Via Unsplash
By Sheryl Merritt
ATLANTA, Ga. | Atlanta Regional Commission’s third Local Leadership Housing Action Committee (LLHAC) cohort recently announced their commitments to address housing affordability challenges in their jurisdictions.
ARC created LLHAC as part of the implementation of the Metro Atlanta Housing Strategy, which launched in 2019 to provide a regional, collaborative approach to address the area’s housing challenges.
ARC’s Local Leadership Housing Action Committee is a one-year commitment by mayors and elected officials from across Metro Atlanta, convened by ARC, to meet to explore the region’s challenges and identify their leadership roles in influencing affordable housing in their communities. City officials who are part of the committee from Gwinnett County include Mike Mason, mayor of Peachtree Corners and 2024 LLHAC Chairman, and Mayor David Still of the City of Lawrenceville.
The current cohort comes on the precipice of the New Metro Atlanta Housing Strategy toolkit that recently launched: https://metroatlhousing.org/.
The third cohort of the housing committee is six mayors and two county commissioners from across the Atlanta region, explored housing issues in the region and their communities, looking at best practices as well as barriers. The cohort also heard from industry experts from various organizations across the housing sector.
At the conclusion of the program, committee members developed jurisdiction-specific commitments that cover a variety of areas.
Common themes include creating land trusts; aligning housing developments with transportation infrastructure improvements; creating affordable, transitional, and permanent housing solutions for the homeless; expanding senior housing; and securing diverse funding among others.
Home prices have been rising four times as fast as wages since 2015. The USA is not building enough housing to keep up with our growing population.
Committee members are pledging to work collaboratively with their fellow elected officials and members of the community to explore steps to address their jurisdiction’s housing challenges.
Mayor Mason says that Peachtree Corners will use the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to purchase abandoned or blighted properties in a targeted section of Buford Highway to construct new homes, and review codes in the central business district through a moratorium to examine demand for new housing.
Mayor Still says that Lawrenceville is interested in preserving existing affordable housing units, and improving and maintaining a high standard of quality living throughout the city.
Anna Roach, ARC’s executive director and CEO, says: “This work is critically important to address our housing issues, which if trends continue will threaten our economic competitiveness and our quality of life. Each year, the LLHAC leads the charge by not only their commitment to learn, but with their commitments to lead change efforts. The number of leaders who want to be a part of contributing to LLHAC increases each year, a testament to the success of the program.”
The next cohort for LLHAC begins April 10. For more information, and to read the full 2024 LLHAC report, visit ARC’s website.
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