Council approves legislation to temporarily suspend new short-term rental rules
The Atlanta City Council approved legislation during Monday’s meeting to temporarily suspend certain provisions of the City’s Code of Ordinance related to short-term rentals so that no administrative actions or penalties would be imposed against short-term licensees or operators through June 1, 2022 (Legislative Reference 22-O-1241). In March 2021, the Council approved 20-O-1656, which established a regulatory framework for the use of dwelling units as short-term rentals. The legislation approved Monday extends the enforcement date for these new rules governing short-term rentals until June 2.
Other items approved Monday include:
• An ordinance authorizing the acquisition of more than 75 acres of land on the former site of the Chattahoochee Brick Company from the Conservation Fund on behalf of the City of Atlanta to increase parks, green space, and watershed land in Atlanta (Legislative Reference №22-O-1255). The property gives the public a significant place on the river for a park that would provide direct access to the riverfront.
• An ordinance to amend the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances, Part II (Ordinances), Chapter 106 (Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions), Article V (Offenses By and Against Minors), Section 106–227 (Curfew — Authorized), to add additional exemptions for homeless youth and teenagers (Legislative Reference №22-O-1076).
• An ordinance to honor the life and legacy of Hank Aaron for his accomplishments on and off the baseball field by renaming the Adams Park Baseball Field to the Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron Baseball Complex (Legislative Reference №22-O-1247).
• A resolution amending the City of Atlanta’s 2018 Annual Action Plan under its 2015–2019 Consolidated Plan for the purpose of reprogramming activities from the 2019 Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) funding to the 2018 HOPWA funding and drawing down the balance of the City’s 2018 HOPWA funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Legislative Reference №22-R-3253). A public hearing will be held on this item during Monday’s meeting.
• A resolution to sunset certain boards, authorities, commissions and other groups, created by action of the Council, because such boards, authorities, commissions, and other groups have accomplished the purposes for which they were created, whose authorized term has expired, and/or are no longer required (Legislative Reference №22-R-3404).
• A resolution authorizing the mayor or his designee on behalf of the City of Atlanta to accept a donation from Empire Communities to the Department of Parks and Recreation for improvements valued at approximately $115,500 to include site work, landscape, and hardscape improvements at Lang Carson Park (Legislative Reference №22-R-3391).
• An ordinance authorizing the mayor or his designee to apply for the Georgia Smart Communities Challenge grant from the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation on behalf of the Department of City Planning in an amount not to exceed $100,000 (Legislative Reference №22-O-1245). The grant would fund a pilot energy-efficiency home improvement program for low-income homeowners.
Items introduced to be considered in committee next week include:
• A resolution urging the commissioner of the Department of City Planning to work with the leadership of the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board to develop a “best practices” set of guidelines for the City of Atlanta’s 25 Neighborhood Planning Units (NPU) that will serve to enhance, encourage and expand community participation in the NPU system.
• A resolution to establish a short-term rental commission to provide adequate community outreach and educational materials to promote awareness of the City of Atlanta’s short-term rental policy, the application process, and the current law governing short-term rental properties in the City of Atlanta.
• An ordinance requesting the Department of Finance to partner with MARTA to conduct an analysis to determine the feasibility of allowing Atlanta residents access to fare-free public transit within the city limits of Atlanta.
• An ordinance launching the next era of Atlanta Streets Alive and authorizing the temporary closure of Peachtree Street between Mitchell Street and 14th Street one Sunday per month for 12 months from 2 p.m.-6:00 p.m. beginning on Jan. 15, 2023.
• An ordinance to amend Chapter 150, (Traffic and Vehicles), of the Atlanta City Code of Ordinances to update the regulations related to shareable dockless mobility devices and to extend existing shareable dockless mobility device annual permits.
• An ordinance to amend Chapter 130 of the City Code to adjust the taxes, assessments, service fees, and charges for solid waste services specified therein, including the establishment of a sanitary assessment for street related sanitary services and general common good related sanitary services based on taxable property value, to formalize the administrative hearing procedure for the resolution of disputes, and to update certain other provisions of Chapter 130 of the code.
• An ordinance to amend Chapter 130 of the City Code to adjust the taxes, assessments, service fees, and charges for solid waste services specified therein, including funding street based sanitary services and general common good sanitary services through the City of Atlanta general fund, to formalize the administrative hearing procedure for the resolution of disputes, and to update certain other provisions of Chapter 130 of the code.
• An ordinance to amend Chapter 130 of the City Code to adjust the taxes, assessments, service fees, and charges for solid waste services specified therein, including solid waste collection and recycling charges, charges for street related sanitary services based on equivalent trip generation, charges for general good related sanitary services based on a property’s under roof square footage, to formalize the administrative hearing procedure for the resolution of disputes and to update certain other provisions of Chapter 130 of the code.
• An ordinance and charter amendment to amend the Atlanta city charter to amend the authority of the City to charge and collect taxes and assessments for sanitary and solid waste disposal services and to establish and collect rates, fees, and charges for the same and to authorize the adoption of an administrative procedure for the resolution of disputes regarding the basis of a sanitary and solid tax or assessment against a property.
