DeKalb Community Called 'Worst in America'

(Photo: Nancy Jester Facebook)

Brannen Hill, a rundown condominium complex in Clarkston that is home to numerous immigrants and refugees, is gaining national attention for its harsh conditions.

And now a DeKalb County commissioner is calling for action to clean up the community.

“It is essential DeKalb County do right by these refugees and taxpayers,” said District 1 commissioner Nancy Jester, who represents much of Dunwoody on the commission. “Stories such as this hurt the refugees, taxpayers, and serious economic development which means jobs.”

Brannen Hill, which sits in unincorporated DeKalb, is home to about 400 refugees, mainly from Somalia, who have settled there due to the proximity of a nearby immigrant community.

A September 2015 n article by George Chidi on vice.com cites widespread crime, drugs, prostitution and gang activity in the complex. The article quotes Andrew Baker, DeKalb’s director of code enforcement, as saying, “The living conditions are unbelievable.”

Baker also said the condos’ buildings are full of rotten wood, exposed wires, bullet holes, burned-out rooms, missing doors and unlicensed vehicles.

The Deen Media Center also recently produced a video highlighting the conditions at Brannen Hill, which can be seen below.

Here is the full text of a letter that Jester recently sent to other commissioners as well as DeKalb Interim CEO Lee May:

Recently DeKalb County was in the news regarding the conditions at Brannon Hill; a condominium community near Clarkston. Sadly, this community is in distress, and has been so for over a decade. Our legal team, commissioners, and administration have been working on addressing the conditions, blight, and complex legal issues that are present at this property. I want to acknowledge and thank everyone on their efforts to date. I believe the intentions of all officials involved to be sincere. I want to point out that there are other properties in DeKalb that are in distress and, sadly, Brannon Hill, is not unique.

As was discussed in PWI yesterday, county attorneys have expressed concern over going onto private property to pick up the trash and dumping that has accumulated at Brannon Hill over the years. One of our attorneys said that this might be construed as a violation of the “gratuities clause” of the State Constitution. Based on how other jurisdictions around the nation handle similar situations, I think that we can move forward without any violation of the gratuities clause with a plan that includes these elements:

1. Either the administration or the BOC designates a property as distressed/blighted/etc. based on some agreed upon set of facts and circumstances. We could easily come up with a standard here.

2. County sends a notice about what action must be taken to fix the property.

3. If the owner does not comply with some timeframe (60 days, etc.), the county utilizes resources to take action. (Pick up trash, tear down uninhabitable structures, etc.)

4. The county sends the property owner a bill for those services.

5. If the property owner fails to pay, the balance should be added to the yearly tax bill for the property. Failure to pay, should result in a lien on the property.

6. We should consider a policy of issuing warrants for property owners. St. Louis has used this and found that it helps with out of state owners.

As elected officials, we have many areas in the county that need our attention regarding their conditions and potential solutions. My research shows that DeKalb is not unique in facing these problems. The good news is that other communities have created and utilized effective methodologies to combat blight, negligent and distant owners, and renew neighborhoods with their dedicated efforts. Perhaps it was serendipitous that we discussed the legislative agenda today because we should be petitioning the state for any necessary statute changes that would help us effectively deal with this matter. It is my earnest hope, that we can work together to advance some more efficacious methods and solutions to address this problem.

My research has shown that some governments around the country are taking a more aggressive posture in dealing with abandoned, vacant, and blighted properties. I’ve listed below some of the ideas that other areas of the country are using to address blight and abandoned, vacant properties. I believe that, as a commission, we need to see if these strategies could be employed in DeKalb. We should seek out best practices and assistance from national leaders in this effort; leaders such as the Center for Community Progress. We cannot accept the status quo. We know where that gets us. We must be creative and use the best practices that others have developed around the nation to better their communities. I hope that you will work with me to advance legislation that will prove effective in this effort.