FP130724

city dope Poverty Reservation? Not So Much

Athens Housing Authority

Well, Athens-Clarke Commissioner Doug Lowry has the “You’re talking about working individuals, even when you’re Banner-Herald commenter vote locked up. talking about public housing,� he said.

Lowry, at the commission’s July 18 agenda-setting meeting, The tax-credit units are reserved for people who earn 60 signaled his intention to oppose redeveloping Jack. R. Wells percent of the local median income, or about $30,000 for a Homes, the Hawthorne Avenue public housing complex popufamily of four. larly known as Pauldoe. When Commissioner Andy Herod asked In other cities that are demolishing public housing to make why, Lowry replied that other cities are getting rid of their way for mixed-income developments, there are fewer affordable “poverty reservations.� Public housing breeds intergenerational units, so the poor are being pushed out to the inner suburbs, poverty, and residents are better off mixed in with the rest of where they lack services like transit. Not so at Pauldoe; the the population, he said. higher density means the amount of public housing won’t “In some of these compounds like Pauldoe, you can be change, but families with different income levels will live next born, live and die,� he said. door.

Lowry said he hopes that, when he leaves office, Athens’ ridiculously high poverty rate will be lower than when he was elected in 2006. “Tripling the number of people in poverty is not, I believe, the way to do that,� he said.

His choice of words drew the righteous fury of Commissioner George Maxwell. “I resent very much Mr. Lowry calling these places compounds,â€? he said. â€œâ€Ś They are [neighborhoods where] people live because they can’t afford anything else.â€?

Maxwell was raised in Broadacres and went on to become a police officer, a mailman, a preacher and a politician. “Don’t tell me nothing good can come out of a place you call a compound,� he said.

Lowry’s analysis of housing policy was actually correct: Traditional public housing does create pockets of poverty. That’s why cities are, in fact, trying new models. The problem—and Lowry should know better—is that the Pauldoe redevelopment isn’t what This is what Doug Lowry considers a “poverty reservation.� he said it is. “This is not a poverty reservation,� Commissioner Kathy Hoard said. “There will be people paying market rents “It is a dramatic change, a radical new way of doing there. It’s not traditional public housing.� things,� Parker said.

Hoard called up Athens Housing Authority Executive The commission vote scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 6 will be Director Rick Parker to explain the project again. (The commison whether to spend $700,000 earmarked for affordable houssion has already heard at least one presentation about it and ing that AHA has paid ACC in lieu of taxes on the $17 million taken a couple of votes.) It will replace Pauldoe’s 125 apartfirst phase, a 100-unit senior assisted living center. (ACC’s ments with 375 “very high end� units. A third will be public contribution will cover demolition and infrastructure like sidehousing, a third will be subsidized with tax credits for the walks and sewers.) Another $1.3 million will come from federal working class, and a third will be leased at market rate. affordable housing grants. AHA will spend $3.2 million, and the “This is essentially the model Commissioner Lowry spoke sale of federal tax credits will net an estimated $11.6 million. about,� Parker said.

As for the commonly-held notion that public housing resiOccupy Ordinance: The public curfew law, which would set dents are lazy moochers, only 4 percent of AHA households hours for the grounds around government buildings in response receive a welfare check, Parker said. The rest work low-wage to last year’s Occupy Athens protests, is headed for a resoundjobs or are elderly and on Social Security. ing defeat. Commissioners got the message—they said they

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FLAGPOLE.COM ∙ JULY 24, 2013

Community Gardens: The commission’s Government Operations Committee settled last week on new zoning regulations that will allow neighborhoods to start community gardens and sell what they grow.

Right now, “agriculture,� as opposed to “gardening�—the difference mainly boils down to livestock and whether crops are for sale or for personal consumption—is only allowed on large suburban and rural lots. If the GOC’s recommendation passes, residents in urban neighborhoods (with the proper permits, of course) will be allowed to created community gardens on vacant lots up to one acre in size and hold farmers’ markets on the property three times a year.

A provision regarding setbacks sparked some debate on the committee. “I sure don’t want them growing corn on the right of way,� NeSmith said.

Hoard agreed. “You don’t want corn out to the sidewalk,� she said. “Of course, there are some houses on my street that could be enhanced by tall corn growing.�

One acre, though, isn’t nearly enough to build a field of dreams or to make human sacrifices, if you happen to be a child of the corn. I’d better see everybody lined up at the podium Aug. 6 to complain about this.

But Wait! There’s More: Check out Flagpole.com for Paul Broun’s take on the proposed Common Core school curriculum, the Jittery Joe’s Roasting Co.’s new location and David Schwick’s story on Warren Hill, the convicted murderer who’s about to be lethally injected with a chemical formula the state is trying to keep a secret.

Blake Aued news@flagpole.com

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Roundabouts: The Tallassee Road-Whitehead Road intersection is probably getting a roundabout and so might‌ Broad Street and King Avenue?

At least, that’s what one commissioner wants.

Due to Steak ‘N’ Shake Mania, ACC Transportation and Public Works wants to put a traffic signal at the Broad-King intersection. The county is asking Steak ‘N’ Shake and the medical office at the corner to pay their fair share of the $70,000 cost based on the traffic they generate—10 percent and 36 percent, respectively. But the doctors don’t want to play ball, according to county Manager Alan Reddish, which will delay the muchneeded light.

Commissioner Andy Herod wondered why ACC wouldn’t build a roundabout at the intersection. Because the state Department of Transportation, which owns Broad Street, would never approve it, Reddish responded.

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will put the Legislative Review Committee recommendation not to pass it on the consent agenda, meaning the ordinance is likely to be voted down unanimously. “For me, the whole notion of restricting access to public property, especially for protests, is very distasteful and just not right,� Commissioner Jerry NeSmith said.

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