DeKalb County commissioners are slated to vote Tuesday morning on a $25 million housing bond — the first portion of a planned $155 million housing investment package designed to address the county’s widening affordability gap.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the DeKalb County Government Service Center, 178 Sams St. in Decatur. It is open to the public and will be livestreamed on the county’s DCTV channel.
The housing package
The $25 million bond would authorize the Housing Authority of DeKalb County to issue taxable revenue bonds on behalf of the county. The remaining $130 million in the broader $155 million package is expected to come before the commission in subsequent tranches.
County officials have been telegraphing the move for weeks, pointing to a combination of soaring rents across metro Atlanta and a steady decrease in federal and state affordable-housing funding. A new county housing office is being backed with $12 million this year and will receive $15 million in recurring annual funding starting in 2027, according to CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson’s office.
The new office aims to support affordable-housing initiatives, including efforts to preserve residential units across the county, and to focus on homelessness-reduction strategies and services for residents experiencing housing instability.
Other items on Tuesday’s agenda
The commission’s Tuesday agenda is unusually heavy on housing-adjacent items, including:
A resolution requiring a third-party assessment of DeKalb’s health, socioeconomic, and environmental status — including a study of how data centers would impact public health and water capacity — before any new data-center construction is permitted. The commission approved new data-center legislation on July 7 that extends the county’s data-center moratorium through March 30, 2027.
An ordinance authorizing the municipal court to order the closure of properties where crime is a regular occurrence, and a separate ordinance that would mandate property owners address vacant properties. Both items have been deferred since they were first considered in October 2024.
An ordinance addressing “unauthorized camping and certain public nuisance behaviors”, which county documents say is aimed at distinguishing between homeless individuals and those who pose a threat to public safety. The legislation also references “the impact of policies and enforcement actions in neighboring municipalities that have led to the clearing of encampments, which may be contributing to the influx into the area.” The item was first introduced in March.
For residents who want to weigh in, the meeting starts at 9 a.m. at 178 Sams St. in Decatur, with a public-comment period at the top of the agenda.
