While the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) wades through its backlog of roughly 33,000 emergency rental assistance (ERA) applications, the state agency is denying nearly as many applicants as it’s approving. As of early December, the DCA had received nearly 50,000 applications for federal rental aid. It had processed just over 16,000 of them—less […]
Category: Atlanta Civic Circle
Posted inDemocracy
Ongoing demand for election documents keep county election officials trapped in 2020
While all political eyes and efforts are focused on the upcoming 2022 midterms, Douglas County elections supervisor Milton Kidd and his staff are trapped in 2020. Every week for the last year, the Douglas elections office has been fielding at least three or four requests, mostly from out-of-town individuals or groups, looking “for every piece […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
These are the agencies Atlanta’s new leaders must rely on for affordable housing promises
When Atlanta’s new mayor and city council are sworn in next month, they’ll have a network of public offices at their disposal that are equipped to develop affordable housing. Will they make the most of these tools to create a more welcoming and equitable city? The city’s public housing authority, Atlanta Housing, is charged with developing […]
Posted inDemocracy
What I’ve Learned: Olivia Troye, director, The Republican Accountability Project
One of former Vice President Mike Pence’s closest advisors has some strong thoughts on what she calls “Trumpism.” Olivia Troye’s views about the dangers of the movement behind former president Donald Trump caused the lifelong Republican to cut her ties with the White House pack, where she’d served as Pence’s advisor on homeland security, counterterrorism […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Development team tapped to lead housing project by Atlanta City Hall
The City of Atlanta has picked a team to develop a mixed-use complex that includes 186 affordable housing units across the street from City Hall, according to the city’s planning commissioner, Tim Keane. Officials tapped Vecino Group Southeast and the nonprofit Capitol Hill Neighborhood Development Corporation to spearhead the buildout of a 0.86-acre site at 104 Trinity Avenue that’s owned […]
Posted inAtlanta Civic Circle, Democracy
Safety first: Georgia’s new congressional map eliminates competition
In anticipation of the gerrymandering lawsuits that are sure to follow, political strategists, voting rights groups, and scholars alike are assessing the consequences of Georgia’s newly drawn legislative districts for the state’s political landscape. They say it’s already apparent that, in a state where Republicans and Democrats consistently poll neck-and-neck, the number of truly competitive […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
At one year mark, Atlanta BeltLine still seeks takers for anti-displacement grants
Spurred by concerns that high-priced development along the Atlanta BeltLine is driving up property taxes for longtime residents, the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership unveiled an ambitious grant program last December to protect residents from displacement — but so far, it’s attracted few takers. The BeltLine Partnership, a nonprofit affiliated with the Atlanta BeltLine, estimates that about […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Expert: New city leadership must find funding sources for affordable housing
Atlanta Mayor-elect Andre Dickens will need to get creative in identifying new funding sources for affordable housing, since existing channels aren’t enough to make a serious dent in the city’s affordability crisis, says one local housing and development expert. “[Dickens] needs to secure a regular annual funding stream for affordable housing, on the order of […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
While state agency lags, local governments dish out rental aid fast
Though the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has recently stepped up the pace in disbursing its first round of federal rental assistance money, most of the state’s local governments are far outpacing it in getting aid to those who need it. According to the latest U.S. Treasury Department data, the DCA had dispatched only […]
Posted inDemocracy
Presidential election recounts cost more than a million dollars for nine metro Atlanta counties
Nine metro Atlanta election offices responding to an Atlanta Civic Circle inquiry incurred more than a million dollars in unbudgeted expenses for the state’s two mandatory ballot recounts following the 2020 presidential election. The first was a hand-count required by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Then, former President Donald Trump called for another recount. Recount expenses […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Ahead of inauguration, Dickens draws affordable housing roadmap
Andre Dickens doesn’t want to be compared to Keisha Lance Bottoms, but the incoming mayor doesn’t have much choice. When Dickens takes over from Bottoms next month, he’ll be charged with navigating the pandemic, fighting crime, and pulling Atlanta out of an affordable housing crisis—a daunting checklist that his predecessor has been chipping away at […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Proposal to boost intown density killed in committee, but comeback expected
In a blow to Atlanta planning officials’ effort to boost intown density and housing affordability, the city council’s zoning committee this week shot down legislation that would have spurred more diverse residential construction and reduced car dependency. Authored by City Councilmember Amir Farokhi, the proposed ordinance sought to make the city more welcoming to accessory dwelling units—such as basement […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Will Mayor-elect Andre Dickens be the affordable housing champion he claims?
Atlanta Mayor-elect Andre Dickens has vowed to make housing affordability a top priority when he takes office in January. So did Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms when she campaigned in 2017. Could the self-proclaimed champion of affordable housing make a bigger dent in the city’s mounting housing crisis than his predecessor? Like Bottoms, Dickens has promised that the […]
Posted inDemocracy
Young Americans raise doubts about U.S. democracy in Harvard poll
American democracy is in trouble. That’s the assessment of most Gen Zers and Millennials responding to a national poll released Wednesday by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. In fact, 35% of all respondents said they’ll likely see a second Civil War during their lifetime. Over 52% of Americans between the ages of 18 […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Slow-spending Georgia agency says it will transfer some federal rent aid to higher-performing governments
The state agency that received Georgia’s largest chunk of federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) funds announced Wednesday that it plans to turn some of that cash over to local governments who have done a better job distributing it to renters and landlords in need. Early this year, the U.S. Treasury Department allocated $552.3 million in […]
Posted inDemocracy
‘Dark’ money influencing Atlanta elections
This month’s mayoral race ushered in a new era for Atlanta’s municipal elections. Dark money donors—or Independent Expenditure committees—bombarded voters with billboards, text messages, and TV ads. Once fixtures on the national scene, these deep-pocketed donors are increasingly setting their sights on local elections to shape policies and anoint candidates. They remain anonymous, even as […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Mayor Bottoms’ affordable housing plan could hinge on next generation of city leadership
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will step down from her post before her $1 billion affordable housing goal can be realized. The city is on track to spend at least that much building and preserving units by 2026 (which would have been the end of her once-envisioned second term). But when Bottoms announced in May […]
Posted inDemocracy
Is Andre Dickens the Progressive in This Mayoral Runoff Election?
With the Nov. 30 runoff just days away, mayoral candidates Felicia Moore and Andre Dickens are busy trying to distinguish themselves—largely from each other. Both Democrats with widely overlapping policy platforms, Moore and Dickens have tacked toward whatever strengths they hope will appeal to the most voters. Moore, the current Atlanta City Council president, has […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Tax break paves way for affordable senior residences near MARTA stop
More affordable apartments for seniors are bound for a site just south of the Avondale MARTA station, marking another win for transit-oriented development advocates. On Friday, representatives with developer Columbia Residential announced the firm’s Senior Residences at Decatur East project had secured a coveted 9-percent Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)—a highly competitive public subsidy—from […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Atlanta Habitat preps for largest affordable housing development in 38-year history
After working on model homes and infrastructure upgrades the past two years, the folks at Atlanta Habitat for Humanity are gearing up to start construction on additional homes in Browns Mill Village, the largest affordable housing development in the organization’s history. The construction on the subdivision, located about 15 minutes southeast of downtown, will begin in January. The […]
