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EDWIN L, S TERNE CHA IRM AN LE S TER H. PER S ELLS • E X ECUTI V E D I RE CT OR A1':> S EC RE T ARY C A RL T ON GAR RE TT GEORG E S . C RA FT DI REC TO R Of" F I NAN CE VIC C CH A IR MA N GILB E R T H . B OGGS D I R E CTOR or H OU S l t.~ HO WAR D OPE NSH A W J. B. SLAY T ON OIR F. CT OR FRAN K G. E T HE R I D GE or R E D E V EL OP M E N T GE OR GE R . SAN D ER T ECHN I CAL D I RE CT OR JA CK F . GLE NN 5 24 HU RT B ~ I LOIP~G A TL A N T A , GE OR G I A 30 30 3 JA C K S ON 3 · 6 07 4 December 10, 1969 -MEMORANDUM To: From: Mr. E.M. Laws Chairman, Vine City Project Area Committee Mr. Lester Persells, Executive Dire ctor and Mr. Howard Opensha w, Director of Redevelopment Present: Mr. E.M. Laws, Mrs. Dorothy Bolden, Mrs. Clara Bell Williams, Mr. Richard Hoffman, Mr. Ralph Jacobson, Mr. Lester Persell s , Mr. Howard Ope nshaw. Subject: RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS RAISED BY REPRES ENTATIVES OF THE VINE CITY PROJECT AREA COMMI TTEE AND THE I R LEGAL COUNSEL ON NOVEMBER 21, 1 9 69. 1. We re g ret that the situation in Vine City is such tha t repre sentatives o f the PAC h a ve r e queste d Mr . Ba rne tt' s tr an s f er. Mr. Parsells and I bo t h f eel tha t Mr. Ba rne tt is totally commi tt e d to s erv e the PAC and the Vine City community. We c er t a inly hope tha t a ny diff icult i e s t ha t exi s t c an b e wo rked out and tha t Mr . Barnett ' s r elati onship with the PAC wi ll b e effe ct i v e i n a chie v ing t he obj ective s of t h e Vine City communl ty. 2. The Atl a nta Housing Author ity has e s t a bli s h e d a p r oj e ct of f ice and a ppropria t e ·staff i n ea ch NDP a r e a i n order to b ring the program close r to t he pe ople and to enable t he r eside n ts , thr ou gh their PA C, to b e involve d in t he pl a nning a nd impl eme n t a t ion o f t h e prog r am. The pro ject d i r e cto r is the Hous i n g Au tho rity' s re p r e sentative in the c ommunity and , in tur n, r epresents the community in his con t a ~ts wi th t hi s office. Of course, all memb ers o f the Au t hority are ava i labl e u p on request f o r t e chni cal assista nce. If a n y problems c a.n be i dentifi e d in communications between t he Autho rity and t h e PAC, the n we will d o more tha n our share to c o rre ct them. 3. The PAC work ing dire ctly with the p roj e ct di re c t o r in the d ay- to -day p r ogram a c tivi ties h a s p r oven effective in a ll nei ghborhoods. The purpo se of es t a bl ishing proj e ct off ice s and p r oj e ct d ire c t o rs in n ei ghbor h ood s is to a l l ow the Housing Authori t y and t he PAC to c ommuni c ate mo re meaningfull y with res iden ts . All plans a nd recommenda t ion s fr om �I -2- /· ind5.vidual neighborhoods are reviewed by the Housing Authority and the City Planning Department with regard to the total program of the City and the financial limitations of the City and the Federal government. The PAC should be represented at all meetings of the Planning a nd Development Co~il~ ittee of the Board of Alde r men when actions affecting Vine City are considered (see item 6 below). 4. A list of the membership of the Citizens' Advisory Committee for Urban Renewal appointed by the mayor is attached (exhibit A). It is our understanding that Mr. A.J. Lockhart, 85 Griffin Street, NW, a resident of Vine City, is on the committee. Attached is a letter (exhibit B), dated August 20, 1969 to Dr. Noah Langdale, Chairman of the CACUR, respectfully requesting that each Project Area Committee be invited to appoint a member to the Citizens' Advisory Committee for Urban Renewal. 5. All project directors , man agers and branch chiefs from the Redevelopment Division of the Authority hold staff meetings every Monday at 10 A.M. at 824 Hurt Building. The purpose of the staff meetings is to report on pending activities and to coordinate the activities of the various projects and departments within the Authority. While these staff· meetings are not secret, no useful purpose would be served by PAC attendance, as no policy making decisions are made therein. 6. The Housing Authority will notify the PAC whenever the Planning and Development Corn.~ittee of the Board of Aldermen meets to consider any actions affecting Vine City. Prior to adoption by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of any plans designating acquisition or rehabilitation of properties, a public hearing is required, to which the PAC and area residents will be invited to represent the community's views. However, other committees of the Board of Aldermen may take actions conc e rning a particular neighborhood without the knowledge of the Housing Authority, such as actions on rezoning, street paving, utility installation, etc. 7. The draft of the Citizen Participation Report for Vine City, prepared by the Planning Consultants, contain s an estimated cost of $13,220. to support the PAC and includes costs of publishing newsletters, attend ing monthly me etings, and providing technic a l assistance to the PAC. These costs will be included in t he pl anni ng consultant's contra ct. ' 8. Following notification that Atlanta's 1970 -iNDP allocation from the Federal Governme nt was reduced to $7,500,000 it bec ame necessary to return the plans to the neighborhoods to determine priorities within the available Federal funds. The revised time schedule is as follows: January 30 Februa ry 2 Febr ua ry 3 Feb r u a ry 6 Public Submit Submi t Submit Hea ring s on neighborhood plans for 1970. to Board of Al derme n for a ppr oval. to Atl an t a Housing Authority Boar d for approval. NDP a pplic a tion to HUD. It is i mpera tive tha t PAC pl ans for each n e i ghborhood be final i ze d and submi t t ed to the Housing Auth ority no l a t er t han J anuary 15, 1970. 