Box 5, Folder 11, Document 98

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Box 5, Folder 11, Document 98

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The rebuke Mavor Ivan Allen delivered to
Allanta aldermen in his “state of the city’ ad-
dress was mild in comparison with what
he might have said.

“Not a single major corrective or creative
program has come out of City Hall with which
to cape with the problems of slums and trans-
portathin,”’ the mayor declared,

But it’s even worse than that. In the fight
against slum blight, the aldermanic board
actually has been a hindrance.

That point was made abundantly clear
in another mild-spoken reporl—one delivered
last month by the Housing Ressurces Com-
mittee, a group of civie leaders appointed
by the mayor to expedite his low-cost housing
plans.

The HRC observed that almost all urban
renewal land on which low-cost housing might
be built already has been committed. Most
other siles zoned for multi-family use al-
ready are being used for that purpose or are

- prohibitively expensive.

And yet there is reasonably priced vacant
land in the city. It is zoned for other pur-
poses, however.

“This indicates,” said HRC’s annual re-
port, “that the bulk of remaining land needed
for the program will have to depend on re-
zoning of appropriate tracts for this pur-
pose.”

And there’s the rub. Aldermen have been
notably reluctant to rezone for housing for the
poor—unless the site were in someone else's
ward.

In its report, the Housing Resources Com-
mittee outlined a broad-spectrum attack on
slums, utilizing “turnkey,” 221 and other pri-
vately developed projects; vigorous rehabili-
tation programs, leasing of privately owned
buildings by the Atlanta Housing Authority,
additional urban renewal, and close intergov-
ernmental cooperation.

A key and controversial recommendation

4

I” VGC
all

which deserves serious consideration is selec-
tion of multiple sites seattered throughout
the city’s four quadrants for low-cost hous-
ing. These sites would be submitted for zon-
ing approval as a package to avoid accusa-
tions that any one section is bearing more
than its reasonable share of housing for the
poor,

. vo)

City

But until the aldermen get some backbone
and show some initiative, the mayor's worthy
program to find decent housing for all At-
lanta’s citizens will falter.

Ah, On S ect

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