STOP THE SWAP - BUY OUR PARK BACK
Save Intrenchment Creek Park
Tell DeKalb County:
Buy Our Park Back!
DeKalb has a fleeting opportunity to buy back our park land and protect it from destruction – specifically from becoming a Data Center.
TAKE ACTION NOW.
NOW send an email!
Copy-paste the sample letter below OR put it in your own words.
Send to: ceocochranjohnson@dekalbcountyga.gov, jvallo@dekalbcountyga.gov, zach.williams@dekalbcountyga.gov, rjpatrick@dekalbcountyga.gov, mlspears@dekalbcountyga.gov, namassiah@dekalbcountyga.gov, cjjohnson2@dekalbcountyga.gov, mdjohnson@dekalbcountyga.gov, ted@dekalbcountyga.gov, labolton@dekalbcountyga.gov, bocinfo@dekalbcountyga.gov
“SUBJECT: Buy Our Park Back
CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson & DeKalb County Commissioners,
Please take action to return all of Intrenchment Creek Park (ICP) to its rightful owners, the citizens of DeKalb County.
In 2002, ICP was established as a DeKalb County park, to be protected forever from private development. Now, it’s under threat of becoming a Data Center. CEO Cochran-Johnson, please don’t let this happen! Buy the land back from Ryan Millsap and protect it as intended – for the people, for good!
DeKalb County has a fleeting opportunity to return the park, intact, to the public. Additionally, the county has the right to enter into Millsap’s recently filed “Quiet Title Action” to reassert its public interest in the land.
Please use the power of your office to change a bad deal into a good outcome. Together, we can protect ICP for generations to come.
Thank you.”
This has been a long battle. Thank you for your support.
Donate via our Donate page or the Stop the Swap Go Fund Me.
Intrenchment Creek Park has been closed under executive order since March 2023. Together, we are taking action to reopen the park and protect it before it’s too late!
THE FIGHT TO SAVE PUBLIC LAND FROM PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT
Intrenchment Creek Park (ICP) is a beautiful 136 acre public park in south DeKalb County, inside Atlanta's I-285. The park's tree canopy, wetlands, and floodplain work together to protect the South River’s largest urban tributary – Intrenchment Creek. The park impacts the health of the watershed in countless ways like mitigating stormwater runoff and providing essential wildlife habitat.
In 2021, DeKalb County traded 40 acres of the park, including urban forest, to private developer Ryan Millsap (Blackhall Studios). The swap set a precedent that puts every public park and greenspace in DeKalb County at risk.
Protecting ICP has required sustained community action and financial contribution. Thank you for your continued support!
Background
In 2003, The Blank Foundation gifted DeKalb County with the 136 acres that would become Intrenchment Creek Park. ICP was established as a park for its environmental and ecological value, and the public health benefits it provides communities in south DeKalb. Despite being illegal according to the property deed, which states that Intrechment Creek Park is to be protected in perpetuity for public use, the land swap moved forward in 2021 giving Ryan Millsap (Blackhall Studios) 40 acres of public land.
SRWA is a Section 501(c) (3) charitable organization, EIN #451836903. All donations are tax-deductible.