TAD's approval is vote for community
MY VIEW
Atlanta Journal Constitution
By CHUCK WARBINGTON
Published on: 11/04/07
This Tuesday, most of the municipalities in Gwinnett will be holding elections for mayor and/or city council positions. Obviously, selecting true visionaries to lead the city over the years to come is important. However, an equally important issue will be addressed on the ballot on Tuesday for many of the cities in Gwinnett.
Eight of the municipalities will have the opportunity to vote on a referendum allowing these cities to encourage revitalization under the state's Redevelopment Powers Law. The eight cities are Norcross, Lilburn, Suwanee, Duluth, Dacula, Sugar Hill, Braselton and Loganville.
Chuck Warbington is executive director of Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District.
This referendum is critically important to the future of these municipalities as they continue to redevelop and transform vacant and blighted property within their city limits.
The Redevelopment Powers Law will be used in economically challenged areas that are already developed and showing signs of age. The law encourages redevelopment, which historically has been in the form of sustainable, architecturally pleasing facilities. Areas that could benefit from the law include those along Lawrenceville Highway and Buford Highway, for example.
The Redevelopment Powers Law allows a targeted area to use some of its tax revenue for improvements to that area. Forty-eight states now use this funding mechanism for revitalization, and in Georgia, this mechanism is commonly referred to as a tax allocation district or TAD. There are currently 27 TADs throughout metro Atlanta, with the most notable example being Atlantic Station in downtown Atlanta. TADs are a "tool" to invigorate a declining area in a wide variety of ways.
• A tool to reduce crime and gang activity: As vacant and blighted areas are redeveloped and improved, they will no longer be magnets for criminal activity. The reduction in crime is achieved even without having to increase police presence by the mere fact that no longer does the area serve as a haven for crime, graffiti and gang activity, but instead provides a new, invigorated quality of life for the residents, employees and business owners within the area. A community with thriving business owners and active residents is a safe one.
• A tool to provide substantial, positive economic impact to declining areas: TADs will give the jurisdiction the ability to provide an infusion of funding within the predetermined blighted area so that it can become a safe, attractive and productive part of the community again. The beauty behind the TAD investment is the way public dollars are leveraged within that area. This has recently been confirmed by an analysis of all 27 TADs in metro Atlanta; the city of Atlanta TADs alone produced an average "return" of just under $6 of direct private investment per $1 of public investment in the district. The analysis also states that within the suburban areas of the metro Atlanta region, the average "return" for suburban TADs is more than $10 of direct, private investment per $1 of public investment. This amount of return on investment is a critical component to the ultimate transformation of declining areas.
• A tool to alleviate traffic congestion: Some of Gwinnett's worst traffic congestion is generally located along the major corridors within the jurisdiction of older developed areas. TADs will allow funding for transportation improvements where, otherwise, current funding is not available. Traffic congestion projects could include major roadway or intersection improvements, interparcel connections, bridge replacements and pedestrian safety improvements.
One of the biggest myths about the TAD is that many feel that it is a new tax or a tax increase. The emphasis, however, should be on the word "allocation," as TADs are simply a means of allocating the new revenues that will result from the increased property values of improved and redeveloped properties within the district. Those new revenues result from private investment.
As you go to the poll on Tuesday, make the choice to be proactive in transforming problem areas within these cities. As a progressive community in Georgia, we do not have the option to do nothing. A vote for the TAD will put the right tool into the hands of our leaders to enact and implement immediate and positive change that will benefit the entire community.