Council approves legislation updating process for NPU changes
The Atlanta City Council approved legislation Monday to amend the City’s Code of Ordinances to require that the Council approve any changes to the existing boundaries of the Neighborhood Planning Units, or NPUs (22-O-1747). The Department of City Planning is engaging with the community on changes to the NPU boundaries. This legislation requires any modifications to the boundaries to be reviewed and approved by Council.
The Council also approved legislation requesting the current proposed reconfiguration of Neighborhood Planning Unit boundaries in Southwest Atlanta be reevaluated and that the City’s chief operating officer bring the current proposed reconfiguration to an immediate halt (22-R-4342).
Other items approved Monday include:
• An ordinance to amend the City’s Charter relating to the boundaries of Council districts to adopt new Council districts map with a population summary report, plan components report, and the boundary descriptions of districts 1 through 12 (22-O-1700). This is the first of two required adoptions as a charter amendment.
• A resolution requesting the mayor or his designee evaluate and update the list of City Arterial Streets, City Connector Streets, and State Route streets within the City of Atlanta’s Public Right-of-Way Manual and to request the City’s Department of Transportation and Department of Public Works coordinate these efforts to include updating street names, limits of streets, mileage of streets, and street classifications that may need to occur due to growth and increased traffic (22-R-4252).
• An ordinance to adopt the 2023–2027 Capital Improvements Element (CIE), which is a component of the City’s Comprehensive Development Plan (22-O-1733). The plan sets out projected needs for system improvements over five years, a schedule of capital improvements, and a description of anticipated funding sources for each improvement.
• An ordinance authorizing the mayor or his designee to execute a master lease agreement with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank for the acquisition of 59 Dodge Chargers with police packages on behalf of the Atlanta Police Department in an amount not to exceed $3.1 million (22-O-1743).
• An ordinance to authorize the mayor or his designee to execute an intergovernmental agreement with the Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID) for the acquisition of six Dodge Chargers on behalf of the Atlanta Police Department (22-O-1752).
• An ordinance to accept a grant from the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association in an amount not to exceed $300,000 to reimburse eligible expenses for afterschool programming provided at the City’s recreation centers during 2022–2023 term (22-O-1732).
• An ordinance to authorize the mayor or his designee to apply for a Community Composting and Food Waste Reduction pilot project grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in an amount not to exceed $300,000 (22-O-1734). The grant’s purpose is to enter into cooperative agreements with eligible entities to develop and test strategies for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans.
• An ordinance authorizing a donation in an amount not to exceed $34,000 to the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta to support LGBTQ outreach and the mayor’s Youth Scholarship Program (22-O-1746).
• A resolution authorizing a donation in an amount not to exceed $50,000 to Chastain Horse Park on behalf of the Department of Parks and Recreation (22-R-4411). Chastain Horse Park operates a nonprofit that serves youth and adults with cognitive and emotional disabilities. The Horse Park has operated for more than 90 years and is one of two urban horse parks remaining in the nation.
• A resolution condemning the Islamic Republic of Iran for its violent actions against women, repeated human rights violations against civilians, and use of excessive force against protesters. This item was an immediate consideration.
Proclamations were presented in recognition of Frontline, the Department of Watershed Management’s 20th anniversary, Duncan Teague, and Credit Union of Atlanta.
Items were also introduced to be considered in committee, including:
• A resolution to establish a Wellstar Hospital Study Group tasked with developing and making recommendations on the use of the location as a center for equity.
• An ordinance to ratify the mayor’s executive order imposing a moratorium on the acceptance of any new rezoning applications, building permit applications, land disturbance permit applications, special use permit applications, special administrative permit applications, subdivision applications, replatting applications or lot consolidation applications for parcels within the area related to the Atlanta Medical Center’s 25-acre site.
• An ordinance to amend Section 13 of 22-O-1632 to remove the condition providing that the intergovernmental agreement between the Fulton County sheriff, Fulton County, and the City of Atlanta, authorized thereby, will not be effective until Atlanta City Council is in receipt of a jail population review report as described therein.
• A resolution establishing a Justice40 Oversight Commission to identify environmentally disadvantaged and un-resourced communities in Atlanta to ensure that such communities benefit from opportunities and resources available through the Biden administration’s Justice40 initiative.
• A resolution expressing support for the 117th Congress’ House Resolution 1382 and Senate Resolution 790 which commemorate the Atlanta Race Massacre by honoring the victims and reaffirming the commitment of the U.S. Congress to combat hatred, injustice, and white supremacy.
• A resolution urging the Georgia General Assembly to pass a resolution acknowledging the atrocities of the Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906 and to honor the victims and to reaffirm the state of Georgia’s commitment to combat hatred, injustice, and white supremacy.
• A resolution urging the Georgia General Assembly to protect communities by enacting legislation to regulate corporate ownership of private homes and reduce the proliferation of investor-owned housing in Atlanta.
• A resolution urging the Georgia General Assembly to enact legislation that prohibits the offense of commercial harassment in the state of Georgia to preserve public order through the protection of the residents and visitors to the state.
• An ordinance to waive Chapter 2, Article IX, Division 1, Section 2–910 (Grant Applications) of the City’s Code of Ordinances to ratify the City of Atlanta’s grant application with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) at the U.S. Department of Justice for a BJA governmental unit grant to support the operating costs associated with the Center for Diversion and Services and to authorize the chief financial officer to accept the award of the grant funding and to amend the Fiscal Year 2023 budget in the amount of $2.9 million.
• An ordinance imposing a moratorium on the acceptance of any application for special administrative permit or building permit for which a special administrative permit has not been applied for, including land disturbance permits, for any property located in an R-5 Zoning District (Two Family Residential) within the Home Park neighborhood for a period not to exceed six months.
• An ordinance to amend Part 16, Chapter 18H of the 1982 Zoning Ordinance of the City of Atlanta, as amended, so as to create a new Section 16–18H.004 to create regulations for short term rentals in the Home Park neighborhood.
