Allow us to interpret: Do you want the
BeltLine to get the money it needs, or do you want it to be a long-rolling urban disappointment?
To understand the issue, first wrap your head around the idea of "
tax allocation districts" –
which were supposed to be the main funding source for the $2.4 billion
proposed intown loop of parks, trails, transit and development.
For two decades now,
cities and counties have, with the approval of local voters, created
TADs around blighted areas. They sell bonds to pay for roads, parks,
sewers and other fixes that spur development and boost property values
within the TADs. At the same time, they freeze property tax revenue
schools and local governments get from districts. The money that comes
from higher property values is used to pay off the bonds. Without a
TAD, Atlantic Station might still be an abandoned steel mill full of
hazardous waste.
The Beltline (along with
40 other TADs) suffered a huge blow in February when the state Supreme
Court ruled that using school property taxes for noneducational
redevelopment violated the state's constitution. Because the bulk of
property taxes in Georgia are levied by school boards, the development
scheme du jour lost more than half its revenue stream overnight.
There are valid concerns
about TADs. Big developers, who are getting help with the
infrastructure they need for glitzy office towers, often whine like
spoiled children when TADs require them to set aside affordable housing
or do other things in the public interest. And any program that opens a
spigot of public funds can end up being used for well-connected
interests or distort market forces.
Still, most TAD projects
have ended up funding the kind of community building needed to turn
Atlanta and other cities into better places.
Of course, there's
nothing like pissed-off developers to spur our state's politicians to
action. After the court ruled, the General Assembly quickly passed a
referendum that placed Amendment 2 on the ballot. If passed, it would
revive the option of using school taxes for redevelopment purposes.
In the interim, the
private sector's contributed to the Beltline, but that largesse gets
things only so far – especially when other projects are competing for
big bucks in a tight economy. And buyers of municipal bonds – long the
go-to mechanism for cities to fund infrastructure improvements – have
melted away with the credit crisis.
The Beltline isn't
perfect. Skyrocketing property values around it already have displaced
residents. The city's also been less than nimble with some purchasing
practices (most obviously in dealing with mega-developer Wayne Mason
over a huge tract of land in northeast Atlanta).
But the Beltline
promises to be a tranformative project for the city. It will surpass
Atlantic Station as the nation's largest "brownfield" project,
converting 1,100 acres of former industrial sites into centers of
commerce and leisure, and creating an alternative to the car in the
heart of the city.
The challenges so far
actually are arguments for a more dependable revenue stream. TADs would
allow the city to move quickly in securing land that's needed for the
parks, trails, transit and affordable housing. The quicker they can
move, the better.
If we fail to provide the funding, shame on us for failing to grasp what's necessary to make that vision a reality.
Driver makes an early-morning assessment of the flooding on I-285. A portion of the highway between South Cobb Drive and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway is closed due to Chattahoochee flooding. [email protected] 
Car dealership on Lawrenceville Hwy. in Lawrenceville, GA. Five inches of rain in a 6 hour overnight period. Taken in Lawrenceville, GA by bobtettman
