From the vibrance of Buford Highway to the presence of the second-busiest airport in Georgia, the city of Chamblee offers a multitude of unique attractions. The Chamblee City council works to regulate city affairs and make positive change in the city. 

There was a city council meeting on Thursday, August 14th, covering topics from serving complimentary alcohol to the construction of fences. They also discussed awarding a contract to a company for them to repair guardrails around the city; they discussed the use of a room for the Ukrainian Consul; and they also proposed updating the wording in several ordinances, including one concerning precious metals and another about smokeshops.  

Smokeshop Ordinance

This proposed amendment to Title 1, Section 110-1 of the Unified Development Ordinance of the Chamblee Code of Ordinances would restrict smokeshops’ hours to the hours between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. and prohibit them from operating within a thousand feet from schools, city recreation centers, nature preserves, the public library, and the MARTA station. It would also expand the definition to include vape products, and it would require only 50% of sold products to contain tobacco, rather than the current 90%, for a business to be considered a smokeshop. 

“We have a state law that generally governs where smoke and vape shops can open and do business. We had one that was trying to open across the street from a school, and as a community, we don’t feel like that would have been appropriate, especially since most vape shops are selling products that also include CBDs, which are cannabis related products. It’s not illegal, but at the same time it’s not what you want across the street from your schools, so in order to try to look out for the kids…we created an ordinance that would require that they be farther away from schools, churches, and those sort of facilities,”  said Mayor Brian Mock. “Chamblee is a ‘live and let live’ kind of community because we recognize there are people who enjoy that, but we do not necessarily need it across the street from our kids’ schools.”

A cigarette store is, in fact, right across the street from Chamblee High School. As of Wednesday afternoon, the door to “Smoke Factory” was unlocked, people were inside the building, and lights, both inside and outside the store, were on.  

“I feel like we like to focus and narrow in on a lot of issues that are problems at our school, like the phone issue… However I feel like the well-being of our students should be a priority,” said Isaac Monde (‘26). “To allow for a private establishment that sells drugs while we have a drug issue at our school is an issue.”

Though the city council is discussing an amendment to a current ordinance, there are also state laws that criminalize smoking. Title 16 Chapter 12 Article 7 of the Code of Georgia prohibits the use of vapor products on school campuses and the sale or barter of nicotine to anyone under 21.  One student pointed to an already-existing document—that every student reads, signs, and takes a quiz on every year—in their attack on the smokeshop. 

“It’s a concern because in our own Student Code of Conduct, you’re not allowed to vape or use weed (marijuana), within a thousand feet of the school,” said Lucas Frankel (‘26). “This smokeshop is right in front of the school, well within a thousand feet, and I think it’s crazy they decided to build there.”

Others believe that while there is not necessarily a legal problem with it, it is concerning in other ways.

 “It is a free market, but it’s not exactly a good look for the school,” said Shrikar Iyengar (‘28).

Recent Plane Crash on Clairmont Road

After the meeting, the mayor was asked about the recent plane crash on Clairmont Road. 

“There was a plane [with] three passengers. From my understanding, they all survived, [but] two of them [sustained] some serious injuries. I believe two of them are still in the hospital; the other one was okay,” said Mock. “It was a student pilot flying for one of the several training schools at the PDK airport… He just missed the runway and tried to land on Clairmont Road, and didn’t realize that there were power lines there because it was night. [Since] he couldn’t see them, he hit the power lines, but I think everybody is going to be okay.”

Proposed Apartment Complex near MARTA station

A week ago, there was another city council hearing, this one about a proposed apartment complex, the Frazier at Old Town Gordon,  which would be in downtown Chamblee near the MARTA station. Back in December, Urbanize Atlanta  reported, “20 percent of the apartments will be reserved for teachers and first-responders with rents capped at 80% of the area median income.” 

“Chamblee is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state. In the 2020 census, we were the second-fastest-growing city for the entire ten-year period. That’s because we’ve added a lot of apartments to the city over the last ten years. We brought in probably four thousand units, which is a substantial number of people, and the Frazier [wants] to build a new apartment complex just up the street from us, within walking distance,” said Mock. “Originally, they were trying to build condos, which [are] for sale, but because of financing and other reasons, they could not make that work…They’re supposed to come back and present to us next month about where they are.”

Some students support the apartments being near the MARTA station. 

“I think one of the big problems with public transportation and our society in general is that it’s really inefficient [not because] there’s only so many rail lines, but because they don’t cut as much time as you hope. A lot of the time, if you want to take MARTA, you walk to MARTA… and once you get off, you’re walking to wherever you need to go…So, I think having places that are very conveniently near MARTA stations makes them significantly more efficient, especially if you can have people like first responders, teachers; it would make their jobs a lot easier. It would incentivize people to work those essential jobs, and it would just altogether make public transit a more viable way of getting around,” said Monde. 

Others share the view of being close to the MARTA station, pointing out that it would save time  getting to work. 

“It’s really good to have [teachers and first responders] to have them near the MARTA station, so they can get to their jobs quicker. A lot of teachers live far away from the school; they drive 40 minutes to get here. It’s a complete hassle super early in the morning. I think having that convenience saves them a lot of time. Same with first responders, they have an incredibly important job saving lives, so being able to access the police station or the fire station easier… by [having] their house positioned [in downtown Chamblee] by the MARTA station is very good,” said Frankel.

Mayor Mock gave more insight on why these apartments are being reserved for teachers and first responders.

“There’s a requirement in our code… to build a certain number of units for workforce housing [if requesting help from the city in any way.] It can be [for] teachers, first responders, or anybody [else who qualifies,] and I think their focus is mostly on teachers and [first responders],” said Mock. “They are requesting an abatement from the development authority to help offset the cost of their parking deck. Every abatement is different, so there’s no certain number on that; it’s whatever the development authority decides to do, but I think they were asking for fifteen years.” 

Several students support the idea of reserving housing for teachers and first responders because they feel they are actively contributing positively to society. 

“I don’t see a problem with it… It would be a good idea for [teachers] to get some specialized [benefit] because they are actively assisting in education… First responders have to go above and beyond to save lives, which is why they should [also] be getting more added benefits,” said Iyengar. 

However, some students were more conflicted about the idea of rent control. 

“I would say that’s going a little too far. Having first responders and teachers have their own specific apartments, that’s one thing, but when you’re actively trying to limit or make the rent a specific amount, that’s a little bit too far,” said Iyengar. “Let them have housing, but I don’t think you should be going so far for us to actively change the salary or change the rent.”

Other students feel that limiting the rent is the only way some people can have housing.

“As inflation and prices are going up in our unstable economy, especially with what’s coming with all the legislation being passed and tariffs going up, these essential jobs don’t really get income that increases. With tipping culture and all that, some people make significantly more than you’d think they’d make, so these people, like teachers, police officers, firefighters, they make as much as they need to survive, and the means their living on aren’t enough to push forward. [For example], if I make a hundred thousand, and I pay seventy thousand in expenses, but next year my expenses become one hundred ten thousand [and]… maybe I make 102, I don’t have enough to live,” said Monde. “Going off a median or a mean of what everyone is making and then charging them based on that is really fair. The people in the area are represented by how much they’re paying, and it’s not just based on the overall economy.”