JANUARY 5 - 18, 2018 • VOL. 12 — NO. 1
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Sandy Springs Reporter
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► 2018:
Looking into political crystal ball PAGE 10 2017: Year in Review PAGE 3 ► ►
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MLK DAY EVENTS OUT & ABOUT | P8
Affordable housing rises on city’s 2018 agenda BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
HONORIN
Affordable housing was a hot topic as the city drafted a new zoning code last year, concluding in a construction incentive program officials described as just a start. In 2018, affordability is rising to the top of the city’s agenda in both policy and practice. Mayor Rusty Paul kicked off the new year by saying he will place the long-anticipated redevelopment of the northern Roswell Road corridor on the city’s official short-list of policy goals. A prime concern in that redevelopment: ensuring a broader mix of housing, including units affordable to “middle- and working-class families.” Paul is expected to name an advisory committee about that redevelopment and its housing options early this year. In the immediate future, the city is working on a deal to gain 10 middle-income-affordable units in a luxury apart-
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City Springs budget climbs over $229M; residences to open BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
READ OUR STUDENT PROFILES PAGES 14-29
The public’s share of the City Springs budget is rising 3.5 percent to over $229 million, as Sandy Springs City Council on Dec. 19 approved its first — and, officials promised, only — increase for construction delays, upgrades and other items. The decision came the same day that city officials got their first tour of the privately funded and developed residential part of the new civic center. Branded as Aston City Springs, the apartments and townhomes are See CITY on page 4