Key points:
• The city denied it was responsible for repairing a crumbling spillway in the Kingsley subdivision, despite residents’ pleas.
• The panel delayed a contract approval with Flock Safety after citizens and council members questioned the manner in which data was stored and shared.
• A long-vacant property that fronts Ashford Dunwoody Road has suffered another setback as the developer withdrew an application for a special land-use permit.
• The council mourned the loss of one of its founding officers, Maj. William Furman.
The Dunwoody City Council’s Feb. 23 meeting may be remembered for what didn’t happen, rather than what did, as several projects and initiatives were delayed or withdrawn.
Nonetheless, the meeting was a colorful one, literally and figuratively, as disgruntled Kingsley subdivision residents, dressed in orange vests, pleaded with the city to help fix its crumbling spillway, which is causing erosion to properties that back up to the lake.
After 30 minutes of public comment dominated by the Kingsley residents, Dunwoody City Manager Eric Linton read a statement that said the property in question is a private entity and that the city is not responsible for repairing the spillway.
In addition, the council had a lively exchange with representatives from FLock Safety about possible security breaches in its surveillance system and its contract with the city. The council deferred a request to extend the annual contract for 30 days. It’s the second time the council has asked the contract to be delayed.
Finally, there was a “quiet quit” involving a request for a Special Land Use Permit for 84 Perimeter Center East, a property that has been in flux for more than 10 years, as the applicant, JSJ Perimeter LLC, withdrew the request. The mixed-use development plan included a drive-thru Portillo’s restaurant, which has caused concerns about its impact on an already congested roadway.
Kingsley Lake residents plead their case
Members of the Kingsley Swim & Racquet Club and Kingsley Neighborhood Alliance, during public comment, said the city should be responsible for repairs to its failing spillway.
“For years, the city has directed stormwater into the Kingsley Lake through city infrastructure,” founding city council member Danny Ross told council. “The flow crosses the lake, exits over the spill, and continues into the city’s downstream system. When the city uses a private lake and spillwater as part of the stormwater conveyance path, the city has a duty to manage that path competently and address the damages that result.”
The city, Ross contended, should acknowledge publicly that Kingsley Lake is a functional part of the city’s stormwater conveyance system, direct the staff to meet with the lake association in an open forum, commission an independent assessment of the flow impacts and damage to the spillway, and commit to a timeline to repair the damage.
“Until a solution is implemented, stop treating this like a private inconvenience,” Ross said.
Other residents, like Whitney Delaney, president of Kingsley Racket and Swim Club, claimed that the city has made a series of stormwater improvements that direct more water into the lake.
“In 2015, the culverts on North Peachtree and Delverton [Drive] were enlarged and raised to accommodate higher stormwater flows,” Delaney said. “In 2023, pipe repairs were completed on Brendan Drive, Redcliffe Way, and Sandell Drive, improving conveyance and allowing storm water to move more efficiently into Kingsley Lake. In 2024, additional repairs were made on private property on Delverton, directing even more water into the lake.”
Each of these improvements, Delaney said, directs more water into the lake, and when the lake fills, forces the excess over a single emergency spillway located on the Kingsley property.
The city response: No
After the public comment concluded, Linton read a statement that said the area in question “is private property that the general public does not have access to, and the City of Dunwoody is not responsible for repairing this private property.”
“The City of Dunwoody does not control the lake, the dam, or the flume that is damaged. The City has not negligently constructed or maintained its drainage system in a way that damages the lake, the dam, or the flume,” the statement said. “Historical photographs show that the flume has not been maintained, and as far back as 2010, photos show damage to the flume in the same area as the current damage.”
Linton’s full statement can be found here.
Flock controversy
The council also deferred for 30 days a contract renewal with Flock Safety after constituents and council members questioned both the contract’s fluidity and the manner in which the data is collected, stored, and shared.
The technology, which is linked to the DPD’s Real-Time Crime Center, includes license plate readers, live-view cameras, gunshot-detection sensors, third-party video cameras, and drones.
Flock has come under fire from some residents who have spoken at recent meetings about their concerns about the private company’s data collection, its association with federal agencies, and data-sharing with other jurisdictions.
Council members also brought up several issues after a presentation from Kerry McCormack, a member of the public affairs team from Flock, saying that his statement that the system had never been hacked was untrue.
Council Member Catherine Lautenbacher recounted a situation wherein a Marietta blogger posted that he had hacked into a camera on Peachtree Creek Greenway and showed a live-feed video of a child.
McCormack admitted that the breach had taken place, adding that the incident happened while cameras were being installed.
“There was an issue with the network, the cell network that we were working with, and for a short period of time, the cameras that were in the public right away were live-streamed online, that’s correct,” he said.
Other council members questioned whether Flock data is shared with federal officials, like Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or with agencies like the Marietta Police Department, which has a data-sharing agreement with ICE.
The council also expressed concerns about how changes in the Flock contract are communicated to the department and the public, as well as how long data is retained and shared.
After a prolonged discussion, the council instructed Linton to ask the city’s IT department meet with Flock representatives to get clarity on the issues aired at the meeting, and voted unanimously to defer the item to the March 23 meeting.
LifeSouth property rezoning
The council did take action on several matters, including unanimously approving a reduction in the waiting time for submission of rezoning requests for a property on Ashford Dunwoody Road, from two years to six months.
The property, currently housing LifeSouth Community Blood Center at 4891 Ashford Dunwoody Road, was the subject of much controversy when developer Dominium proposed a zoning change that would allow the construction of more than 200-age and income-restricted apartments on the property.
After months of debate and an organized protest by a group of residents, the rezoning request was voted down by the council. The city’s ordinance dictates that new rezoning requests must undergo a 24-month waiting period before reconsideration, but LifeSouth requested in a letter to the council that the timeframe be reduced to six months.
“On September 8th, 2025, our request to rezone the property from Office-Industrial (O-I) to Planned Development (PD) was rejected,” the LifeSouth letter said. “Since that time, LifeSouth has engaged with interested buyers, including Lennar, who have expressed interest in developing townhomes on the property.”
“Accordingly, this resubmission is not a repetition of the prior request but instead reflects a materially different development plan for zoning considerations,” the letter continued. “We believe the proposed resubmission aligns with the planning objectives, zoning framework, and community priorities for the city.”
Lennar’s site plan, in its early conceptual stages, has 41 units on the 3.42-acre site, split between two distinct townhome products that vary in width and square footage. Each of the six townhome clusters is three stories tall, and their density aligns with surrounding residential developments at just under 12 units per acre.
Council pauses to remember fallen officer
In other news, the council publicly mourned the death of Maj. William “Rusty” Furman, who passed away after a long battle with cancer. Police Chief Mike Carlson called Furman “one of the most resilient employees I’ve ever had.”
“I couldn’t have been more proud of him day-to-day,” Carlson. “I am confident that he would have been the chief of police here one day.”
A visibly shaken Lynn Deutsch, the city’s mayor, said Furman was “a quiet, happy-to-see-you kind of person who was dedicated to the community.”
The chamber paused for a moment of silence for Furman, and the mayor urged attendees to consider supporting the family through donations to the Dunwoody Police Foundation in his name.