DEKALB COUNTY, GA — DeKalb County leaders are taking steps to reclaim a large portion of Intrenchment Creek Park that was traded away five years ago in a deal with a movie studio that has since closed.

Commissioner Ted Terry is introducing a resolution supporting the county CEO in negotiating the buyback of 40 acres previously swapped with Blackhall Studios. At the time, the county exchanged the park land for 53 adjacent acres and millions of dollars in land improvements. But with the studio shuttered, Terry says the deal no longer makes sense.

“The bottom line is we want the 40 acres back for Intrenchment Creek Park to be made whole again,” Terry said. “We don’t want development, we don’t want a data center development, we want our park, our trails, and our trees.”

Advocates plan to deliver a petition with more than 1,000 signatures to the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday morning, urging leaders to undo the land swap. Terry says restoring the land would allow the county to reopen the trailhead and trails that have been closed for more than four years and protect what he calls some of the last remaining green space in the county.

According to a recent study, just three percent of DeKalb County remains undeveloped. The effort to reacquire the Intrenchment Creek property could also work alongside plans for a nearby parcel that is expected to become the Michelle Obama Park.

The resolution is on the agenda at Tuesday’s commission meeting, which begins at 9 a.m.

WSB’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story