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Georgia DCA awards Brookhaven Plan First designation (2026–2028), opening financing advantages
Summary
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs presented Brookhaven's Plan First designation for 2026–2028, highlighting planning achievements, community engagement and financial benefits including reduced GEFA loan interest and bonus points on CHIP and LIHTC applications.
Daniel Gaddis, planning outreach coordinator with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, announced that Brookhaven has been designated a Plan First community for 2026 through 2028. The designation recognizes comprehensive-plan implementation and makes Brookhaven eligible for certain financial incentives and competitive advantages in state and federal funding programs.
Gaddis said the Plan First application period was competitive and that the designation recognizes Brookhaven's community engagement, comprehensive-plan follow-through and projects like the Windsor–Osborne roundabout, Peachtree Creek Greenway, City Center master plan, and housing and workforce initiatives. "This designation makes the city of Brookhaven one of only 14 communities in the state to achieve this designation for the '26 through '28 time frame," Gaddis said.
Benefits spelled out by the Department of Community Affairs include a reduced interest rate on qualifying Georgia Environmental Financing Authority (GEFA) loans (the presentation cited past savings of more than $300,000 in some Plan First communities), three bonus points on Community Development Block Grant Home Investment Partnership (CHIP) applications and three bonus points on Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) applications for qualifying revitalization plans.
Gaddis and DCA reviewers also commended Brookhaven's bilingual outreach, virtual and in-person workshops, targeted listening sessions and diverse steering committee membership as strengths of the application. The DCA offered to present a certificate on the council dais and noted the designation's potential for future financing opportunities.
Next steps: Brookhaven staff can pursue the financing advantages and incorporate the designation into upcoming grant and loan applications.
