In 1938, Atlanta's Board of Aldermen created the Atlanta Housing Authority. It would be overseen by a five-member board of commissioners appointed by the Mayor, but otherwise be politically independent from the city. The Board of Aldermen granted the AHA the power of eminent domain and tax exemption, and later delegated to it the task of overseeing urban renewal. Charles Palmer was elected the first chairman of the Board of Commissioners in 1938, and would serve in that position until 1940.