Brookhaven is taking another shot at creating a city authority to gain more control over redevelopment in run-down areas of the city.
The City Council recently approved a resolution to start the process of creating an Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), an entity allowed under state law that can redevelop blighted, dilapidated or underutilized areas. The April 26 vote did not form a URA, but it did affirm the city’s commitment to starting one and laid out the areas for potential redevelopment.
It came months after the council rejected a similar resolution due to a wave of published backlash from residents and business owners. They were concerned the move would give the city additional eminent domain powers or could lead to their properties being designated as run-down or underutilized. City leaders said those fears were based on an inaccurate Nextdoor post.
“We probably could’ve done a better job of rolling it out,” City Manager Christian Sigman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in December when the resolution was rejected. “When it does come back... we’ll spend a lot more time educating people upfront about the process before we start the process.”
The resolution returned with significantly less controversy and social media publicity. The resolution identified three areas as redevelopment hotspots: the Buford Highway corridor, the Peachtree Road corridor and the Executive Park area that’s home to new Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University medical buildings.
City Attorney Chris Balch said the entirety of those areas are not considered blighted or underutilized, but they are starting points. He said subsequent public meetings will narrow the redevelopment areas and other locations could be added.
Redevelopment agencies create another financing option for developers, who can use them to access tax-free loans. Balch said URAs primarily assist in the redevelopment of aging and run-down strip malls and apartment complexes where the cost is cheaper to build something new rather than improve the existing infrastructure.
“In a zoning dispute with a developer, you’re bound by your code. The code says what is allowable and what is not allowable, and if you start trying to negotiate differences within that, you’re opening the door to getting sued,” Balch previously told the AJC. “... With a URA, there’s no limit to what we can negotiate because we’ve got actual dollars and cents in the deal.”
District 1 Councilman John Funny, who represents south Brookhaven and the Buford Highway area, said during the April 26 meeting that a URA would help Brookhaven broker deals, and he used a recent Atlanta project as an example. Earlier this year, Atlanta announced a partnership with Goldman Sachs and MARTA to bring 250 affordable apartments to Peoplestown along the Beltline’s southern trail.
“That’s what we’re looking to do in the City of Brookhaven,” he said, mentioning affordable housing, greenspace expansion and other redevelopment topics. “I know within my district along Buford Highway, there’s going to be development and redevelopment. This gives us an opportunity and another tool in the toolbox to assist with this to make sure we’re maintaining quality of life.”
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