News Roundup

The City of Atlanta and the Department of City Planning (DCP) have launched ATL Permit Navigator, a business development portal designed to streamline the city’s permitting process. The site will help guide customers through complex projects such as renovations and new business development, including information on zoning and building regulations, paying fees and obtaining licenses. Permit and zoning information is available in six languages, including: Spanish, French, Hindi, Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean. Visit the portal at permits.atlantaga. gov.

The Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority Board of Directors is now meeting on a monthly basis. The 16-member board is comprised of six members appointed by state officials with the remaining members elected by local delegations to represent 10 transit districts across a 13-county region. For more information, visit atltransit.ga.gov.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has announced that Chief of Staff Marva Lewis will depart at the end of March. Lewis, who suspended her corporate career in 2017 to serve as campaign manager for then-candidate Bottoms, will return to the private sector, according to a press release. Lewis timed her transition out of city hall so she would still be in place for Super Bowl and the 2019 State of the City meeting.

Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields has been elected to represent the Eastern Region on the board of directors for the Major Cities Chiefs Association, an influential professional organization of police executives representing the largest cities in the United States and Canada. The Major Cities Chiefs Association provides a forum for urban police, sheriffs and other law enforcement chief executives to discuss common problems, to share information and problemsolving strategies.

The King Center has sold the Martin Luther King Jr. Birth Home to the National Parks Service for nearly $2 million. The two-story Queen Anne-style home was built on Auburn Avenue in 1895 and King was born there in 1929. The home is the centerpiece of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.