Residents Confront Mableton City Council Over Unsafe Housing Conditions

A Failure of Leadership on Housing —From the City to the County Commission?

On Wednesday night, residents of Mableton once again stood before their elected leaders during a city council meeting to describe living conditions that should shame every public official in Mableton and Cobb County. They spoke of raccoons in ceilings, snakes at their doorsteps, and leaks, roaches, and gnats inside their homes. They spoke of the physical, mental, and emotional toll these conditions are taking on their families—particularly on their children.

The properties at the center of this crisis—Five 7 Five Riverside, Residence at Riverside Row, and Silver Creek Crossings—are not new to controversy. The complaints have been documented for years. In 2019, when Lisa Cupid represented the district as county commissioner, residents begged for intervention. They have since made the same pleas to current Commissioner Monique Sheffield and now to the Mableton City Council. The response has been little more than sympathy and excuses. Residents who met with Cupid say she claims that her hands are tied. Yet her hands were not tied when recently pushing forward a billion-dollar county budget, which did not include funding to address this problem. Sheffield has done no better and has turned her head on the residents, following a similar path to dealing with the issues as her predecessor did. And Mableton’s new city leaders have, in less than two years, adopted the same approach: talk, nod, and then move on to other business while residents live in squalor.

Frustrated residents demanded urgent action on the unsafe and unsanitary housing conditions in several apartment complexes that have been the subject of tenant complaints for years, but residents say conditions are worsening and city and county leaders have yet to respond with meaningful solutions. Residents described a litany of issues and pressed the council for immediate action.

“We Thrive on Riverside”
Monica DeLancy, founder of the We Thrive on Riverside Renters Association, told council members that many of Mableton’s apartment complexes are more than 40 years old and in serious disrepair. “Mableton, you take the good, you take the bad—and that’s what we have,” DeLancy said. “You’re gonna have to pull up your sleeves and get in the trenches with us.” She urged the council to make housing conditions a standing item on its agenda, adding, “If we care anything about our children, that’s what we’re doing.” Her closing words—“We thrive on Riverside”—were met with a chorus of “amens” from supporters in the room.

Tenants Speak Out
Denise Woods, a disabled resident raising her granddaughter at Five 7 Five Riverside, told the council she has been living with raccoons in her ceiling since February 2023. “I’ve been told I can either move to another unit, which they have yet to find, or I can leave,” Woods said. “Where am I supposed to go? This is affecting me physically and mentally. I don’t deserve this. I pay my rent. I do what I’m supposed to do, and this is the thanks I get.”

Another tenant, Bahiyah Graham, described living with snakes outside her apartment and leaks, roaches, and gnats inside. “Would you live like that?” she asked council members. “Y’all can make it happen because we elected you to be in this place.”

Calls for Accountability
Residents have accused property owners of choosing to pay code enforcement fines rather than make repairs, treating violations as a cheaper cost of doing business than hiring staff or contractors to address failing infrastructure. Some residents argued that if owners refuse to make improvements, city or county leaders should either fine them out of business or condemn the properties.

The complaints are not new. Residents raised similar concerns in 2019 when Cupid—now Chair of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners—represented the district as commissioner. Residents have also brought their comcerns to current Commissioner Sheffield, with no results.

One resident criticized Cupid, Sheffield, and the Mableton City Council for not working together more effectively, saying, “Elected officials come before you each cycle promising more to the community, but this is exactly why we should not to re-elect incumbents in Mableton or Cobb County government.”

An Urgent Problem With Longstanding Roots
Organizers say viable solutions have existed for years, even before Mableton became a city, but political will has been lacking. Wednesday night’s meeting made clear that for tenants, the situation has reached a breaking point. “No one should have to live in third-world conditions in the largest city in Cobb County,” one resident said. “They must vbe made to care.”

The We Thrive on Riverside Renters Association says it will continue to mobilize residents and press for action until safe, dignified housing is a reality for all tenants.

A Broken Enforcement System
Part of the problem lies in the system itself. Landlords have learned that paying code enforcement fines is cheaper than hiring maintenance staff or qualified contractors to fix failing infrastructure. It has become part of the business model—budget for fines, ignore repairs, and keep collecting rent.

City and county officials claim they cannot compel repairs, only issue citations. But that is not entirely true. They can raise fines to a level that makes neglect unprofitable. They can condemn unsafe properties. They can bring public and legal pressure to bear on owners who treat tenants as disposable. They have options—they simply lack the will to use them.

Political Will—or Political Cover?
One Mableton community leader commended the residents for continuing to speaking up and said “the truth is this crisis is not about a lack of solutions. It is about a lack of political courage. Viable options existed before Mableton became a city. They still exist today. What is missing is leadership willing to stand up to property owners and make housing a top priority.”

A Call to Action – Time to Act or Step Aside
This isn’t about a lack of solutions. It’s about a lack of political will. Leaders who can pass billion-dollar budgets and campaign for re-election can certainly make housing a priority—if they choose to. No one should have to live in what one resident rightly called “third-world conditions” in the largest city in Cobb County. The time for half-measures and polite nods is over. If Mableton’s City Council and Cobb County’s leadership will not act to protect the health, safety, and dignity of these residents, then voters, living in this area or outside of this area, should act to replace them. Decent housing is an issue that every elected official should make a priority. They should care, but if they don’t, they can be made to care—either in their elected chambers or at the ballot box.

Residents of these apartments said they have made it clear to the council, “No one should have to live in third-world conditions in the largest city in Cobb County. If Mableton’s leaders won’t fight for us, then voters should find new leaders who will.”

This is an election cycle for several on the Mableton City Council as many send out press releases on their re-election campaign, with no mention of the housing crisis that looms.

Note to council – Mableton voters are watching.