Among the development proposals are apartment projects for low-income workers who commute daily to the city's wealthiest business corridor. The current estimated work force of 115,000 is expected to grow to 215,000 over the next several years, according to District officials.
The issue of affordable housing for the workers is expected to be a controversial subject among DeKalb County officials in the next several months, area brokers who attend the public county hearings regularly tell GlobeSt.com. Opposing new apartment construction are residents who fear a crush of new high-rise apartments will lead to zoning sprawl, create increased traffic problems and saturate the area with multifamily housing.
Residents have also told elected county officials that rental high rises are proliferating in the area just outside the Perimeter Community Improvement District because of a zoning loophole. That loophole allows developers to replace old office buildings with large apartment structures.
Community Improvement Districts were created by state law as self-taxing agencies to fund improvements in the district. The CIDs collect property taxes from businesses within a geographic boundary. The Perimeter CID operates in DeKalb and Fulton counties. Among the Perimeter CID corporate members are Cingular Wireless, Cox Enterprises, Hewlett Packard and UPS.
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