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Judge grants DeKalb County authority to knock down parts of Brannon Hill complex

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Judge grants DeKalb County authority to knock down parts of Brannon Hill complex

A Brannon Hill residents holds a sign during the town hall meeting. Photo by: Dyana Bagby
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A Brannon Hill residents holds a sign during the town hall meeting. Photo by: Dyana Bagby

A Brannon Hill residents holds a sign during the town hall meeting. Photo by: Dyana Bagby

DeKalb County now has the legal authority too knock down parts of the Brannon Hill apartment complex if the owners refuse to clean up the property.

Brannon Hill Condominium Complex residents in DeKalb County are desperate for help in cleaning up their Clarkston neighborhood where burned out buildings, piles of trash and debris, open drug deals and violence have been the norm for many years. Some of these sites have been used by private businesses as a dumping ground, the county says.

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According to a press release from the county, “Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams signed an order on Nov. 15 granting DeKalb County authorization to demolish and clean up specified buildings at Brannon Hills Condominium that were destroyed or seriously damaged by fire in the event that owners do not complete the work themselves. This order does not allow the county to clean up the entire property, only specified areas damaged or destroyed by fire.”

DeKalb County’s commission earlier this year authorized the filing of a lawsuit that would allow the county to use its resources to clean up the complex. The judge’s order “is the result of a July 2016 action filed by the county’s law department seeking to require the property owners to demolish and clean up specified burned or dilapidated structured,” the press release says.

The owners will have 60 days to demolish those structures, the press release says.

“This is a big step in the right direction,” DeKalb Interim CEO Lee May said in the press release. “This order puts Brannon Hill’s owners on notice to improve the property or DeKalb County has the authority to step in and take action. We have been working diligently for years to cleaning up Brannon Hill and other blighted communities.”

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