ANDP - Building, investing in and advocating for mixed income communities.

MICI History & Purpose

With more than a decade of experience in community development and affordable housing, ANDP recognized that a variety of regional issues including sprawl, transportation, air and water quality and housing were all too often being discussed independently of each other. In 2000,

ANDP began to convene metro Atlanta's experts in fields of business, nonprofit

services, government and academia to discuss the region's rising inability to generate housing that is affordable to people at a variety of income levels. This gathering of leaders has evolved to what is known today as the Mixed Income Communities Initiative. MICI has grown to include nearly 60 organizations representing a broad cross section of society.

Influenced by a myriad of complex and interconnected issues of urban sprawl, traffic congestion, transportation, air and water quality issues, MICI initiated a study to determine exactly who was affected, and how severe the problems continue to be. From 2000 to 2004, MICI commissioned a variety of studies to examine: demographic shifts and the effects of tax and other policies on where and how the region's citizens live; the relationship between job centers, salaries in those job centers and housing affordable to people in those job centers; and possible solutions to address these concerns.

Research & Policy Advocacy

Since its initial publication of Making the Case for Mixed Income and Mixed Use Communities in 2004 and its follow-up report Making the Case for Housing Choices and Complete Communities: The Next Generation in 2007, the MICI has transitioned its work to focus on the foreclosure crisis and other matters related to homeowner affordability including fair property assessments in high-foreclosure neighborhoods and increasing the Homestead Exemption rate in Fulton County and City of Atlanta.

Examining Appraised Home Values in High-Foreclosure Neighborhoods

On April 1, we released Updated Analysis of Home Sale Prices and Appraised Home Values in High Foreclosure Rate Neighborhoods. In this follow-up to the October 2008 report, we learned that the gap between current home prices and current tax appraised values in Metro Atlanta's highest foreclosure neighborhoods expanded significantly in late 2008 as home sale prices continued to plummet in these areas.

On Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Governor Purdue signed Senate Bill 55 into legislation. Under this new law, county assessors are required to include foreclosure impacts when setting tax values.

On April 23, the AJC's D.L. Bennett reported on recent action taken by metro assessors to revalue residential properties to reflect the current market. According to the article, Clayton County lowered tax values for 75% of homes (70,000 parcels), Fulton lowered values for 30% of homes (100,000 parcels), Gwinnett lowered values for 25% of homes (60,000 parcels); and DeKalb lowered values for 6% of homes (13,500 parcels).

Homestead Exemption ballot measure approved by voters

One of the most important advocacy efforts undertaken by ANDP and its partners, was the effort to increase Homestead Exemption rates in Fulton County and City of Atlanta - the Keep Atlantans in Their Homes campaign.

After several months of educational efforts, voters in Atlanta and Fulton County voted overwhelmingly in November 4, 2008 to increase their Homestead Exemption rates. Ballot initiatives affiliated with ANDP's and two other initiatives supported by ANDP were passed.

Since the 1930's, local governments have offered homestead exemptions to help existing low and middle income families remain in their homes and communities by reducing their property taxes, especially during times of economic hardship. Unfortunately, Atlanta's homestead exemption has not kept pace with rising home prices. Home values have risen 130% since the Atlanta-Fulton Homestead was last increased in 1993.

The Greening of ANDP

With the assistance of The Home Depot Foundation, ANDP will be applying green/sustainable best practices to all of its program areas.

Lending - Our loan fund, CRLIF, will be offering special lending incentives for developments that are incorporating green standards and practices.

Advocacy - There are many policy initiatives to be undertaken to encourage the adoption of greener building practices. ANDP's advocacy team will be embracing these policy initiatives to rally their passage.

Development - ANDP intends to secure green certifications for all future new developments. More on this topic soon!

MICI Committee Members

Sharon A. Gay
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP

John Ahmann
Ahmann

Audrey Akpan
Atlanta-Fulton Land Bank

Jim Beaty
SunTrust CDC

Janet Bell
PolicyLink

Protip Biswas
United Way of Metro Atlanta

Bill Bolling
Atlanta Community Food Bank

Lynn Brazen
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta

Joe Brooks
PolicyLink

John Baker Brown
Faith And The City

Steve Brown
Former Mayor, Peachtree City

Christopher Burke
Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association

Ellen Byrdsell
Fulton County Dept of Environment & Community Development

Christie Cade
Georgia Department of Community Affairs

Raymond Christman
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta

Carmen Chubb
Georgia Department of Community Affairs

Melanie Cook
DB Consulting

Roy Craft
Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta, Inc.

Felecia Davis
Georgia Conservancy

Michael Dobbins
Georgia Tech

Jim Durrett
Livable Communities Coalition

Clinton Dye
The Atlanta Urban League, Inc.

Doug Gatlin
Faith And The City

Carol Gregory
Habitat for Humanity Int. SE Region

Bruce C. Gunter
Progressive Redevelopment, Inc.

Pete Hayley
University Center Development Corporation

Archie Hill
FannieMae

Bradley Hix
Atlanta and Georgia Apartment Associations, Inc.

Sibyl Howell
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Young Hughley
Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation

Larry Johnson
DeKalb County Commission

Larry Keating
Georgia Tech City Planning

Gray Kelly
Southface Energy Institute

Susan Kidd
Georgia Conservancy

Terri M. Lee
City of Atlanta

Kate Little
G-STAND

Harriett J. Macklin
Kaffee Shoppe

Jane Massey
Georgia Department of Community Affairs

Emelyne Mosier
Georgia Power

Na'Taki Osborne
National Wildlife Federation

Marina S. Peed
The IMPACT! Group

Shannon Powell
Midtown Alliance

Jeff Rader
Quality Growth Associates

Wole Ralph
Accion USA

Dan J. Reuter
Atlanta Regional Commission

David Sawicki
Georgia Inst. of Technology

Mark Scott
HomeBanc

Pam Sessions
Hedgewood Properties

Tahmida Shamsuddin
Central Atlanta Progress

Myles Greene Smith
Georgia Power Company

J. Ron Terwilliger
Trammell Crow Residential

Rebecca Wallace
Ahmann Boyette Levy

Tom Weyandt
Atlanta Regional Commission

Joy Wilkins
Georgia Tech

H. Lamar Willis
Atlanta City Council