In June 2022, Brookhaven's City Council approved a plan to redevelop "blighted" areas. One of these areas surrounds my home near Buford Highway where I've had a front-row seat to witness how the city's heavy-handed approach to governance has caused a chilling effect on any organic development leading to this so-called "blight".

A timeline of the city's actions along with a map of the affected businesses between North Druid Hills and Briarwood Rd are presented below.

The Timeline

Numbered locations are labeled on a map below the timeline.

If you only skim, please pay the most attention to 2018.

Dec 2012 Brookhaven offically becomes DeKalb county's 11th city.

Apr 2013 Brookhaven Municipal Court Opens.

May 2013 The city passes a measure against adult entertainment instigating long court battles with both The Pink Pony1 and Stardust2.

Nov 2014 The Pink Pony1 will remain open but must pay the city $225,000 a year and donate land along Peachtree Creek for a public park.

Jul 2017 Brookhaven uses eminent domain to acquire 19 acres of land3 off Briarwood Road.

Oct 2017 The city submits a proposal to Amazon for its HQ2 search, ignoring the objections of the owners of the property4 contained in the proposal.

Nov 2017 The City Council revises an alcohol ordinance requiring a yearly $50,000 license and a yearly $50,000 on-premise consumption fee for "entertainment venues" to pay for police coverage.

2018

Feb 2018 The Brookhaven Alcohol Board denies three Buford Highway businesses their alcohol license due to the new entertainment venue classification: Rush Lounge, Medusa Restaurant & Lounge5, XS Restaurant & Lounge6 and Josephine Lounge7.

Mar 2018 DeKalb County Superior Court rules against Brookhaven in Briarwood Road eminent domain case, saying Brookhaven violated the law by acting in "bad faith to compel an agreement on the price to be paid for the property".

Apr 2018 Brookhaven Planning Commission recommends the approval of rezoning Bramblewood Drive8 to make way for a 197-unit townhome development.

Apr 2018 Rush night club appeals the Alcohol Board's entertainment venue classification.

Apr 2018 Medusa Restaurant & Lounge5, XS Restaurant & Lounge6, and Josephine7 file a discrimination lawsuit against Brookhaven alleging its modified alcohol ordinance illegally targets African-American clubs.

Apr 2018 Brookhaven suspends the alcohol permits of eight more (mostly hispanic) establishments: Acapulco Tropical9, Confetis Restaurant & Bar10, Don Pollo Mexican Bar & Grill11, El Ocho Billiards12, La Casa Restaurant Bar & Lounge, Nina’s Bar & Grill13, Pegasus Restaurant & Lounge14, and Arif Lounge.

May 2018 Six businesses targeted by the alcohol license suspension agree to remove their DJ booths, stages and dance floors to avoid the $100,000 fee.

May 2018 The Brookhaven Planning Commission rejects a rezoning request to build a self-storage building at the site of a used car lot15.

May 2018 Brookhaven purchases the old QuikTrip gas station16 at North Cliff Valley for $1.7 million.

Jun 2018 The City Council postpones a decision about Bramblewood Drive rezoning request for 90 days stating a deferral ensures "the project does not die."

Jun 2018 The City Council approves a 6-month moratorium on new development around Buford Highway. A similar moratorium was used back in 2016 on Dresden Drive to halt the development of new apartments.

Jul 2018 U.S. District Court refuses to throw out the discrimination lawsuit against the city.

Aug 2018 The city eliminates the $100,000 alcohol license fee following the U.S. District Court's ruling the previous month. The now-moot discrimination lawsuit is dropped the following March.

Aug 2018 Stardust loses its federal lawsuit about selling adult toys. The owner is later found in contempt of court of this ruling and is featured in a national magazine.

Sep 2018 Ardent withdraws plans for 197-unit townhouse development on Bramblewood Drive.

Dec 2018 The city council transfers ownership of the Quiktrip to its development authority.

2019

Jun 2019 Brookhaven's Development Authority issues $1.1 billion in tax-exempt bonds for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in a complex agreement that includes CHOA promising $40 million in traffic improvements around N Druid Hills.

Sep 2019 Ardent sues the city of Brookhaven for "maliciously abusing governmental powers" over failed Bramblewood Drive project.

Nov 2019 XS Restaurant & Lounge and Medusa have their liqour license renewal denied due to "a pattern of misconduct and repeated failure to timely file and pay excise tax returns as required".

Dec 2019 The Peachtree Creek Greenway opens.

