DeKalb County Board of Commissioners Meeting - October 27, 2026

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners met at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at 178 Sams Street, Decatur, GA. Commissioner Chakira Johnson (District 4) presided. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, an invocation by Pastor Dr. C.L. May, and two proclamations. After extensive public comment and public hearings, the board approved several zoning items, appointments, contracts, and grants, deferred numerous items to the November 10, 2026 BOC meeting, and debated public safety, homelessness, and animal restraint ordinances.

Presentations

• Commissioner Michelle Long Spears (District 2) presented a proclamation honoring Andrew Keenan, retiring executive director of Callanwolde Fine Arts Center after nine years of service, and celebrated the naming of the Andrew Keenan Amphitheater. She also announced a future District 2 Andrew Keenan Artist Fund.
• Commissioner Long Spears and Police Chief Scott Richards presented a proclamation recognizing Public Safety and Law Enforcement Mental Health Awareness, honoring police, fire, EMS, 911 dispatchers, corrections, animal enforcement, and behavioral health professionals.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Jack Hafley (Environmental Working Group, Necessary Trouble) urged strict data-center definitions and regulations before any moratorium lift, saying without action residents remain exposed to developers.
• Jan Dunaway (District 4) said two non-resident Shadowbox representatives improperly took public comment slots at the Oct. 13 meeting and called for a health/environmental study to protect wetlands near Constitution Lake Park.
• Stephen Benny criticized the commission's attendance, communication, and meeting schedule, saying it rejected over 95% of Charter Review Commission recommendations.
• Mike Mann, a 40-year Coralwood Drive resident, asked for an environmental impact study for a potential 5.56-acre development at 2966 La Vista Road and sought transparency when rezoning is not required.
• Keanu Jones Moore (District 3) opposed data centers and the urban camping/drifting ordinance and supported independent civilian oversight of Digital Shield surveillance.
• Richard Fetter opposed data centers, citing Shadowbox's requested 651 megawatts compared with Columbus, Georgia's roughly 560 megawatts, and warned ratepayers would pay rising costs.
• Jordan Moses opposed both data centers and the drifting ordinance.
• Tana Harris Bosselman opposed the urban camping ordinance, saying people with disabilities are approximately three times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population and could be swept up by enforcement.
• Sam Levy urged removal of the urban camping ordinance, saying police should not perform coordinated entry and that the county has only three street outreach professionals.
• A District 4 resident questioned what DeKalb residents would gain from data centers and warned of environmental harm to future generations.
• Rosalind McIntyre described seeing the Shadowbox CEO enter before doors opened and questioned why non-residents spoke before resident speakers.
• Cheryl Dudley opposed data centers, citing infrastructure strain, water and power use, AI job displacement, and connection to seismic activity.
• Al Chapman (King's Road Subdivision) opposed the development at 3053 West Chapel Road, saying stop dumping on South DeKalb.
• Akeela McDaniel urged a no vote on the urban camping ordinance, asking for measurable commitments on shelter capacity, enforcement costs, and funded housing responses.
• Gina Mangum said what you're selling, we're not buying, arguing proposed data-center definitions would allow a 5-million-square-foot campus and opposing Commissioner Bolton's proposal.

Public Hearings

• 2026-0143 (Gresham Road): Staff recommended approval of a substitute rezoning from R-75 to MR-1 for a mixed residential community with 10 conditions. Applicant Michelle Battle described cottage-style homes along Gresham Road, townhomes in the interior, and constraints from stream buffers and a gas easement. Opponents Jocelyn O'Neill and Shelley Johnson (Johnson's Learning Center) raised lack of access to the plan and traffic concerns. The board tabled the item to display the site plan, then voted to defer it to the November 10 BOC for decision only.
• 2026-1401 (Old Hickory Street traffic calming): Approved with no opposition at no cost to the county.
• 2026-1495 (Constitution Road right-of-way taking): Approved; cost to county $97,505.
• 2026-1496 (Constitution Road temporary easement): Approved; cost to county $2,205.

Decision-Only Items

• 2026-1101 (4850 Redan Road drive-through SLUP): Staff maintained a denial recommendation based on SLUP criteria, but the board approved the special land use permit with seven conditions addressing walkways, raised crossings, queue analysis, lighting, and buffers.
• 2026-1106 (729 Old Briarcliff Road rezoning to MR-1): Approved with six conditions for up to 14 townhome units. Commissioner Long Spears said district offices investigated opposition concerns about advertising, TV tower fall zones, and tree preservation and noted 40% of the site would remain permanently undisturbed.

