Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has championed criminal justice reform efforts that have become a national model. Housing justice advocates recognize the popularity of these reforms and will likely promote mandates on apartment owners and management related to re-entry housing for felons. Although many of the activists' proposals are ill-conceived, there is no question that the concerns they seek to address merit public discussion. Through the Apartment Association, the industry will continue to engage with policy makers and stakeholders on each of these serious issues. Measures that impact the apartment industry surface at every level of government every year, regardless of the real estate cycle. The issues change based on the market, but the volume of initiatives is constant. To be fully effective, industry professionals must remain active in the Association's engagement on these proposals. The Association's Government Affairs Team relies on a bank of industry professionals who help assess the threat of these challenges and guide legislative engagement. This is primarily accomplished through individual volunteers who serve on the Government Affairs Committee. But the issues are many and the volunteers are few. Please consider supporting these advocacy efforts by volunteering to work on specific issues, subject areas, or within a given geographic region. Contact your Government Affairs Team today for more information. LOCAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AAA Sponsors Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) Conference In June, your AAA Governmental Affairs team attended the GMA Annual Conference in Savannah, and in addition to sponsoring the conference, AAA staff was able to connect with elected officials from across the state. This event continues to be a great opportunity for the Atlanta Apartment Association to gain visibility at the local level. City of Chamblee to Require Concrete and Steel Framing in New Multifamily Development Several years ago, the City of Chamblee modified their building regulations to require that all new multifamily development be constructed of concrete and steel framing materials. This restriction had a significant impact on the development of new apartment communities. In 2014, the City Council removed the restriction allowing for new projects to be wood-framed which led to an increase in the development of new communities. In July 2016, the City of Chamblee voted on several changes to their Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). Among those changes was an amendment that would again mandate the use of concrete and steel framing in new multifamily communities. Additionally, in an effort to incentivize redevelopment of aging multifamily communities, the City has proposed language that states "mixed-use buildings with three or more stories that are constructed on sites following the approved demolition of 20 or more multifamily dwelling units on the same property shall be permitted to use "podium" construction meeting the requirements of Section 510.2 of the 2012 International Building Code in which the basement and/or ground floor is of Type I-A construction and the stories above the ground floor are of Type V-A construction." AAA staff met with multiple members of the City Council, the City Manager and Development Director to discuss the reasoning behind the proposed changes and to share industry concerns. Despite our opposition, there was significant political will to move this legislation forward. If you have any questions or concerns about the ordinance, please contact Penelope Moceri at pmoceri@atl-apt.org. DeKalb County Water and Sewer Billing Collections Processes In the coming months, DeKalb County will start working to collect on delinquent water and sewer accounts. The county estimates that apartments make up more than $5 million in unpaid accounts. AAA staff has been asked to work with the staff as they develop collection strategies for apartment communities. If you have any questions about the process, please contact Penelope Moceri at pmoceri@atl-apt.org. City of Sandy Springs Proposes Building Code Changes In June, the City of Sandy Springs proposed a change to its building regulations, which would require that "all multifamily communities over 3 stories or exceeding in the aggregate 100,000 square feet must be masonry/steel construction." As proposed, the ordinance would apply to all new applications submitted after its adoption. The ordinance does allow "any project for which a rezoning has been approved shall have 24 months from the date of the code change to obtain a building permit using the current code." As proposed, the legislation is similar to an ordinance adopted by the City of Dunwoody in 2014. The main difference is the aggregate amount with Dunwoody only requiring a building material change at 200,000 square feet. AAA staff is working with Sandy Springs staff, and members of council to encourage consistency between cities. The ordinance will be reviewed by the Department of Community Affairs and brought back to City Council for approval in September. If you have any questions or concerns about the ordinance, please contact Penelope Moceri at pmoceri@atl-apt.org. As Previously Reported Continuing Issues with Fulton County E-File System Fulton County has partnered with the private sector and recently converted to an e-file system for all court related SEP TEMBER /OC TOBER 2016 | H A BITAT | 13