Brookhaven's City Council voted 3-1 on Monday to approve a contract with DeKalb County that clears the way for a new fire station on a slice of Blackburn Park, overriding objections from nearby residents who say they still feel shut out of the process. The vote caps more than a month of debate over a 1.35-acre parcel at the park, where the county hopes to shave precious minutes off emergency response times along one of Brookhaven's busiest corridors.
As reported by CBS News Atlanta, the council's approval came even as some residents raised traffic concerns and said they felt blindsided by the decision. Brookhaven Councilman Michael Diaz acknowledged that communication with neighbors could have been better, telling the station the city will explore intersection improvements to address safety worries near the site.
A Response-Time Problem Driving the Decision
The push for a new facility, designated Station #34, stems from a specific performance gap: emergency travel time in the area currently averages 12 minutes and 52 seconds, according to DeKalb County officials cited by Rough Draft Atlanta. County leaders designated the area as the county's second fastest-growing, citing heavy traffic congestion that slows emergency crews trying to reach calls along the corridor.
The approved site sits at 3493 Ashford Dunwoody Road inside Blackburn Park, adjacent to Jo's Grill near the intersection with Johnson Ferry Road, the outlet's reporting shows. That exact footprint, carved from public parkland along a major District 1 corridor, is what sparked much of the neighborhood pushback in the first place.
Lease Terms and Design Requirements
Under the intergovernmental agreement, Brookhaven will retain ownership of the land while DeKalb County leases it for 50 years at $1 per year, according to Citizen Portal. The deal also prompted discussion of a community meeting room and parking. Those lease terms also obligate the county to secure separate construction funding before building can begin.
The new station is one piece of a much larger undertaking. Station #34 is part of a $64.3 million DeKalb County Fire Rescue capital improvements program that aims to build 10 new fire stations for $38.7 million and replace seven existing ones for $25.6 million, per the same Rough Draft Atlanta account. Countywide plans for the station trace back to 2016 SPLOST planning, and the broader slate of projects was briefly delayed in April when the DeKalb County Commission paused consideration pending an audit of the fire department's capital plan and cost allocations, according to WSB-TV, which reported that the three projects before the commission were in Decatur, Lithonia, and Tucker, while the fire department was separately exploring two other stations near Blackburn Park and in Brookhaven.
Residents Pushed for More Time, and Alternatives
Monday's vote followed a prior deferral. Brookhaven's council had previously put off action for 30 days during its September 8 meeting after residents living within 400 to 1,000 feet of the site testified they weren't notified until the morning of that scheduled vote, the article notes. The council voted unanimously at the time to grant that initial pause.
Ahead of this week's vote, a petition signed by more than 40 local residents asked for an additional 60-day deferral so the city could explore alternative site configurations that would preserve parkland and mature tree canopy. The city had in fact evaluated several other locations before settling on Blackburn Park, including the northwest corner of the park across from the YMCA, portions of a former Publix grocery store site, and a DeKalb Housing Authority parcel on Donaldson Drive, which some residents preferred.
Criticism From a Former Council Member
Former Brookhaven District 1 Council Member Linley Jones publicly criticized the parkland acquisition, telling CBS News Atlanta that every inch of preserved urban parkland is critical in a densely developed city. Her comments underscore the tension running through the entire debate: a fast-growing corridor that needs faster emergency response versus a built-out suburb with shrinking green space.
DeKalb County Fire Rescue currently operates 26 fire stations serving unincorporated DeKalb County and 11 municipalities, and holds an ISO Class 2 rating placing it among the top 3% of fire departments nationwide, according to DeKalb County, GA. The department serves more than 750,000 residents across the metro area, a scale that county officials point to when justifying the broader capital construction push now bringing a new station to Blackburn Park.
With the lease approved, attention now turns to construction funding and the intersection improvements Diaz says the city will pursue near the site. Neither the design engineering details nor a construction timeline have been finalized, leaving residents' traffic and safety concerns as an open question for the next phase of the project.
