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Tenants and advocates urge city to intervene after Campus Edge residents face displacement
Summary
Multiple tenants and advocates told the council that Campus Edge Apartments residents are being forced from their homes, reported structural failures and unaffordable relocation costs, and asked the city to require the owner to meet relocation needs and to hold a public meeting with tenants and the owner.
Tenants from Campus Edge Apartments and housing advocates urged the Marietta City Council to intervene after residents said the property's owner initiated a demolition-and-redevelopment plan that has left many residents scrambling for housing, incurring moving and transportation costs and, in some cases, facing homelessness.
Multiple speakers during the unscheduled public-comment period said portions of buildings are structurally compromised, maintenance requests have gone unanswered, and residents have been given short notice to vacate. Speakers described tenants who cannot attend the meeting because they are sick, working multiple jobs, or otherwise overwhelmed by the displacement process.
Advocates demanded that the council use its leverage to require Campus Realty Advisors (CRA), the property owner, to meet with tenants, cover moving costs, offer leasing options at previous rent levels where feasible, and convene a public meeting including tenants, advocates and CRA. Tenants' advocates and organizers described cases of serious medical need among residents (a tenant with a fractured spine), structural failures (a collapsed roof reported in one unit), and abrupt rent or utility charges during the relocation process.
Speakers included tenant organizers and members of grassroots groups who said some tenants have already found replacement housing at higher cost, some are facing imminent homelessness and others cannot participate in public meetings because of time and work constraints. Advocates urged the council not to defer responsibility, saying that private ownership of housing creates displacement risks that require a response when tenants have urgent needs.
Council members did not announce an immediate directive or a binding motion in the public-comment period. Speakers asked the council to require or facilitate (1) a public meeting including CRA and tenants, (2) CRA-paid moving and relocation assistance where residents cannot secure comparable housing, and (3) investigations into reported structural failures and safety conditions. Advocates requested the city to press CRA to negotiate with the tenant association as a representative body.
Why it matters: tenants and advocates said the situation is urgent; several speakers said demolition is scheduled and that residents must move within weeks. Council members were told there are tenants in unsafe conditions and others who lack resources to relocate without assistance.
Next steps: advocates requested the council set a public meeting with CRA and tenants. Council staff did not announce a formal scheduling outcome on the record during the public-comment period; advocates said they will continue outreach and seek a formal meeting.
