The Community Development and Human Services Committee on Oct. 22 voted to hold a proposed ordinance that would extend the sunset dates for multiple Tax Allocation Districts (TADs), pausing a citywide proposal backed by Mayor Andre Dickens after several hours of divided public comment.

Committee Chair Jason Winston made the motion to hold the ordinance; Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari seconded. The vote to hold the measure was 4-0. The ordinance (filed by Councilmember Michael Julian Bond) would have extended the sunset dates for several TADs including the Westside, Eastside, BeltLine, Perry Bolton, Campbellton Road, Metropolitan Parkway, Hallowell/MLK and the Stadium Neighborhoods TADs and proposed a package of neighborhood reinvestment projects tied to those districts.

Why it matters: city officials say extending some TADs is central to the mayor’s Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative, a multi‑billion‑dollar plan the administration says will fund affordable housing, infrastructure, grocery access and transit in historically underinvested South and West Side neighborhoods. Opponents say the same structure can divert locally generated revenue away from schools and other services and accelerate displacement if not tightly constrained.

Administration case and numbers

Courtney English, the mayor’s chief of staff, framed the measure as part of a broader strategy to close what he described as a “tale of two cities” created by decades of segregating policy. He told the committee the administration’s draft project list for neighborhood reinvestment is about $5.5 billion and that projected tax-increment revenue tied to proposed projects could approach $8 billion if all taxing jurisdictions participate. English and administration staff repeatedly said county and Atlanta Public Schools (APS) participation would be required to realize the largest revenue scenario.

“Help isn’t coming” from the federal government, English said, citing recent congressional budget uncertainty, and argued the city must use locally controlled tools to preserve affordability and build neighborhood amenities.

Public comment: wide split between developers, community groups and residents

Speakers at the public-comment portion were sharply divided. Several nonprofit and development leaders told the committee TADs have financed affordable housing, historic preservation and job creation and urged the city to extend the districts.

- “This is a tool that is important. It is not an economic argument. It’s a moral one,” said Thomas Houston, executive director of Medici Road, urging support for a TAD on the Campbellton Road corridor.

- “We’ve benefited from the Eastside TAD tremendously,” said Eric Borders of We Street Charitable Foundation, describing a 20,000-square-foot educational building and future plans for mixed-use redevelopment on Auburn Avenue.

- Ron Kilpatrick of the Historic District Development Corporation said Eastside TAD financing had been “the catalyst investment” that made a $37,000,000 Front Porch mixed‑use project feasible.

Other speakers representing small businesses and community development organizations — including the YMCA of Metro Atlanta, the Council for Quality Growth and the Westside Future Fund — described TAD-funded projects that they said had produced affordable units, retail space, parks and workforce programs.

Opponents and skeptics urged caution or opposed the extension outright. They warned of long-term diversion of locally generated tax revenue from schools and local government, uneven benefits and weak accountability.

- “The mayor wants to siphon $5,000,000,000 of public money away from APS, the city, and the county to give to these developers,” said Eric Strickland, who described large property owners’ undervaluation of commercial property and warned that the TAD extension would further shift burdens to residents.

- James Martin, chair of MPUD, called the extension “fiscal irresponsibility on steroids,” asserting the proposed plan would “extend the public’s pain” and telling the committee that the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board had opposed further extension.

Committee action and next steps

Chair Winston moved to hold the ordinance for additional work and community outreach; the committee approved the motion 4-0. Committee members and administration staff pledged to continue meetings, provide detailed project lists and financial breakdowns, and return with further information about revenue projections, project-specific capital stacks and the participation commitments from Fulton County and APS.

Votes at a glance (selected items affecting or related to TAD/neighborhood reinvestment)

- TAD extension ordinance (Councilmember Bond): Motion to hold by Chair Jason Winston; second by Liliana Bakhtiari; vote 4-0 — held in committee for additional analysis.

- Huff Road multimodal plan (item 2501333): Motion to approve; second by Bakhtiari; vote 4-0 — approved for adoption into the city comprehensive plan.

- A package of FY2026 HUD entitlement and HOME/HOPWA-related acceptance and budget ordinances (CDBG, ESG, HOPWA, HOME): motions approved 4-0 to accept and budget federal grant awards (details in Committee minutes).

- A ratification of a contract-management platform (Neighborly) for DGCD and a grant to support Santa Fe Villas (HUD Section 8 contract): both approved 4-0.

What committee members asked for next

Committee members repeatedly asked the administration and Invest Atlanta for: (1) a detailed project list with line‑item cost estimates; (2) annual P&L-style summaries for each TAD showing beginning balance, annual increment collected, expenditures by project and ending balance; (3) a breakdown of how much each TAD has contributed to affordable housing, infrastructure and green space to date; and (4) contingency scenarios if Fulton County or APS decline to participate.

Numbers, claims and context captured at the meeting

- Administration draft project list estimate: $5.5 billion; projected increment over the period including all taxing jurisdictions: roughly $8 billion (administration estimate).

- Administration: extension is intended to fund affordable housing, parks and trails, grocery access, small-business supports, and transit connections in underinvested neighborhoods.

- Public comment claim: James Martin said the proposal would “divert” more than $100,000,000 in the first year of extension (2030) from general funds and schools; Martin also said more than 14% of the city’s tax base is already sequestered in TADs.

- Administration reported that extension requires participation by Fulton County and APS to secure the largest revenue scenario; staff said if either jurisdiction declined, projected revenue would fall materially (roughly by the percentage of the tax base each jurisdiction represents).

Why this will matter going forward

Committee members said they intend to insist on more granular, auditable project lists and clearer governance and accountability mechanisms before endorsing a multi‑decade extension. The administration acknowledged those requests and committed to further meetings with council members, affected neighborhoods and Invest Atlanta and pledged to return with the detailed financial analysis the committee requested.

Ending

The city will schedule further committee meetings and at least one additional public hearing to allow more time for technical analysis and continued public input before the council considers any ordinance to extend the TAD sunsets.