Committee approves transfer of 13 county-owned vacant parcels to DeKalb Regional Land Bank

The committee considered agenda item 2026-1023, in which the DeKalb County Regional Land Bank Authority requested that 13 county-owned vacant parcels be declared surplus and transferred to the land bank for disposition.

Executive Director Tama Churchill (DeKalb Regional Land Bank Authority) told the committee the land bank's goal is to return properties to productive use, accelerate blight removal, address health and safety concerns on vacant lots, and dispose of parcels through an application and developer-selection process. Staff said a substitute agenda corrected district designations and that nearly all the parcels on this list were in super district 6 and predominantly in commission districts 3 and 4.

Churchill said the land bank is qualifying vendors/contractors to accelerate dispositions and that where appropriate individual applicants can apply directly; final selections are reviewed by the land bank's board of directors. Commissioners pressed to ensure that dispositions preserve affordability and respect legacy residents; staff said affordable-housing objectives are part of selection criteria and that some parcels are ineligible for land banking because they contain infrastructure assets.

Ending: After discussion, the committee approved the substitute agenda item to declare the parcels surplus and transfer them to the DeKalb Regional Land Bank Authority; staff will proceed with administrative steps and follow the land-bank application and disposition procedures.