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July 23, 1968
Mr. C. P. Bedford, Jr.
Program Manager
Kaiser Engineers
Kaiser Center, 300 Lakeside Drive
Oakland, California 94604
Dear Hr. Bedford:
Thank you for your letter of July 17, 1968, pertaining to the
Experimental Housing program of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, which was delivered to me yesterday personally by Hr.
G. H. Abraham, Project Engineer.
The City of Atlanta is very much interested in the Experimental
Housing program in that we are committted to probably the most extensive
low-income housing program in the Southeast and are currently very
active in implimenting it. We certainly hope to be included as one
of the cities recommended for participation in the program. —
With respect to the criteria which you are using in your
evaluation of cities as potential locations for experimental Housing,
I will comment briefly on each point, in the order listed in your letter.
1. Atlanta, probably more than any other city in the
Southeast, attracts many workers in the low and moderate
income brackets. Hence, our need for low-income housing
is great.
2. Housing is considered our Number one priority and our
entire city is committed to providing adequately for it.
We have a very active Housing Resaurces Committee, composed
of prominent business and civic leaders, sponsoring the
overall program. Included in its membership are leaders
of both labor and industry. This Committee also sponsors
a monthly coordinating group meeting with the heads of
Departments and Agencies involved with low-income housing.
3. In our application for Model Cities we went on record
as to our willingness to make appropriate adjustments in
our Codes and Zoning to permit innovations in techniques
and materials in housing.
Mr. C. P. Bedford, Jr.
Page 2
relief:
July 23, 1968
4. We understand that in order to meet program schedule
requirements, it will be necessary for construction sites
to be available by March 1, 1969. We feel confident that
this requirement can be met, through advanced land acquisition
(subject to approval from HUD}, in our Model Cities Area.
We are positive that suitable sites outside of our Model
Cities Area can be available at that time.
As to constraints cited in your letter, which may require
a. Atlanta has a good reputation for reasonable cooperation
of organized labor in the use of indigenous labor and easing
of work rules. We do not anticipate any major difficulty
in this field,
b. The labor force in Atlanta is about 50% Union and 50%
Non-Union. Reasonable cooperation may be expected in the
application of new technical ideas, particularly in our
Model Cities Area, where we are prepared to waive certain
aspects of our existing technical codes to permit experimental
innovations in techniques and materials,
ec. We have a Board of Adjustments for considering zoning
variances; also Technical Advisory Boards for considering
changes and or variances in the construction technical
codes, We anticipate their willingness to cooperate fully,
where health and safety will not be affected.
gd. We are already well advanced in the overall housing
program and several substantial non-profit organizations are
available for sponsoring major projects in the housing
Pprogram.. Financing is available through local banks,
mortgage bankers and insurance companies, several of which
are already quite active in this field. Necessary seed
money is available through the recently organized, Atlanta
Housing Development Corporation, with a committed inital
operating capital of approximately $590,009.00.
With respect to the letter of commitment requested by HUD in regard
to site availability, suitability of the proposed experiments and
cooperation in relief of constraints, I wish to advise that sites are
available within the City Limits (and we anticipate can be made available
in the Model Cities Area) and I pledge my personal support in relief
of constraints where reasonable and desireable in carrying out the
Experimental Housing program.
Mr. C. P. Bedford, Jr.
July 23, 1968
Page 3
Should you desire additional information, pertaining to Atlanta
and our low and moderate income housing program, please do not hesitate
to call on us.
Sincerely,
Ivan Allen, Jr.
Mayor
IVJr/me
cc: Mr. G. M. Abraham
Mr. Edward H. Baxter
Regional Administrator, III Region, HUD