City Of Atlanta Legislative Updates
Livable Buckhead is supporting our local community by providing continued updates from the City of Atlanta on approved legislation that will have an impact in both Buckhead and surrounding neighborhoods. From transportation related initiatives to new transit projects that will provide benefits to residents and commuters, Livable Buckhead is committed to keeping you up to date and informed with the latest information.
Top City of Atlanta council updates for the month of July include:
2023 City of Atlanta Mid-Year Report: Published in July, the report provides an overview of accomplishments and initiatives spearheaded by the Dickens administration during the first 6 months of 2023.
- Council members Liliana Bakhtiari and Matt Westmoreland released results of citywide heat vulnerability assessment that breaks down how each Atlanta neighborhood can tolerate “heat-stress” street-by-street.
Beltline receives $25 million grant, largest in nonprofit history:
- Williams, Ossoff, and U.S Senator Raphael Warnock secured funds for the City of Atlanta and Beltline Inc. through the Bipartisan Infrastructure law’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Grant Program.
- Funding will go towards building a 2.2-mile network of multi-use trails in Northeast Atlanta between the Armour/Ottley and Lindbergh areas.
MARTA’s labor union approves new contract: MARTA’s labor union approves new contract after one year of negotiations.
Its Official: Atlanta Street’s Alive is coming back:
- September marks four years since Atlanta hosted its last large-scale, open-streets program which drew 40,000 people to join a route that swooped through Southwest Atlanta connecting seven neighborhoods between Summerhill and Westview.
- City of Atlanta to better prepare for future events, hosted an online information session to outline how the city’s signature event expects to return in the fall.
Atlanta wants to build affordable “social” housing on public land:
- Atlanta is considering the creation of a nonprofit to build mixed-income housing that is not reliant on tax credits.
- The Atlanta’s Housing Authority real estate committee met last month to introduce a proposal to create the Atlanta Urban Development Corporation. The nonprofit would be tasked to create social housing, a European model where rentals are owned in part by the government to provide affordable housing. The new nonprofit would create and preserve homes on redeveloped publicly-owned land.
Metro Atlanta’s glut of available office space hits record high:
- Metro Atlanta has too much available office space to rent and not enough companies to fill up the available space.
- 1/4 of total office space is considered vacant. Between vacant and sublease space, nearly 30% of all office square footage in Metro Atlanta is available for rent, a record high.
Atlanta City Council Committee passes legislation requiring gas station surveillance cameras: Atlanta city leaders are moving forward with plans to require gas stations to install high-definition surveillance cameras with lots of support from the community.
Report: Atlanta has lowest homeless rate among American metros:
- A national study suggests there is a strong correlation between housing costs in American Cities and the likelihood that people living there are homeless.
- Atlanta has one of the lowest homeless rates among the country’s 50 most populous metro areas, according to research by Home Bay, an online real estate publication owned by Clever Real Estate.
City of Atlanta Allocating More Funding for Street Safety and Resurfacing:
- City of Atlanta will invest an additional $12 million in Atlanta road’s following legislation approved by Atlanta City Council.
- The Atlanta Department of Transportation’s resurfacing and safety improvement projects will also include ADA repairs, sidewalk repairs/upgrades, crosswalk enhancements and more.
MARTA Police gets $1.4 million grant to expand force: The MARTA Police Department (MPD) has received a $1.4 million grant from the State of Georgia. The grant will be used to facilitate the recruitment and hiring of qualified law enforcement officials, expand the existing force, and other MPD programs.
