Plans to demolish three houses to make room for more parking have pitted residents against an Atlanta church, arguing that city's planning blueprint prohibits demolitions for new surface parking. The church has filed suit.
"The fight has played out through neighborhood meetings, the neighborhood planning unit and at City Hall, with the Midtown Neighbors' Association unanimously opposing it at every point."
"MNA President Elston Collins, who left the church over the dispute, said that will continue today. Collins said he feels the neighborhood simply can't allow old homes to be wiped away for more parking spaces. And he noted that Blueprint Midtown, the community-approved planning guide for Midtown, specifically opposes more demolition to create parking."
"The church, however, contends it should already have demolished the houses and that there's no legal reason for Atlanta to keep blocking its plan. The structures have no special historic or other protection, the church argues."
FULL STORY: Midtown church, neighbors spar over zoning
Atlanta Eliminates Parking Mandates Near BeltLine
Developments near the city’s popular greenway will no longer be subject to minimum parking requirements to make way for more effective development.
Parking Takes up One-Quarter of Downtown Atlanta
The city’s downtown core devotes an abnormally high percentage of its historic blocks to parking.
Conflict in Philadelphia Over Church Parking in Bike Lanes
A long-standing policy allows parking in front of churches and synagogues but leaves cars blocking bike lanes, and cyclists want the practice to end.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
Study: Larger Vehicles Lead to More Congestion
New research links large SUVs to lower traffic throughput.
Connecticut Assembly to Reconsider TOD Bill
The ‘Work, Live, Ride’ bill would prioritize funding for designated transit-oriented zones to encourage denser development near transit.
New Jersey Affordable Housing Law Turns 50
The Mount Laurel Doctrine tasks each city and town with creating enough affordable housing to meet their needs, but half a century after its passage, the law still faces opposition in some parts of the state.
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