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Atlanta City Council ordinance calls for independent review of Gulch deal
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...calls-for.html
"Eight of the 15 members of the Atlanta City Council are calling for an independent review of the planned redevelopment of downtown's "Gulch" following criticism that the proposal is a bad deal for the city and taxpayers.
A resolution introduced late Monday at the end of a marathon council meeting directs Atlanta's chief financial officer to hire an outside accounting or consulting firm to analyze some 600 pages of documents detailing the plan and submit a report on its findings.
Most of three hours of public comment during Monday's meeting was taken up critics who said the Gulch deal would give away far more in tax incentives to the Los Angeles-based CIM Group, the developer behind an up-to-$5 billion redevelopment of the old downtown rail yard, than the city would get back in benefits including an affordable housing commitment.
"We heard Atlanta loud and clear," said Councilman Amir Farokhi, the ordinance's author. "The overwhelming feeling is that while residents want to see the Gulch developed, they don't feel fully informed and want more assurances that the framework is in the public's best interest."
While the Gulch deal wasn't on Monday afternoon's council agenda, supporters on the council had been expected to make a motion to bring up the proposal for consideration. But Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms released a statement Monday morning saying she would not ask for a council vote on Monday.
But that did nothing to dampen a barrage of criticism of the city's plan to provide up to $1.75 billion in public financing to incentivize the project. Some of the strongest words came from Julian Bene, until recently a member of the board of Invest Atlanta, the city's economic development agency.
"This is the worst deal I've seen in my career," Bene told the council. "It is appalling this was brought to you."
Bene charged the city would lose $1 billion to $1.4 billion in property taxes over the deal's 30-year lifetime while receiving at best $100 million in promised benefits. He and others called for the independent review that the council members later proposed.
While defending the deal, Bottoms announced she would host a public meeting on Sept. 26 at City Hall to air the proposed deal. The mayor's office also has launched a website touting the proposal called "Green-light The Gulch."
Farokhi's ordinance was referred to the council's Finance/Executive Committee."
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