With the Atlanta BeltLine network projecting to expand further, the organization has been working to engage with and inform communities near its trails.
Ericka Davis, Atlanta BeltLine Communications and Media Relations Director, said the BeltLine has a robust and active community engagement department.
“Before we even start on a project, we’re already in the community providing them information [and] hosting meetings,” she said.
She also said the Atlanta BeltLine has hosted meetings to introduce the community to the contractor. They also pay door-to-door visits.
“I’ve gone door-to-door to discuss things and even initiatives we have in Atlanta BeltLine. We host pop-up meetings. We go to community organization meetings [and] homeowner association meetings. If you call us, we will be there, and we come to your home.”
The BeltLine considers it a moral and ethical obligation to make sure the voices of citizens are heard, according to Davis.
“The planning of the BeltLine was not something that originated with us in a corporate office. It was a grassroots movement by the community to bring the BeltLine into existence based on a graduate student,” she said.
Informing the community
As previously reported in The Signal, Georgia State student and Westside trail resident Soli Nicolson expressed her concerns about how the BeltLine’s expansion will affect neighborhood safety and property values.
For the Westside trail, meetings were held and the project manager’s phone number is also posted on signs and flyers, according to Davis.
She said the BeltLine conducts an extensive education and awareness campaign before entering a neighborhood for a project to ensure concerns are addressed on the front end and throughout the project
“Our community engagement office is a part of the legal ordinance involved in the BeltLine,” she said. “We have to do community engagement. We have to be able to be responsive to the citizens’ and residents’ concerns.”
The BeltLine Bill as a resource
Davis said Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), also called the BeltLine Bill, is another tool in the transportation system’s toolkit.
“What it does is it allows us the potential to be able to complete our projects in a more efficient manner,” she said.
SB 4 was adopted by Georgia General Assembly’s House of Representatives and Senate on April 2 and enables transportation projects to be completed through public contracts with private enterprises, according to the Assembly’s website.
The BeltLine receives funding from tax dollars, private donations and recently public-private partnerships, according to Davis.
“So this is just another tool in our tool kit to allow us to be able to move forward with projects,” she said. “But you have to have developers and people who are interested in partnering with the public-private partner to get it done.”
The provisions from SB 4 will apply to street stakes, trails, parks and transit, according to Davis.
Affordable housing options
The BeltLine is in the process of offering new advances in affordable housing, including the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, according to Davis.
She said Georgia State graduate students and professors should utilize the benefits of the BeltLine’s partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank.
“We have put up $400,000. The Federal Home Loan Bank is doing a match. It is a two-for-one match of $200,000,” she said. “It will go towards down payments assistance for people who want to own a home within a half of a mile of the Atlanta BeltLine. And they can get up to $45,000 of down payment assistance.”
Individuals can apply for the down payment assistance program now, according to Davis.
She also said the BeltLine is funding an owner occupied rehab program for residents living on the BeltLine who cannot afford to rehabilitate their home.
“We kicked that off in March. The owner occupied rehab applications closed out last week, and we had over a 100 applications,” she said.
Stanton Oaks near Turner Field has been also funded by the BeltLine for a total gut rehab for the affordable housing units, according to Davis.
“The folks a get a beautiful new development to move back into and be able to stay in place and have it remain affordable,” she said.
The BeltLine encourages individuals with questions or concerns to contact their offices in the Community Engagement Department, according to Davis.
“If you have a concern contact us directly, to make sure number one that its the Atlanta BeltLine, and number two if it isn’t, we are responsive to your concerns,” she said.