9. Each submission to the Federal Government of an NDP application •j �-3requires a citizen participation report including: (a) a statement from each PAC on the timing, loc a tion a nd appropriateness of activities planned for the Urban Renewal Ar ea, and (b) a report on citizen participation describing the inf o rma tion and technical assistance provided, prepared by the Housing Authority. Whi le the PAC minutes would assist the Housing Authority in pre paring item (b) above, it is not essential or required that the Housing Auth ority obtain copies of the PAC minutes. We feel compelled at this point to state a g ain that the PAC, representing all the area residents~ consultants, and the Housing Authority are a team, hopefully working together in a cooperative spirit to achieve the objectives of the Vine City Community. 10. With regard to PAC attendance at local, regional or national ~eetings at project expense, see attached letter from HUD dated November 26, 1969, (exhibit C). 11. The Department of the Public Works of the City ha s advised this office that street paving now under way in Vine City, was undertalrnn at the request of the Mayor. With resp e ct to new construction to be undertaken by the City in Vine City, I have requested Mr. Ray Nixon, Chief of the City Construction, to coordinate future work with the Housing Authority to determine if the improvements are in accordance with the plans for the Area and to dete1"'Illine the method of funding, ie., assessment against property owners or provided by the City. 12. Apparently the relocation activity report was not included in the Neighborhood Development Program application furnished to the PAC. A copy of the relocation activity report is attached (exhibit D). 13. It is our understanding that the PAC volunteered to assist the planning consultants in conducting projecr area surveys . In accordance with the consultants' contract with the Authority and mm re g ulations, all survey data become the property of the Authority. However, all planning documentation is available to the PAC at the project office. 14. The City Planning Department is responsible for the annual preparation and submission of the City's workable program to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Contact Mr. Collier Gladin, Planning Director of the City , 7th floor, Cit y Hall, telephone 522-4463, for info1"Ination relating to Atlanta's workable program. 15. It is the policy of the Housing Authority to employ residents from program areas as jobs become available dependent, of course, on meeting job qualifications. Persons employed in jobs requiring minimum qualifications will be trained and promoted according to their demonstrated abilities. 16. The City Planning Department and the Housing Authority will p res ent to the Planning and Development Conµni ttee of the Board of Aldermen a proposed allocation o f NDP moneys and activities by neighbo rhoods based on available Federal funds and PA C recommendations and priorities, all subject to approval of the Cit y comptroller, Planning and Devel o pment Committee, the mayor and Board o f Aldermen and the Federal Government, (see attached schedules A and B, exhi b its E and F). 17. Structures in good condition will not be acquired unless their location and retention is contrary to the Urban Renewal plans formulated �-4by the PAC and adopted by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen after a public hearing. The plan will designate good structures for rehabilitation. 18. Home owners can be told now wh ether the i r houses a r e subject to rehabilitation or clearance as determined by the plans prepared by the PAC and their pl a nning consultants. However, it is important to differentiate whether rehabilit a tion or clearance will take place in 1970 or a subsequent year and also to know tha t the pl a ns are not final until approved by the City and the Federal Government. The PAC has established a priority of activities to be undertaken in 1970 w~th clearance to be g in in area 35, then area 34, etc. 4 specific area must also be designated for rehabilitation by the PAC if this is your desire. In my letter to Mr. Laws on December 4, 1969 I indicated that , to the e x tent feasible, the Housing Aut hority will carry out the objectives of the PAC, ie., complete the clearance and redevelopment of a1,ea 35 before beginning acquisition in area 34. A determination must be made about this particular sequence of areas as to whether it is practicable and possible from the standpoint of street access, utilities, and construction of the residential units. 19. It will be virtually impossible to acquire property, relocate families, demolish buildings, install necessary improvements, sell the land to private enterprise and to construct and complete housing short of a year, which means that property acquisition of the second area will probably · not occur in the initial NDP year. It is simply a question of the time involved to complete each activity in sequence in accordance with applicable state and Federal regulations. · We will explore with the PAC the most feasible way to proceed, and concur with the PAC that families to be displaced from the initial clearance area should be kept to a minimum and every effort must be made to provide an opportunity for each family to remain in the area. In summary, we hope that this response adequately answers the questions posed at the November 21, 1969 meeting. We want to assure the PAC and all residents of the Vine City community of the commitment of the Atlanta Housing Authority to a meaningful invol veme nt of area residents in the planning and execution of all Urb a n Renewa l a ctivities to b e u ndertaken in Vine City . . The Housing Authority solicits the continued cooperati on of the PAC as we work together to make Vine City an outstanding residential area of Atlanta. Enclosures. �