C olle _Je in V. a co, Texas, from which he received a B. S. in Social Science. Updated from the original 1958 version, the city's land use plan now provid e s i nformation for projections up to 1983, Collier Gladin, city planning engineer, explained t o the exe c utive committee July 19. He pointed out that the land use plan is part of th e c ity' s comprehensive plan, which also embraces thoroughfares, community facilities and public improveme nts. Sa id he: "Under the 1962 feder a l highway act, the governments of the m etro area and the City of .A tlanta must come up with a tho r oughfare plan fo r the five county area. This plan has to be approved by the Federal Bu reau of Public Roads befor e highway funds can be released. · 1 He showed that with data furni s h ed by the land use and thoroughfare plans projections c a n be made on populatio n , growth, h ousing needs and many other points up until the yea r 1983, when the Atlanta Metro area is schedule d t o h a v e 2,000, 000 population. Mr. Gladin illu s trate d his explanatory talk with slides of maps showing residential, business and industrial use s and a l s o showing improvement treatment. He pointed out that the CIP had provided data on vac a nt l a nd and other land that is not fully in use . Mr. Gladin further explained that t h e land us e pla n ha s been r e viewed by the Board of Aldermen and the aldermanic planning a nd d e v e lopme nt committee. As the pla n prog re s ses, it will continue to be re view e d . In a n s w e r to a question from Executive Committee Member Grac e Hamilton, Mr. Gladin said that final approval was up to the aldermanic board. In a discussion following Mr. Gladin' s remarks, Executive Committee Member Rich inquired what wou l d be cione w ith the plan. Chairman Somm erville replie d that the plan's future depended upo n a p olitic a l d e cis ion. E x ecutive Committe e M e mber T. M, Alexander, Sr., emphasi zed that c oor dina tion a mong city d e p a rtme nts will be a major factor in putting the plan to use . NEW LAND PLAN INCLUDES DATA TO MEET NEEDS U NTIL 1983, P LANNER GLADIN EXPLAINS F igures compile d by the Atlanta Housing Authority ,. dis clo se tha t 764 p ers ons participated in our urban renewal tours so far in 19 67 as c ompare d w i th 8 5 0 fo r a ll of 1967, Chairman Sommerville informed the execu tive c o mmittee . Sai d he: 11 T h e tou rs have exposed a lot of people to both the good a nd the b a d a nd ha ve p r oved ve ry worth while . They also cause a financial problem for the com mittee. 11 HALF YEAR SHOWS BOOM INJlE NEWAL TOURS COLLEGE TEACHERS HAIL EDUCATIONAL VA LUE �Mr. Somrr;e:r ville explained tHat ou~ corrttnit~~e' s poi!cy is to finance tours only for groups or organizations that do not have resources for such purposes. Executive Director Howland expressed our committee's thanks to Mrs. Margret Ross and her associates at the Atlanta Housing Authority for helping to conduct the tours. Illustrating the value of such first hand exposure to urban renewal, Mr. Sommerville read a letter from Dr. Beate Bandy of the Georgia State College faculty which thanked us for arrangin 6 a tour July 13 for two of her classes. Wrote Dr. Bandy: Sin ce you took us on the tour of the Atlanta Urban Renewal Areas we have had two very lively class ses sions. Most of my students know social problems of this magnitude only from books; a realistic demonstration like this can make the points better than any combination of classroom instruction and reading. I want you to know how much my students and I appreciate the time and effort you spent on us, and also, that this time and effort is put to very good use, :, 11 Warm appreciation of a tour conducted June 22 for teachers of disadvantaged youth attending a NDEA institute at Emory University also was expressed by Dr. Dora Helen Skype k, . institute director. Wrote Dr. Skypek, "The tour was the highlight of the first week of our program. It was enlightening and enjorable not only for the 18 teachers from New York, Detroit, Denver, Seattle, Spokane, Milwaukee and urban areas in California, Illinois and the Southeast, but also for the 19 teachers and staff members who live in Atlanta. Some preconceptions were shattered and limited information had to be revised. Emphasis on the rehabilitation aspect of urban renewal was a worthy prelude to our required reading of H. Gans' 1 The Urban Villagers I and related sociological readings. 11 EX-SENATOR DOUGLAS AND HIS COMMISSION ARE SHOWN HIGHLIGHTS OF ATLANTA RENEWAL At the request of the National Commission on Urban Problems, a special tour of Atlanta urban renewal projects and the model city target area was arranged by our committee July 20. Headed by Chairman Paul Douglas, former U.S. Senator from Illinois, the commission members who were in Atlanta for hearings July 21 , viewed Buttermilk Bottoms, Bedford-Pine, Butler Street, model city, part of West End and University Center areas. High point of the tour was a stop at the Antoine Graves housing for the elderly; Commission members visited a number of apartments and expressed themselves as much impressed by what they saw. Tour conductors were Director Howland and Mrs. Margret Ross, Atlanta Housing Authority information officer. At the hearing next day, Director Howland made a brief appearance as a witness to tell how our committee had helped obtain active citizen participation and thereby obtained a cooperative attitude in Bedford-Pine planning. Mr. Howland also expressed our committee's endorsement of the Housing Authority's plan to try temporary housing as an experiment to relocate people while new permanent housing is under construction. On behalf of our committee, Chairman Sommerville July 6 expressed congratulations to the Celotex Corporation upon being selected as developer of 208 units of housing in the University Center project. Chairman Sommerville.spoke at the c ontract signing July 6. Also representing our committee were T. M. Alexander, Sr. , chairman of our s pecial subcommittee to review redevelopment proposals, and Director Howland. Said Mr. Sommer ville: 11 This is a splendid indication of the blending of private enterprise and public service. The quality of thi.s proposal assures us that we will not be building a future slum. I heartily congratulate the Celotex Corporation and welc ome it to this first venture in the field of low and moderate income housing. What has impressed me about all the development proposals is their excellence. Representing Mayor Allen was Dan E. Sweat, Jr. , dir ector of governmental lia i son for the city. Saying he p ers onally w as " exc ite d a nd pleased with the selection", Mr. Sweat read a statement from Mayor Allen. "I warmly congratulate the Celotex Corporation", stated Mayor Allen. This marks an important new step toward meeting Atlanta ' s housing needs in that one of the largest building materials manufacturers is entering this field for the first tim e . In so doing, C elotex is d e monstrating a very high sense of public responsibility. I would also like to e xpress my a ppre ciation of the excelle n ce of a ll se ve n propo sal s submitted. 11 CHAIRMAN ACCLAIMS SELECTION OF CELOTEX AS 11 SPLENDID PRIVATE .P: ND PUBLIC BLENDING; 1 THE NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE IN SEPTEMBER-NONE IN A UGUST �