2025 Andre Burgin

Control over land use is one of the most important powers granted to local officials. Allowing more housing in neighborhoods that have existing amenities or are planned to receive new ones is a powerful and low-cost tool to ensure more Atlantans have access to thriving, walkable neighborhoods that they can afford.

Q: What is your position on increasing the types of housing (duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, cottage courts etc.) that can be built by-right (i.e. without re-zonings)? 

A: I am pro middle housing that can be built before any re-zoning measures are pursued.

Q: What parts of your district do you see as priority areas for more dense housing? Please be specific: specific neighborhoods, cross streets, etc.

A: Campbellton Corridor: (1) Delowe & Willis Mill where there are vacant lots near future MARTA BRT stops, business, and the YMCA (2) Cambellton & Mt. Gilead - the Westgate shopping center is another prime area for dense mixed use housing right off the interstate (3) Ben Hill Plaza Shopping Center (3644 Campbellton Rd SW, Atlanta, GA 30331) where this lot is prime for more mixed use density near a key MARTA transit hub (Park & Ride) and has access to the highway. These three nodes can invigorate the district and help drive revenue to the TAD, becoming a true engine of growth for the district.

Q: Are there any parts of your district where you think housing growth should NOT be allowed? Please be specific: specific neighborhoods, cross streets, etc.

A: No, if we are honest about the power of middle housing then there aren't neighborhoods who wouldn't benefit. ADU's, duplexes, garden style apartments, etc can all add housing options without disrupting neighborhood character.

Q: What are you hearing from your potential constituents about their hopes, fears, aspirations, and frustrations about this potential growth?

A: Fear of displacement: (1) From older residents, they receive calls from predatory developers who want to buy them out. This harassment in the face of rising taxes due to growth inhibits their ability to age in place. (2) From younger residents, they worry about stability. Growth translates to higher rents and house prices. In either case, they face unaffordable options that will push them out the district and city.

Q: Oftentimes, proposed developments that could help increase housing supply - including the affordable housing supply - for the City are met with intense local opposition. How will you balance the opinions of existing local neighbors with the overall needs of the City?

A: Residents aren't opposing development out of selfishness, they're protecting their ability to remain in their community. When we ignore these legitimate concerns, we create more opposition to the housing solutions our city desperately needs. I'll prioritize property tax relief for longtime residents, strengthen anti-speculation policies against predatory developers, and focus on middle housing (duplexes, ADUs) that fits neighborhood character while increasing supply. Balance is about real community engagement around creating solutions that protect existing residents while addressing our housing crisis.

Low-income households face the greatest challenges in affording high-quality housing in amenity-rich neighborhoods. Currently, the City has a shortfall of 16,000 homes for families making $30,000 or less. This gap is not distributed evenly, with inexpensive housing options concentrated in neighborhoods furthest away from jobs and other amenities. In the absence of decisive action, this gap will more than double to 36,000 by 2030.

Q: How should we fund our local affordable housing trust fund? Please be specific about which local sources Atlanta should consider.

A: Developers profiting from Atlanta's growth should contribute to affordability solutions. (1) Implement additional transfer tax on properties sold within 2-3 years of purchase, targeting house flippers who drive up prices without adding value. (2) Increase penalties on slumlords who own properties with repeated code violation. (3) Assess additional feeds on properties owned by corporations and out-of-state entities.

Q: Every analysis of our City that looks at our needs by neighborhood identifies a divide, where some neighborhoods are amenity-rich (jobs, restaurants, grocery stores, medical services) and lack a high supply of affordable housing, while others lack many of those same amenities but offer relatively more affordable housing. How will you create City-wide policies that reflect these differences?

A: In amenity rich areas focus on policies requiring inclusionary zoning for new developments. In amenity deficient areas focus on public-private incentives along key TADs (i.e., Campbellton) to drive development inclusive of housing and business. Across the city incentivizing creation of community land trust to acquire land and maintain it's affordability.

Q:As the City continues to observe thousands of Atlantans experiencing homelessness each year, how will you approach preventing bouts of homelessness and rehousing your constituents?

