City Council approved a 50-year, $1-a-year lease of 1.35 acres at Blackburn Park for a DeKalb County fire station, with limits on lights and sirens and 50 parking spaces.

DeKalb County will build a new fire station at Blackburn Park. The Brookhaven City Council approved the agreement Tuesday, a month after it put off a vote so it could hear more from neighbors.

The city will lease about 1.35 acres of the park, at 3493 Ashford Dunwoody Road, to DeKalb County for 50 years. The rent is $1 a year. The county will build, own, run and maintain the station.

The terms are in the city’s announcement on Wednesday. The vote is also listed in the city’s wrap-up of the Oct. 13 meeting.

Why a station here

The county has wanted a station in this part of Brookhaven for about a decade. DeKalb County Fire Rescue planning from 2016 picked out the area around Ashford Dunwoody Road and Johnson Ferry Road for a future Station 34, the city said. The reasons it gave were coverage and response times in a growing area with heavy traffic.

District 1 council member Michael Diaz said the corner gives fire crews “a hub-and-spoke location and direct access in multiple directions.” He said that includes several nearby senior communities.

What changed after the delay

The agreement was first due for a vote on Sept. 8. The council deferred it to allow more community engagement and review, the city said.

In that time, according to the city:

  • the city wrote up a comparison of other possible sites
  • DeKalb Fire Rescue reviewed the Blackburn Park site again
  • traffic and operating questions were sent for technical review
  • the city and county revised the agreement to answer concerns from nearby residents

The city did not publish the comparison of other sites with its announcement.

What the agreement includes

The revised agreement adds these provisions, according to the city:

  • emergency signal preemption and road markings
  • lighting standards meant to cut glare on nearby homes
  • reasonable efforts to limit siren use at night when conditions allow
  • more landscape screening
  • replacement of trees
  • about 50 public parking spaces, to replace parking the project takes up
  • a multi-use path along the park’s Ashford Dunwoody Road frontage

The station will also have a community room for neighborhood meetings and public use. There will be space for a Brookhaven Police Department vehicle at the station.

The city’s announcement did not give a construction cost, a building size or a start date.

What they said

“This is a practical, forward-looking partnership that puts public safety first,” Mayor John Park said. He said the community room “will provide an added benefit for our neighbors.”

Diaz said the past month brought “additional protections in the agreement and better information for Council and the community.”

DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said the station “will enhance service to Brookhaven and North DeKalb County while creating a community-focused asset for the surrounding area.”

What it means for you

  • The station will be a county one. DeKalb County will staff and run it, and the city said it will serve Brookhaven and communities across North DeKalb County.
  • If you use Blackburn Park, about 1.35 acres of it will go to the station. The agreement replaces the parking it affects with about 50 spaces and adds a path along Ashford Dunwoody Road.
  • If you live near the park, the agreement sets lighting standards and asks for limited siren use at night. It does not ban sirens.
  • To follow the project, agendas, summaries and video of council meetings are on the city’s agendas and minutes portal. The next regular City Council meeting is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, the city said.

Fire and police calls in the city are listed weekly in our Police and Fire log. For other places to walk and play in Brookhaven, see our guide to walking and biking trails.