The South River Forest and Public Safety Training Center Community Task Force have presented their recommendations for the controversial 300+ acre property to Mayor Andre Dickens.
The report offers more than 100 recommendations for the city-owned property in South DeKalb County that will become a park and the public safety training center dubbed “Cop City” by its opponents.
Among the recommendations is creating a detailed master plan that includes ecological restoration and legislation that protects the greenspace from future development.
Other recommendations directly related to the training center include a “no tolerance” policy for officers who violate police standards and procedures and a focus on pre-arrest diversion. Many opponents of the facility claim it will further militarize law enforcement against the citizenry.
The entire list of recommendations can be read below.
Mayor Dickens said in a statement: “Over the next 30 days, my administration will thoroughly review the recommendations. We encourage members of the greater public to also review the plan and continue to engage in constructive dialogue about the future of the site. The presentation will be available at atltrainingcenter.com. In addition, my team will send report to the Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee (CSAC) for their review.”
Opponents of the training facility are working to gather enough signatures to put a “Stop Cop City” referendum on the November ballot. The city has filed a legal challenge to the petition, which is still playing out in court.
The Stop Cop City movement posted a statement on social media following the release of the recommendations calling them “nothing remarkable or new.”
“Our community deserves far more than empty recommendations that Cop City “create harmony with nature in all physical developments/buildings”. Investment in working class communities should be guaranteed and materialized, not promised to be provided upon the completion of Cop City. You cannot create a community center at the same place that police would train to kill your neighbors.”