The Atlanta City Council Zoning Committee unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting the use of barbed wire and razor wire along public rights-of-way, an issue local urbanists and walkability advocates—including ThreadATL cofounder Darin Givens—have raised in the past. Jason Dozier, one of the councilmembers behind this ordinance, said the issue is “near and dear to my heart.”

“Imagine walking your five-year-old daughter through an urban part of our city on the sidewalk, and you have razor wire, concertina wire, barbed wire jutting out at your face,” he said. “I thank the staff, I thank our NPUs, and I thank our communities across the city for supporting us in this effort to make Atlanta more walkable.”

Documenters has covered this discussion in meeting notes from Neighborhood Planning Units L and Y. (Documented by Dominique Huff; additional reporting by Ada Wood)

Atlanta City Council

🧹 Community Development Committee

The Community Development Committee tabled legislation extending Atlanta’s tax allocation districts. The legislation, which the committee will revisit next year, could extend sunset dates for the original TADs to 2055, which would help fund the $5.1 billion Atlanta Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative. Residents protested the extension during public comment. Resident Paul Bolster took issue with the fact that much of the City’s future revenue is being put in the hands of Invest Atlanta board members. “We elected you to make these decisions. We didn’t elect members of the Invest Atlanta board,” he said.

Also discussed at this meeting:

• The Georgia Planning Association Awards honored Atlanta’s current Comprehensive Development Plan and ATL Zoning 2.0 for Outstanding Public Involvement. The CDP process engaged more than 10,000 Atlantans.

• City Planning Deputy Commissioner Geneasa Elias said an EPA Brownfields Grant Fund helped renovate 1.1 million square feet of space crucial to the Chattahoochee Brick and Atlanta Riverlands Project. (Documented by Daniella Johnson)

🛫 Transportation Committee 

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport served nearly 29 million passengers in this year’s third quarter and has 979 days of cash reserves. (Documented by Dominique Huff)

⚡ Utilities Committee 

The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience plans to expand access to electric vehicle charging sites in energy-burdened communities. (Documented by Natalie Pilgeram)

🚧 Zoning Committee

ATL Zoning 2.0 is inching closer to completion, with a public draft of the ordinance set for release by December 19. The rewrite promises to reorganize and clarify Atlanta’s zoning code, which could clear the way for more diverse housing and businesses in the City. (Documented by Dominique Huff)

Neighborhood Planning Units

🏫 NPU-I

The Atlanta Public Schools superintendent of the North Atlanta and Mays clusters, Curtis Douglass, provided an update on APS Forward 2040, through which the Atlanta Board of Education aims to create a Comprehensive Long Range Facilities Plan for the district. APS is considering closing Peyton Forest Elementary School or Jackson Primary Elementary School. It could also close Usher-Collier Elementary School, depending on whether voters approve the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (E-SPLOST).

Also discussed at this meeting:

Atlanta Police Department Zone 1 Captain Rodney Jones reported a 50 percent reduction in violent crime over the past month, from 12 cases down to six. He reported that APD made eight arrests for shoplifting from a CVS on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

The board approved an ownership change at 101 Texaco (on Hamilton E. Holmes Drive) but not without pushback. Resident Margaret Williams believes there are too many gas stations selling alcohol. “We got a bunch of drunk people that live on Martin Luther King that don’t pay taxes,” she said. (Documented by Natalie Pilgeram)

🌆 NPU-L 

Officers approved a three-year Special Use Permit for Dome Atlanta—an inflatable event venue in Vine City—despite residents’ concerns about traffic and noise. Dome Atlanta is open to continuing an agreement under which a portion of its ticket sales are donated to the community.

Also discussed at this meeting:

The Atlanta Police Department requested federal support to investigate a series of vehicle break-ins in Zone 1. (Documented by Natalie Pilgeram)

🍑 Invest Atlanta

President and CEO Eloisa Klementich presented on Invest Atlanta’s work to address food insecurity. Since 2023, the agency has completed more than 48 projects that reached half of the city’s priority neighborhoods while creating more than $218 million in economic impact, including the Goodr grocery store on Edgewood, the Azalea Fresh Market in Downtown, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank center in Adamsville.

Also discussed at this meeting:

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Nino Chiappetta presented on Carey Park Phase 1, which will deliver 70 homes, including 45 units affordable for those making 80 to 120 percent AMI.

The Atlanta Land Trust received a Resurgens Fund Grant from Invest Atlanta to build 14 affordable homes on English Avenue, within the Westside’s tax allocation district. (Documented by Jessica Dudley)

🔎 Clayton County Board of Commissioners

Vice Chair (District 1) Alaina Reaves passed a resolution calling out Chair Dr. Alieka Anderson-Henry’s alleged code of conduct violations dating back to January 2025. Items included announcing a housing task force without consulting other commissioners and raising her voice at fellow commissioners. Anderson-Henry said she’s done nothing wrong and will continue to focus on moving the county forward. (Documented by Dominique Huff)