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Dear Decaturish,

This November, DeKalb will have a once-in-a-generation turnover of County leadership. Depending on election outcomes, we will get a new CEO and between 3 and 5 new Commissioners out of a 7-member Board. This presents a remarkable opportunity to ensure our elected officials commit to meaningful housing solutions for DeKalb County.

Housing – its availability, quality, and affordability – is a critical driver of community growth and economic development. DeKalb has significant housing challenges, just like the rest of the region and nation, but we are not giving them the necessary attention and are now suffering the consequences.  A 2022 DeKalb Housing Affordability Study produced by Dr. Michael Rich of Emory University describes the challenges facing DeKalb:

Critically, DeKalb has a housing affordability problem:  Home prices increased 47% between 2017 and 2021, while rents increased 23% during the same period.  Thirty-five percent of DeKalb County households were housing cost-burdened in 2019, paying more than 30% of their income for their housing, while 16% of households paid more than 50%; this severely limits available dollars for other critical needs like food, medicine, education, etc.  

DeKalb has a stubborn poverty problem: While the number of high-poverty census tracts decreased by 26% in the 5 core counties between 2006 and 2019, it only decreased by 18% in DeKalb.

DeKalb is losing affordable rental units:   There has been a steady decline of affordable rental housing units in DeKalb County from 2000 to 2019, with the share of affordable rental units for very low-income households declining most significantly, from 54 to 34% of total rental stock.  This loss of units at the bottom of the housing ladder contributes to family instability and increased homelessness.

DeKalb is losing the fight to retain and grow homeownership: The number of rental units rose from 42% to 46% of total housing stock from 2000 to 2019, while the percentage of owner-occupied units dropped from 58% to 54% during the same period.  While having quality, affordable rental housing available in DeKalb is critical, homeownership can help stabilize neighborhoods and grow generational wealth.

DeKalb has a housing quality issue:  According to the AJC’s 2022 “Dangerous Dwellings” series, 52 of the most deplorable multifamily complexes on their list were in DeKalb, representing almost 20% of the total that were called out.  And this doesn’t include the single-family properties that are code violating and driving neighborhood decline in the County.

DeKalb also has a vacant property challenge:  9% of DeKalb’s housing units were vacant in 2019, compared to 5% in Gwinnett and 7% in Cobb counties.  Vacancy can provide a toe-hold for speculative investors, destabilize neighborhoods, and increase community crime and health challenges.

According to the study, population and housing growth is slower in DeKalb than in the rest of the five core counties:  DeKalb represented 30% of the population in the five core counties in 1970 but only 20% in 2020.  DeKalb had the smallest increase in the number of housing units between 2000 and 2019, at 19%.  DeKalb’s lack of affordable, quality housing helps drive this constrained growth.

Almost all the data in the Emory study is county-wide, describing DeKalb as one singular jurisdiction.  However, DeKalb is very large and diverse in terms of its population and housing markets, with various housing issues distributed across the County.  Some parts of the County struggle with housing quality, vacancy, and the need for neighborhood stabilization, while others deal with sharp price and rent increases, gentrification, and displacement.

The Coalition recommends that all the 2024 candidates for County office commit to the following critical actions:

First, establish a Housing Advisory Board composed of dedicated and experienced housing practitioners, advocates, and community leaders to advise the county on its housing activities, and create a civic vehicle for accountability. DeKalb citizens, non-profit organizations and large employers are involved in housing matters from homelessness to homeownership, and have valuable experience and perspectives to help ensure that the County’s actions are responsive to local needs.

Second, create a housing plan that recognizes the diversity of needs across the county, and designs interventions to impact them.  DeKalb currently has no county-wide housing strategy.  Without a plan, we don’t know what policy changes need to address the County’s housing challenges or how to invest our limited resources strategically.  And without a plan, we also don’t know how to define and measure success regarding these challenges.  One of the first recommendations in the Emory study was for the County to develop its own housing strategy. We fully agree.

Third, invest local dollars to address the county’s housing challenges.  DeKalb, like many local governments, solely funds their housing efforts with federal dollars.  Unfortunately, as our housing challenges have increased over time, federal spending on housing decreased by 33% between 2010 and 2019.   DeKalb needs more money to effectively address its housing challenges, and local dollars are free from rigid federal regulation and can be spent flexibly to respond to evolving housing needs.

The Coalition for a Diverse Decatur/DeKalb challenges all the 2024 candidates for DeKalb’s CEO and Commissioner positions to commit to implementing these three actions and immediately working to increase housing options, improve housing affordability, and enhance housing conditions in DeKalb County. 

The Coalition encourages all of DeKalb’s residents – both in unincorporated DeKalb and in its cities – to let these candidates know that housing is a critical issue for the County, one we’ve been sleeping on for too long.  Roads, transit, and water/sewer services have historically been seen as critical infrastructure deserving of County planning and investment.  But housing is an important part of our County’s infrastructure as well, and impacts our ability to recruit businesses and grow jobs; stabilize families; promote educational achievement; and build generational wealth. It’s time for DeKalb to put housing at the top of its priority list and get to work. There are no simple solutions, but these are important first steps to build a solid foundation for more accessible, affordable, quality housing in DeKalb.

 — Elke Davidson and Paula Collins, Coalition for a Diverse Decatur/DeKalb

* The Coalition for a Diverse Decatur/DeKalb advocates for “inclusionary housing” that ensures affordable housing is available to people of low, moderate, and fixed incomes, and can be found at https://diversedekalb.org/.

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