Atlanta City Council: Budget meeting; entertainment district; building permits

June 21,2017

Source: Collin Kelley, Atlanta INtown Paper

The Atlanta City Council has rescheduled its deliberation on the city’s proposed $2 billion operating budget and proposed $637 million general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2018 to a special called meeting. The council will reconvene to approve a budget on Wednesday, June 21, at 1 p.m. in Council Chamber, Atlanta City Hall. For a complete list of proposed FY18 budgetary amendments, click here.

A set of resolutions to create a Downtown Atlanta Entertainment District and allow lighted “Times Square-style” signage and video boards were approved by the city council at its June 19 meeting. The boundaries of the new district will be Cortland Street on the east, Ivan Allen Boulevard on the north, Northside Drive on the west and Mitchell Street to the south. The  idea for the district comes from Central Atlanta Progress, which wants to boost tourism and nighttime activity in Downtown. 

The Atlanta City Council has voted to allow changes in the requirements for building permits. An amendment to the existing building code will allow general repair work up to as much $10,000 to be performed without a building permit. This will apply to an existing single-family, duplex, multi-family or non-residential structure. The amendment, which passed unanimously on Monday, increases the monetary threshold from $2,500 to $10,000, and serves to remove some of the regulatory burden on those seeking to perform repairs or building upgrades. The move will reduce the number of annual permits by about one-thousand, which allows the Department of City Planning to re-direct its resources to address new construction and other major projects.