Members of the Brookhaven City Council at its March 27 advance meeting heard an update on the city’s progress in establishing affordable housing projects that will provide options for people earning 60% and 80% of the area median income.
Aronda Smith, the community development assistant for the city’s planning and zoning department, walked the group through a brief history of the city’s current workforce housing zoning regulations that were adopted by the council as part of a 2018 zoning ordinance rewrite.
It mandated that multi-family residential development approved by rezoning and/or special land use permits set aside 10% of units for households at or below 80% AMI.
Smith reviewed the status of five approved developments. AMLI-Brookhaven, with 630 total units, has 63 set aside for workforce housing units, with 57 currently occupied.
Bellamy Executive Park, with 345 units, has 35 set aside for workforce housing units, of which 25 units are currently occupied. Manor Druid Hills, a project pending issuance of building permits, will have 38 units set aside of its 382 proposed units.
Pandora Apartments, which is in the land disturbance permit process, will have 21 units available for workforce housing of its 205 proposed units. Corporate Square, which is also awaiting land disturbance permits, will have 10% of its 1,702 proposed units designated for workforce housing.
Smith also defined the type of workers whose incomes fall into each category of area median income: 30% AMI are fast food cooks or retail workers, 40% AMI includes waiters, retail salespeople, restaurant cooks, 50% AMI are highway maintenance workers and construction workers, 60% AMI could include dental assistants and MARTA bus drivers, and 80% are elementary and middle school teachers.
Smith and Patrice Ruffin Dowdell, Brookhaven’s assistant city manager, recommended several changes to the existing mandates, including increasing mandatory minimum set-asides to more than 10% of the total housing units, and adjusting income levels to include households between 60% and 80% AMI.
“We need to include the target area of 60% AMI, and so staff came up with the recommendation to allow 5% of the units to be set aside at 60% and 5% to be assigned at the 80%,” Smith said.
Smith also reviewed recommended changes to existing small-scale housing, including duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes, including amending nonconforming use regulations to allow alterations and building expansions for grandfathered duplexes without losing their nonconforming status.
In addition, Smith discussed a partnership with MicroLife Institute on a city-owned piece of land at 3826 Clairmont Road. The concept design for the three-quadrant parcel would consist of retail and single-family cottages with small commercial uses.
Finally, Smith discussed a future affordable housing unit called Buford Pointe, on two city-owned parcels at 2677 and 2687 Buford Hwy. totaling almost two acres. The proposed affordable housing development would consist of 120 units on five stories, with 180 parking spaces.
“This is a partnership with the Housing Authority and will target the affordable housing community,” Smith said. “It’s important that the city continue to expand and take various approaches to find the tools that will allow us to provide affordable housing in our community.”
The council encouraged staff to advance changes through revising regulations and introducing amendments to city ordinances.