It is hereby found, determined and declared that there continues to exist in DeKalb
County, Georgia, a seriously inadequate supply of, and critical need for, decent,
safe and sanitary housing within the financial means of families and persons of limited
income, including but not restricted to those families and persons displaced by slum
clearance and the clearance of blighted areas, transportation projects or other public
programs. This shortage of decent, safe and sanitary housing is inimical to the safety,
health, convenience and welfare of the residents of DeKalb County and the State of
Georgia and otherwise exacerbates existing slum conditions which in turn contributes
substantially and increasingly to the spread of crime, impairs economic values, necessitates
excessive and disproportionate expenditures of public funds for crime prevention and
punishment, public health and safety, fire and accident prevention and other services,
substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of urban areas, aggravates traffic
problems and promotes juvenile delinquency and other social ills. It is hereby found
that the ordinary operations of private enterprise cannot provide an adequate supply
of decent, safe and sanitary housing which persons and families of limited income
can rent or purchase. It is also found that private enterprise alone cannot provide
or achieve the urgently needed rehabilitation of existing housing to a decent, safe
and sanitary condition so that it can be rented or purchased by families and persons
of limited income. As a result, families and persons of limited income are forced
to reside in housing which is indecent, unsafe and unsanitary. Accordingly, it is
determined that it is a valid public purpose and a matter of public health, safety,
convenience and welfare to provide decent, safe and sanitary housing for families
and persons of limited income who otherwise would be unable to rent or purchase same
and to encourage the investment of private capital and the participation of private
enterprise in providing such housing.
It is further found that there exists at 2170 Johnson Ferry Road in DeKalb County,
Georgia, a tract of land on which certain improvements presently exist, commonly and
hereinafter called the "Oglethorpe tract." Said tract is appropriate for development,
rehabilitation and use as a housing development wherein decent, safe and sanitary
housing can be provided for families and persons of limited income and said tract
is hereby designated as the area of operation of the authority. Notwithstanding the
fact that the authority shall be restricted geographically to said area of operation
insofar as the physical location of any of its housing developments or projects is
involved, it shall be concerned with the housing needs of all families and persons
of limited income who are residents of DeKalb County.
