Actually, some of America's most progressive, green-conscious counties average 23 acres per 1,000, which would set the bar even higher for DeKalb at more than 14,000 acres. And it's not as if DeKalb has plenty of wide-open spaces with which to redress this deficiency. It is Georgia's most urbanized county, with 70 percent of its land developed and much of what is left eyeballed for in-fill and tract housing. The price of undeveloped property in DeKalb will probably never be any lower than it is now. If the county is to make any headway in acquiring property for sport, for fun, for simply communing with nature, there'll never be a better time than now to do it.
Parks are more than frills.
They enhance values of surrounding properties. They are an attraction for relocating businesses and employees. They are far less of a burden on county finances than a housing development on the same site. Seventy percent would go for land acquisition, while the rest would pay for renovation of existing recreational facilities and construction of new ones. This bond issue was approved nearly unanimously by the DeKalb commission and has the support of diverse groups like the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, the Sierra Club and the Organization of DeKalb Educators.