James March-April 2024 online - Flipbook - Page 59
eorgia’s Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) started over 30 years ago
and if you live in metro Atlanta chances
are you’re already in one or at least pass
through one. CIDs are a defined geographic area where a majority of property
owners assess additional taxes to raise revenue for district
improvements. They are a win-win for local governments
because areas continue to improve— whether beautification, transportation or infrastructure— but without the
pressure on local governments to levy new taxes. And the
CID takes the lead on prioritization.
There are now 27 CIDs that are raising local tax dollars,
as well as sourcing grants and matching funds from state
and federal agencies supportive of their projects. According
to the Council for Quality Growth, CIDs have now collected
$1.5 billion in additional taxes, translating to more than $5
billion in infrastructure investments, parks and greenspace,
public safety, traffic projects and landscape beautification.
This feature takes a little tour across metro Atlanta,
highlighting some projects of eight of those CIDs, from
Town Center CID in Cobb County to the Boulevard CID,
home to the last slice of unincorporated Fulton County.
as separate from infrastructure; this was certainly true
in Town Center as well,” said Tracy Styf, TCCID executive director. “Our communities have changed, and the
needs of our growing communities require that we think
of infrastructure and placemaking differently. Now the
two are inextricably connected. Today, every infrastructure project we undertake includes quality of life and
placemaking components such as multi-use trails, safety
enhancements, complete streets design, wayfinding and
even public art.”
Town Center CID
This district, tucked in at the confluence of Interstates
75 and 575, was started in 1997. Like many early CIDs, the
focus for TCCID was long infrastructure improvements,
something critical for a quickly developing region.
Today, TCCID focuses much of its work on quality-of-life projects, such as the Noonday Creek Trail pedestrian bridge over U.S. 41. The project is a partnership
between Cobb County Department of Transportation
and TCCID to complete a much-needed regional trail
connection across a state route. It is currently in preliminary engineering phase with surveying almost complete.
Environmental studies are beginning and construction is
anticipated in 2025.
“Historically, CIDs focused primarily on infrastructure
and quality of life and placemaking projects were seen
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