The ABCs of the SSD (Part 1 of 2)
THE original BELTLINE VISION is AMBITIOUS. FUNDING FOR THE PROJECT must also be truly ambitious.
Part 1 of 2
Acronyms have loomed large in recent dialogue about the BeltLine lately: SSDs, SADs, and SALADs... it’s easy to simply ‘tune out’ when the jargon starts. But these cryptic words explain the precise actions that the Atlanta City Council will soon use to chart the future of the Atlanta BeltLine. So we at BeltLine Rail Now thought it wise to explain them, and to explain how to make sure we get them right the first time.
SAD stands for Special Assessment District. It’s a fundraising instrument commonly created by cities across the country to define a special area of unique property taxation. The taxes collected by a SAD pays for infrastructure construction over a long period of time. SADs are frequently used to push more of the financial burden of building infrastructure to those who will likely benefit most from the construction.
Late last month, City Council began deliberations on legislation to create Atlanta’s first-ever SAD. Our SAD has a new name: the BeltLine Special Services District (SSD). The SSD currently before Atlanta City Council describes a wide stripe that envelops the entire loop of the 22-mile BeltLine, reaching out one-quarter mile on both sides of the trail.
The SSD is projected to raise $100 million to finish the paved BeltLine trail, and is being touted by the Atlanta BeltLine leadership as both groundbreaking and ambitious.
But is it really?
Let’s pause for a second to revisit the original goal of the BeltLine vision: a city that connects 45 of its long-separated neighborhoods, where all - regardless of income, race, ability, age, or geography - have equitable access to jobs, affordable housing, and a better life. The full vision of the BeltLine allows Atlanta - and its doubled population - to greet the middle of the century as a truly sustainable place to live.
The key to achieving that future is implementing the entire vision. A peaceful sidewalk that benefits a few is indeed a part of that vision, but a far more important part is the light rail loop that connects to MARTA and facilitates access to every corner of our city. Without rail transit, there is no true affordable housing: cars still rule the city, and the concrete necklace of parking structures needed to make development viable in the corridor becomes a dull gray shadow of the ‘emerald necklace’ once envisioned.
Atlantans, we have a chance to make the SSD work in favor of the full vision, to pay for much more than a dream amenity for the few who can afford to live near it. It’s time to create the BeltLine’s financial foundation in a truly ambitious funding mix that pays for transit over the long term. It is inarguable: we need more local funding if we are to finish this dream. We propose the city increase the SSD amount to $400 million, and tax commercial property owners on the basis of the undeveloped land value embedded in their total property assessment.
The result will then be both groundbreaking AND ambitious.
Next week:
We’ll explain how SALADs will allow Atlanta to be even more ambitious in fulfilling the BeltLine vision.