A: While shelters provide necessary short-term relief, we need comprehensive solutions that address the underlying causes of homelessness through expanded supportive housing paired with wraparound services. I'll leverage my research background to gather community input and implement approaches that connect people to mental health care, addiction treatment, and job training while creating clear pathways from crisis to stability. Building on the Mayor's rapid housing initiative, we must expand transitional and permanent supportive housing with particular focus on family stabilization programs. Strengthening partnerships with Fulton County and Atlanta Public Schools will help us identify at-risk families before they lose housing, creating prevention strategies that provide both immediate relief and long-term stability.

Q: The City of Atlanta has begun implementing some innovative solutions to its homelessness problem, including using shipping containers as temporary shelter. How will you ensure that these efforts are able to grow and that neighborhoods across the City are part of the solution to our homelessness problem?

A: We need to decentralize this effort by establishing smaller resource centers in each council district or cluster of districts, making services accessible where people actually are. This reduces community resistance, provides better access to employment opportunities, and prevents overwhelming any single neighborhood's infrastructure.

Q: Are there other policies you will advance to promote housing stability for existing residents?

A: We need to figure out how to improve Tenant protections across the city. While the state has a heavy influence we need to beef up eviction ordinances so drastic rent increases are less likely. We also need anti-speculation policies that require vacant property registration and disclosure for cash buyers and investment companies. We need to know who is investing in our communities to prevent them from exploiting it.

Q: Although supermajorities of Atlantans support missing middle housing in their neighborhoods, individual housing proposals are often met with pushback from neighboring residents. Below are specific housing projects proposed in the most recent term. Please share how you voted and your reasoning (if you are an incumbent) or how you would have voted (if you are running for your first term).

• 111 Moreland Ave: In 2023, the Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League’s (RCIL) overwhelmingly voted in opposition to a proposal to build 42 homes for formerly homeless individuals (more details on the project here).
  • A: Support; Reynoldstown is a historically Black and working class neighborhood that has experienced heavy gentrification, displacing residents with luxury condos and high income housing. Supporting 42 units of permanent supportive housing represents a commitment to keeping Reynoldstown accessible to people across the economic spectrum, not just those who can afford $2,500 studio apartments. That project reinvests public resources into housing the most vulnerable residents.
• In 2025, City Council voted on a mixed use development proposal on Amsterdam Walk, which included retail and 1,100 apartments, including over 200 affordable apartments, in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood near the Beltline.
  • A: Abstain / Not Present; I'd abstain from the vote and push for amendments with 700-800 units as a pilot while maintaining affordable housing percentages. I'd push to eliminate parking minimums along BeltLine corridor to attract car-free residents. This would also be contingent on city installation of pedestrian walking signals and ride-share zones to reduce street congestion. If we aren't able to deliver this compromise I'd oppose until we can support proper transit infrastructure to enable these developments.

Q: In 2022, a project, "Edgewood for Everyone," was proposed to build 48 homes on Whitefoord Ave. in the Edgewood neighborhood, 25% of which would have been priced at 60% area median income without government subsidy. A small group of neighbors loudly opposed the project during the Organized Neighbors of Edgewood zoning committee, resulting in the developers abandoning the proposal. Instead, they built housing that aligns with the existing zoning: 6 homes priced around $900K each. Do you believe that this is the preferred outcome?

A: No.

Q: Why do you/do you not believe this is the preferred outcome? What alternative process do you believe these kinds of projects should follow to result in a preferred outcome?

A: Good neighbors should not be qualified by the housing they can afford. In this case, it appears that's how this group of neighbors viewed the proposal. These low/medium density developments are exactly what we need to increase diversity and density while maintaining neighborhood character.

Q: Why is housing affordability personal to you?

A: Growing up working class in Southwest Atlanta, my family struggled to find housing we could afford while staying in the same school district. Housing stability was crucial to my ability to become a first-generation college graduate and build my career in tech.
If working families, young professionals, and service workers can't afford to live in Atlanta, we lose the diversity that drives our economy and culture. When we price out the people who make this city run, we're not the Atlanta we claim to be.

Q: What work have you done to advocate for housing?

A: As a member of the Cascade Greenbriar Alliance, I work with neighborhood leaders to ensure new development in Southwest Atlanta serves existing residents through Community Benefits Agreements, advocating for more affordable housing allocations aligned with our area's median income, and ensuring developments comply with overlay district standards that preserve neighborhood character.