2020

Jan 2020 DeKalb County School District cuts funding for a new Cross Keys High School17 from its E-SPLOST budget, turning an $85 million expenditure into just $80,000 as conversations grow about how smaller suburban cities are granting millions in tax abatements.

Feb 2020 The Brookhaven Development Authority buys the closed Krystal location18 on the south end of the Greenway with a $650,000 loan from the city to increase "the City’s ability to influence and manage strategic economic development".

Aug 2020 DeKalb county stalls Brookhaven’s federal COVID-19 funds over the tax break dispute.

Oct 2020 DeKalb County Superior Court Judge rules that DeKalb County’s government and school district will be allowed to argue against Brookhaven’s controversial Dresden Village tax abatement.

2021

Nov 2021 Brookhaven City Council rejects resolution to redevelop "blighted" areas.

Dec 2021 Brookhaven City Council approves special tax district to collect money from businesses to fund unannounced "infrastructure improvements".

2022

Mar 2022 Ardent wins lawsuit stating the city tried to require the company to pay the city a portion of its profits if the property was sold within four years in exchange for a $30 million tax abatement. The city is ordered to pay about $5.8 million while its mayor and city manager each owe $200,000 in punitive fees.

Mar 2022 The City Council approves a resolution adopting a policy for the indemnification and defense of elected officials, appointed officials, and city employees, which means those people will not be personally liable for their actions while acting on behalf of the city. The city attorney says this resolution has nothing to do with the Ardent verdict from two weeks prior which held the mayor and city planner liable.

Apr 2022 The city approves the purchase of 2665 Buford Highway for a Development Services Center.

Apr 2022 The city approves a resolution to redevelop blighted areas under the state’s Urban Redevelopment Law.

Jun 2022 Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce has named a new business development director.

Jun 2022 Brookhaven approves an Urban Redevelopment Plan for redevelopment of designated “blighted” areas of the city, including Buford Highway.

The Locations

1. The Pink Pony
   1837 Corporate Blvd
2. Stardust
   3007 Buford Hwy closed
3. 19 acres of land
   1783 Briarwood Road
4. Northeast Plaza
   3307 Buford Hwy
5. Medusa Restaurant & Lounge
   3375 Buford Hwy
6. XS Restaurant & Lounge
   3337 Buford Hwy closed
7. Josephine Lounge
   3277 Buford Hwy
8. Proposed Townhomes
   Bramblewood Dr
9. Acapulco Tropical
   3363 Buford Hwy closed
10. Confetis Restaurant & Bar
    3045 Buford Hwy closed
11. Don Pollo Mexican Bar & Grill
    1851 Corporate Blvd closed
12. El Ocho Billiards
    3043 Buford Hwy closed
13. Nina’s Bar & Grill
    3115 Buford Hwy closed
14. Pegasus Restaurant & Lounge
    3375 Buford Hwy
15. Wheels and Deals Auto Sales
    2991 Buford Hwy
16. Quiktrip
    3292 Buford Hwy
17. Cross Keys High School
    1626 N Druid Hills Rd
18. Krystal
    2068 N Druid Hills Rd closed

Located slightly off the map.

• Rush Lounge
  2715 Buford Hwy closed
• La Casa Restaurant Bar & Lounge
  3747 Buford Hwy
• Arif Lounge
  2847 Buford Hwy
• Development Services Center
  2665 Buford Hwy

Conclusion

Ultimately the classification of "blight" is just bureaucratic semantics, but after following the drama the city created trying to remake this area, I understand why so many store-fronts remain closed and why the city feels it must now take an even more active role fixing the problem it had a large hand in creating.

However, the city's failures on Bramblewood and Dresden Drive along with the county's renewed vigor against tax abatements will make it harder to entice developers. And while I'm sure the Special Tax District money will help them find one or two who will transform our highway, I hope the above timeline reminds Brookhaven of all the eggs that were broken to make its omelet.

An excerpt from Rough Waters: Gentrification and Cataclysmic Money

We should be spending less time arguing about what gentrification is or whether it's happening in a given place, and more time talking about how to "gentrification-proof" neighborhoods. That is, how to make them places where local residents both drive the organic, gradual evolution of the place and are the primary beneficiaries of its improvement.

Decline is a precondition for gentrification. It's a consequence of perverse incentives that exaggerate the cycle of neighborhood decline and reinvestment by preventing many incremental improvements. This phenomenon takes two closely related forms: artificial volatility in neighborhoods' fortunes over time and a bias toward "big-ness" in who gets to participate or have a stake in development.

Did I miss/get anything wrong or want to discuss this article?
 Email me at dan@cunning.cc.