Brookhaven affirmed this week that its lawsuit against DeKalb County over parkland will not affect a mental health and rehabilitation service that operates from the park.
The DeKalb Community Service Board (CSB), located at 2660 Osborne Road within Brookhaven Park, assists with mental health, addiction and developmental disability services. It’s a nonprofit provider that holds a long-term lease with DeKalb in that location to provide those services to uninsured residents.
On Tuesday, Brookhaven leaders passed a resolution that said the Community Service Board’s lease would not be affected by the outcome of the lawsuit. Mayor John Ernst said in a news release the resolution was intended to address rumors that the city would attempt to relocate or discontinue the services if they take over the park land where it’s located.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “This unanimous resolution that publicly states our intentions should clear up some of the false, misleading, and malicious comments which create consternation, upset, and distress where none should exist.”
In January, Brookhaven filed a lawsuit against DeKalb in an attempt to obtain the entirety of Brookhaven Park. The 21-acre park, located off Peachtree and Osborne roads, is split into two similar-sized parcels — the western portion is owned by Brookhaven, while DeKalb owns the rest.
The county plans to use four acres of its portion to develop a new library, while the city wants to preserve the entire park as renovated greenspace. Brookhaven has placed signs and drawn a literal chalk line through the park to show the split in ownership.
Brookhaven argues that DeKalb should have sold the park to the city for $100 an acre after Brookhaven’s founding in 2012. Citing Georgia law, the lawsuit said the county must transfer “all of the county’s right, title and interest” in parkland located within a newly incorporated city’s limits.
The county sold the western half of the park in 2017 for $992. However, DeKalb County Commissioner Jeff Rader, whose district encompasses Brookhaven, previously said the eastern half doesn’t need to be sold because it “is dedicated to a countywide function.”
“I’m glad that the (Brookhaven) City Council has recognized that the Community Service Board operation serving developmentally disabled clients is an important human services facility, and that it and its grounds serve an important non-recreational use,” Rader said Thursday in an emailed statement.
The city has previously attempted to purchase the rest of the property and lease the Service Board’s site back to the county.
“Because the CSB tract is dedicated to a Countywide function not covered by the statute and is leased by the County to the CSB, it was found to be ineligible for transfer,” Rader said in a prior statement.
If Brookhaven wins the lawsuit, the city’s resolution added that the city would continue the lease so that the Service Board’s work in the community would be uninterrupted.
The lawsuit is still pending, and a city spokesman said a judge has yet to be assigned to the case.
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