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Hey, Druid Hills / North Decatur! This week: Northlake Mall's shuttered future is officially up for public debate, DeKalb Schools is hitting reset on redistricting, and a lawsuit over the county's data center moratorium is heating up alongside the actual heat advisory. Plus, Fernbank's events are back in full swing and a cluster of Oak Tree/Lulah Ave permits hints at a bigger tenant buildout.

- News — Northlake Mall's post-closure future, a restarted DeKalb Schools redistricting timeline, and a lawsuit challenging the county's data center ban all point to a county in flux.
- Business — Go Greek Yogurt is staking a claim in Toco Hills' shopping district.
- Events — Fernbank's dino talks, animal encounters, and reptile day anchor the week, with live music at Wild Heaven and a Diane Durrett show at Napoleon's Grill.
- Government — Commissioners are eyeing dam repairs, townhome rezonings, and a Clifton Road historic preservation fight, while DeKalb Schools lock in major contracts for new buildings and food service.
- Construction — A $164,000 CT scan upgrade on N Decatur Rd and a cluster of plumbing/gas permits near Oak Tree Rd signal fresh investment, plus two LaVista Rd traffic fixes underway.

Let's dive in.

NEWS

Tucker-Northlake CID seeks community input on future of Northlake Mall area
Following the closure of Northlake Mall in late June, the Tucker-Northlake Community Improvement District has launched the "One Northlake Plan" initiative to gather public input on transportation, development, and economic growth in the district. The planning project is supported by an Atlanta Regional Commission Livable Centers Initiative grant.

DeKalb Schools restarts redistricting plan and releases timeline for community input
The DeKalb County School District has restarted its comprehensive facilities planning process to address uneven student populations across schools. Families will have opportunities to give public feedback during upcoming community engagement sessions on school boundaries and facility adjustments.

Emory economist highlights rising healthcare costs driven by physician practice consolidation
A new study co-authored by an Emory University economist examines how hospital acquisitions of private physician practices are driving up healthcare costs and reducing market competition.

Developers sue DeKalb County over moratorium on new data centers
Shadowbox Studios and an affiliated real estate company have filed a lawsuit in DeKalb County Superior Court challenging the county's temporary ban on new data center construction.

DeKalb opens cooling centers as heat advisory continues
DeKalb County opened public cooling centers as heat index values reached up to 109 degrees. Local facilities and transportation services were made available to help vulnerable residents across the county.

BUSINESS

Go Greek Yogurt opening new franchise location in Toco Hills — Go Greek Yogurt is expanding to the area with a new franchise location opening in the Toco Hills shopping district.

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EVENTS | Presented by

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Monday, August 17
- StoryWalk® at Mason Mill Park | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Story Time | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Tuesday, August 18
- Live Animal Encounter | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Wednesday, August 19
- Dino Talk | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Thursday, August 20
- Tkr Summer Of Fun Movies On The Green Series The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Tucker Town Green
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Live Animal Encounter | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- 🎟️ Diane Durrett * ticketed show | Napoleon's Grill

Friday, August 21
- Elf Power with Five Eight and Shehehe | Wild Heaven Beer
- Bishop & Mobley | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Friday Movies | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Dino Talk | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Saturday, August 22
- Live Music: Waits for No Man at 4 pm | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Reptile Day | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- A Night at the Archives I Opening Celebration | Kudzu Archives
- Sip & Sculpt Pottery Workshop | Prevail Union | NDH
- Dino Talk | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- The Music of Abundance | Trinity Center for Spiritual Living
- Tamar Braxton's Live Artist Showcase | Londzell Performing Arts Theatre
- Vandy Beth Glenn: One Morning At The Office | The Warehouse

Sunday, August 23
- Live Music: Sam Whithead at 3 pm | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Meet a Ranger | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Live Animal Encounter | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

GOVERNMENT

Note: our information comes from posted meetings documents (agendas and minutes when available) — latest source document hyperlinked to each meeting.

