The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners held a zoning meeting on Thursday, August 13, 2026, beginning at 5:30 PM at 178 Sams Street, Decatur, GA. Presiding Officer Commissioner Chakira Johnson (District 4) led the meeting, which addressed 18 items including deferred cases, new cases, and text amendments. The meeting featured public testimony on controversial proposals for a data center, a package store, and residential rezoning, with multiple votes and deferrals.
We can protect. Thank you. All right. Thank you. We also mentioned, as CEO mentioned, part of our remote um work policy also does have sustainability components to us as well. I'm here in DeCab County. We do have a new chief of sustainability, and I'd love to welcome her if she'd like to give a few um statements before we go into QA. Good morning. My name is Lisa Milagro. I'm the first chief sustainability officer for DeCab County. Thank you, Madam CEO, for recognizing that resiliency and sustainability for county is of critical importance. As we work to develop our 2040 master plan, our goal is to reduce the food desert community within the county so that food access is more available to the constituency. Additionally, we will be expanding our EV fleet transition. We will be reducing our impact on not only uh global warming, but on the great state of Georgia as we continue to look at addressing abrupt stressors and acute um acute issues that impact our community as a whole. At the end of the day, sustainability and resiliency is really just a matter of operational efficiency. It's a matter of operating in a way that reduces our costs and improves our environment for the community. So that said, we are anxious to roll out our 2040 master plan, and we look forward to not only creating a resilient DeCab, but in creating an environment for us to work together for a healthier DeCab as well. Have a good day. All right, thank you all. Um and now we will open up for questions. Um if you have a question, I would ask that you state your name and media outlet. Um also if you're directing your question to a specific person, um, please let us know who that question is for. We also have a mic being passed because we are live broadcasting. So uh once we acknowledge you, uh Mike will come over to you as well. Do we have any questions? Always a great sign that we were super thorough. Love it. Uh one more opportunity, any questions? You want to close out? I would just like to say that I am encouraging uh other corporate entities, governmental entities, and employers across the state of Georgia who have the ability to allow individuals to work remotely uh during this time to seriously consider remote work and diminishing our carbon footprint and emissions. Uh what we're seeing here, and uh I know that um director Avery, Dr. Avery did not speak to it specifically, but from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. we are generally experiencing 80 degree or higher heat. We may not understand the huge impact that emissions has on global warming, but during this time, it is really important that we begin to lean in to reduce that carbon footprint and keep people off the roads. Uh it is, you know, for for many individuals. Uh we're very concerned, and this is a very serious matter. So I want to thank you all for coming out today to have the conversation, and uh hopefully it will um encourage others at this point to lean in and create a secondary plan uh as we continue to experience throughout this summer, there are predictions of unprecedented and record-setting heat waves. So thank you all so much. Uh to be here today with the Queen family as we celebrate the naming of this street, the one that I pass through every day. The day is very significant. Number one, it's my beloved late husband's heavenly birthday. And the gift that he's getting today is so befitting because we are renaming this street that our business on after that wonderful moment. Faithful to his work, devoted to his family, and committed to this community. Well, it's all about legacy, right? There was a saying that says it's not what you take when you what when you leave, but it's what you leave behind. And that's Arthur Queen. He left a legacy. It's what you can do after. Y'all have it.