May 2025's Council Meetings Recap

Jimmy Furst
May 27
4 min read

Below is my recap of the latest Council Meeting with my thoughts, which don't represent the Mayor or the rest of the Council.

Click HERE for the agendas and videos for this month's Council meetings.

Announcements and Presentations

Council Dog of the Month

Public Hearings

4789 Buford Hwy NAPA Auto Dumpster Variance

Another day, another dumpster. This application was straightforward and was APPROVED unanimously by the Council.

5880 Peachtree Blvd Jim Ellis Cadillac

What’s Proposed: A new three-story parking deck, coming in at 202,400 square feet.

The Details:

The deck would be made of precast concrete with decorative metal accents and space to hold up to 722 inventory vehicles.
It’s designed to stand about 37 feet tall on average.
The project includes saving 806 inches of existing tree canopy.
To boost greenery, the plan enhances the 40-foot zoning buffer on the west side, expanding it to 60 feet and planting 201 inches of new tree canopy.
There’s also 26,388 square feet of open space planned around the buffer on the northwest and northeast sides of the deck.

Due to the size of the project, this was a Development of Community Impact (DCI) project and was reviewed by the Design Review Board.

This was a complicated project with a history. Two other versions of the parking garage were previously approved, and due to economic headwinds, the project was never started. The Council voted unanimously to APPROVE this. We did hear from residents who had concerns about the deck, and I want to highlight that we added conditions to the approval specifically to address those issues and help mitigate any impact.

3473 Clairmont Road - Taqueria Los Rayos

This property’s a bit unique—it’s a corner lot and a through lot, which means it has street frontage on three sides: Clairmont Road, Skyland Drive, and Buford Highway. So, technically, it doesn’t have a traditional “backyard.”

The owner is planning to build a ten-foot-tall brick dumpster enclosure along Buford Highway, which would be located in what’s considered the front yard of the property.

Council DEFERRED this decision until June due to needing more time to discuss the placement of the enclosure on the property.

2772 Northeast Expressway

Another dumpster and a property with no "back." This application was straightforward and was APPROVED unanimously by the Council.

3477 Chamblee Dunwoody Way - Railway 3477

This one was interesting. The applicant wants to open a restaurant and reuse the existing building, but here’s the catch: they don’t plan to have any indoor seating or on-site parking. Naturally, I have concerns with both.

If employees don’t have a place to park, they’ll end up competing with customers for street parking, which could cause problems. Ideally, I’d like to see them work out a shared parking agreement nearby to help prevent that.

The Council decided to DEFER the vote until June to give everyone a little more time to find a workable solution.

Appeal of Administrative Decision - 2080 Clairmont Terrace/2342 Woodacres Road

Appeals like this don’t come up often; no one on Council had seen one until last year, and now we’ve had two since I’ve been in office. Our Unified Development Ordinance gives anyone who’s affected by an administrative decision the right to appeal. If the Planning and Development Director makes a call, it can be brought to the Mayor and City Council for review.

Staff reviewed and denied a request for the subdivision of 2080 Clairmont Terrace/ 2342 Woodacres Road. As a result, an appeal was filed. When we hear these appeals, our job isn’t to remake the decision. We’re only allowed to step in if it was made in a way that was arbitrary, capricious, or just plain wrong. By code, we have 60 days to make a final decision, and as of now, that decision hasn’t been made yet.

Staff Action Items

Set Qualifying Period and Fees for 2025 Election

Voters will be electing the Mayor, the District 1 Councilmember, and the At-Large Councilmember.

As part of the process, we’ve set the qualifying fees:

Mayor: $1,080
District 1 and At-Large Councilmembers: $720

These amounts are based on 3% of last year’s total gross salary, in line with state law.

If you’re thinking about running, the qualifying period will be August 19–21, 2025, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM each day at City Hall. Candidates need to meet all the requirements set by the City Charter, local ordinances, and state law. The Council voted unanimously to APPROVE this item.

Fee Schedule Amendment

To help make sure everyone follows the new tree removal notice rule, staff suggested the Mayor and City Council put a fee in place for situations where the sign doesn’t go up as required. The proposed fee? $175 per tree removed without proper notice.

Just a reminder, this whole update is about making sure neighbors are in the know when a tree is coming down. That’s why property owners have to post a sign for five days before any approved removal happens.

The Council voted unanimously to APPROVE this new fee. I supported it because it’s a simple step that helps protect Chamblee’s beautiful tree canopy.

Please send me your questions, comments, or concerns.

Email: Jfurst@chambleega.gov

Mobile: 770-901-1121

The legal stuff: The views expressed represent the views of the author and may not reflect the views of the Chamblee City Council. Comments posted in response to a Councilmember-initiated communication may be subject to public disclosure under the Open Records Act. If you are a resident of Chamblee and would like to discuss city business, please go to chambleega.gov or contact me at the email above.