Housing remains hot topic for DeKalb

A town hall recently brought together local officials and the public to discuss an ongoing challenge in DeKalb County and beyond: housing.

The topic of housing is a broad umbrella, according to officials, who addressed homelessness, housing instability, affordable rentals, homeownership, and the development and preservation of quality housing during the town hall, held Aug. 17 at the Porter Sanford Performing Arts and Community Center in Decatur.

“I’d like to say DeKalb plans to grow, but we are very concerned about ensuring that everyone has access to housing. Housing is human right,” said CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson.

To that end, officials state they have been working on a Comprehensive Housing Plan, described as DeKalb’s “first long-term strategic framework for housing across the full continuum, from homelessness and rental housing to homeownership, production, and preservation.”

During a presentation led by the county’s Chief Housing Officer Alan Ferguson, five major goals were outlined:

• Make homelessness rare, temporary, and non-recurring.
• Facilitate more quality rental housing that meets residents’ needs.
• Support more attainable and lasting homeownership.
• Strengthen housing development relationships, systems, and processes.
• Optimize and increase resources to sustain housing production and preservation.

“A comprehensive housing strategy must meet residents where they are while creating clear pathways toward greater stability and opportunity,” said Ferguson. “This plan gives us a unified framework to align our programs, investments and partnerships. Just as importantly, it establishes measurable goals that will help us remain accountable and ensure our work produces meaningful, lasting results for DeKalb residents.”

The plan also establishes a more coordinated framework for advancing housing policy and initiatives across DeKalb County, including the creation of a housing council and a strengthened housing leadership structure to align county resources, partnerships, and programs, stated officials.

“We cannot solve housing challenges in silos,” Cochran-Johnson said. “This requires government, developers, financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, service providers and our communities working together toward a common goal. DeKalb County is bringing those partners to the table and creating the structure necessary to move from individual programs to a comprehensive housing strategy.”

At the presentation, officials also stated that housing needs vary significantly among residents. For some, the immediate need is emergency shelter and supportive services. For others, it is an affordable rental unit, assistance remaining in an existing home or an opportunity to purchase a first home. Still others are searching for quality housing that allows them to remain in DeKalb as their families, careers and circumstances change.

Under the Comprehensive Housing Plan, DeKalb County officials said they will work to connect those needs with coordinated programs, investments and partnerships while encouraging the development and preservation of housing throughout the county.

“We’re thinking about long-lasting impact, the long game, not Band-Aids, not quick fixes,” said Bithia Palmer, director of Housing Solutions at Enterprise Advisors.

Launched in November 2025, the plan is led by Eva Chauveau of Planning and Sustainability at Enterprise Advisors and Sycamore Consulting. It goes before the Board of Commissioners in November for final adoption.

For more information and to read the plan in full, visit https://engagedekalb.dekalbcountyga.gov/DCCHP.