Appointments

• Kendra Price appointed to Post 4 of the DeKalb County Community Service Board.
• Angela Chambliss appointed to Post 3 of the DeKalb County Board of Family and Children Services.
• Ronald Mangum deferred to the November 10 BOC with a stop in PECS for an interview.

Consent Calendar

• The board approved a 17-item consent agenda including minutes, District 1 mental health funding, District 2 animal welfare and pet enclosure allocations, District 3 community and probate court allocations, District 5 ARP interest fund allocations for eviction/utility assistance and food distribution, District 7 community programming allocations, a Juvenile Court grant, and a traffic signal change order.
• Minutes from the Oct. 13, 2026 BOC meeting and the Oct. 20, 2026 special called meeting were deferred to November 10.

Preliminary Items

• Approved: government relations consulting with Peachtree Government Relations, LLC ($72,000); Farm Fresh Mobile Market services with Retaaza, LLC ($378,000); technology solutions cooperative agreement with MGT Impact Solutions, LLC ($224,583); substitutes for pest control and fire extinguisher contracts; multiple Watershed Management change orders and renewals; election operations rental of about 96,280 sq ft at 5615 Memorial Drive; UGA Cooperative Extension personnel agreement ($154,373); transfer/easement to Brookhaven; SPLOST I design funding for a joint fire/police training facility ($490,797); several recreation, parks, and human services contracts; and HUD Community Project Funding grant acceptances for park projects.
• Also approved: SafeHouse Outreach rental assistance; declaration of 30 surplus county-owned properties for transfer to the DeKalb Regional Land Bank Authority; creation of a Georgia Power easement at Exchange Park; and renaming a portion of Lithonia Park as DeKalb Lithonia Park.
• Authorized the purchase of the YMCA property at 2565 Snapfinger Road; commissioners praised the acquisition as preserving a community recreation amenity.
• Deferred to the November 10 BOC: C-PACER program authorization and outsourcing the Office of Economic Development to DeKalb Development Corporation (up to $1,975,000); Affordable Housing Fund homeless services allocation substitute; 2026 Human Services Grants ($650,000) and Victim Assistance Grants ($200,000); capital asset inventory change order; general contractor services and architect/engineering change orders; on-call construction management services; Arabia Mountain rental agreements; machine shop services and Scott Candler Water Treatment Plant construction management; nuisance abatement contract; and several other committee-recommended items.

Discussion Items

• Animal Restraint and Transportation Ordinance (2026-0596): Commissioner Bolton originally moved to defer to ERPS. Commissioner Long Spears offered a substitute to approve an amended tethering ordinance adding an exception for temporary tethering while an owner is receiving government services. The substitute motion failed; the board then voted to defer the substitute to the Nov. 10 BOC with a prior stop in ERPS. Commissioner Bolton said she would not support language with unintended consequences for unhoused residents receiving services.
• Non-Discrimination Ordinance amendment (2026-1218): Deferred to the Nov. 10 BOC with a stop in ERPS. Commissioner Long Spears said it would strengthen housing protections and enforcement and was still being reviewed by the law department.
• Urban Camping/Public Safety Ordinance (2026-0550): Approved 5-2. Sponsor Commissioner Massiah said the ordinance addressed public safety behaviors such as aggressive panhandling and unauthorized camping, not simply homelessness. Commissioners Terry, Long Spears, and Bolton raised concerns about enforcement, service capacity, and the need for trauma-informed outreach. Commissioner Patrick noted the board's joint policy statement on compassionate homelessness response. A motion to reconsider was ruled out because the mover was on the losing side.

Key Outcomes

• Approved zoning/land-use items at 4850 Redan Road and 729 Old Briarcliff Road; approved traffic calming and two right-of-way/temporary easement resolutions; deferred the Gresham Road rezoning to Nov. 10.
• Approved the urban camping ordinance 5-2 and rejected reconsideration.
• Deferred the animal tethering ordinance substitute, non-discrimination amendment, electric landscape rebate program, and Digital Shield civilian oversight resolution to committee stops before Nov. 10.
• Approved numerous appointments, consent items, contracts, grants, and the YMCA purchase; deferred a large group of preliminary items to the Nov. 10 BOC meeting.

The meeting recessed for lunch shortly after noon, reconvened, completed the remaining agenda, and adjourned without an executive session.