Past Week Roundup

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners: The commissioners' agenda-only meetings this week (minutes aren't posted yet, so outcomes aren't final) covered a wide range of spending and zoning proposals that could shape county services for years. You'll want to know the county is chasing state and federal grants to fix aging lake dams and upgrade parks, plus an $800,000 budget item to repair a retaining wall and add lighting at Sugar Creek Tennis & Golf. Commissioners also took up a $168,500 sewer funding deal tied to a Decatur-area development, a contract renewal keeping water and sewer bill assistance flowing to low-income residents through the Urban League, and over $2 million combined for health center lighting and elevator upgrades. Public hearings were scheduled on extending the county's moratorium on adult entertainment businesses and on a historic preservation appeal along Clifton Road. At the separate Zoning Meeting, the county took up several proposals to convert industrial and single-family lots into townhome communities, a new liquor package store request, and a countywide crackdown on chronic nuisance properties.

DeKalb County School District Board of Education approved some big-ticket contracts you'll be paying for through your tax dollars, including a $22.8 million nutrition and food distribution deal with Gold Star Foods and a $10 million renewal for architectural and engineering services on capital projects. The board also signed off on HVAC and cooling tower repairs at two elementary schools, sewer easement work at another elementary campus, and a construction management agreement for stadium improvements at Dunwoody High School. On the policy side, members advanced a second reading of a new districtwide policy on artificial intelligence use in schools and gave a first read to a policy governing how law enforcement can conduct interrogations and investigations on school grounds. Together, these moves signal the district is locking in long-term vendor relationships while also catching up on facility maintenance and updating rules for how technology and law enforcement interact with students.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
- 1080 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30307 — A historic preservation appeal regarding property alterations at 1080 Clifton Road was scheduled for a public hearing.
- Tobie Grant Park (593 Parkdale Dr, Scottdale, GA 30079) — Commissioners considered a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant application for overall park facility upgrades at Tobie Grant Park.

Meetings This Week
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners — Committee of the Whole | Aug-18, 9:00 AM | key topics: Scott Candler Water Treatment Plant overhaul, countywide road paving, trail extensions, data center environmental study, pet sales regulations

CONSTRUCTION

Permits
- 2825 Lawrenceville Hwy — A convenience store permit closed out here. Nothing dramatic, but worth knowing if you've noticed changes at that corner.
- 2675 N Decatur Rd, Decatur — $164,000 in work went into installing category 6 cabling for a CT scan replacement. That's a hospital or medical facility upgrading its imaging equipment, a solid sign of continued investment in the area's medical infrastructure.
- 2691 Lulah Ave Ste C10, Decatur — $87,200 plumbing and gas line permit closed. Combined with similar work nearby, it points to a bigger buildout in that complex.
- 1010 Oak Tree Rd Ste C5, Decatur — $69,000 plumbing and gas line permit closed.
- 1011 Oak Tree Rd Ste B70, Decatur — $57,700 plumbing and gas line permit closed. Along with the Lulah Ave and Oak Tree Rd permits above, this cluster suggests multiple units in the same commercial development are getting kitchen or utility upgrades at once, likely tied to new tenants moving in.
- 1634 Ponce de Leon Ave NE — Permit filed to replace three windows like for like at a multi-family building. No structural changes, so don't expect major disruption.
- 569 Asbury Cir NE — A single sprinkler head is going in to meet fire code. Routine compliance work.
- 1364 Clifton Rd NE — Advantage Fire is relocating and adding to the existing sprinkler system to bring it in line with 2022 fire code standards. Given the Clifton Rd corridor's concentration of medical and research buildings, expect this kind of code-compliance work to keep popping up.

Road Work

Under Construction
- Lavista Rd. EB @ Clairmont Rd. Left Turn Lane Extension — Crews are adding a turn lane extension on Lavista Rd. / LaVista Rd.
- Lavista Rd. & Shepherds Ln Signal Upgrade — GDOT is upgrading traffic signals on Lavista Rd. / LaVista Rd.

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Until next week,
Druid Hills / North Decatur Busybody

Disclaimer: We use advanced data retrieval and analysis techniques across hundreds of sources, and may be prone to occasional error. Independently verify information with a secondary source, and please let us know if we got anything wrong via the feedback form.