If you have not been keeping up with DeKalb County’s annexation progress, please see my previous posts:
- Dekalb County Annexation Update – City of Decatur, Tucker, and Other Surrounding Neighborhoods
- City of Decatur Annexation Challenges Decatur School Board
- City of Decatur Annexation – Your Questions Answered
- City of Decatur Annexation Update
November 15th was the deadline for the three groups hoping to form new cities in DeKalb to present their unified map to the state Legislature. Two of the groups – Lakeside and Briarcliff – met that deadline and decided to merge and create the city of LaVista Hills. Unfortunately they were unable to reach a compromise with supporters of creating a city of Tucker, leaving both groups with overlapping map boundaries.
House Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Rep. Amy Carter, R-Valdosta, said that if the groups did not submit a unified map by the deadline, she would appoint five members to a Cityhood Subcommittee on Governmental Affairs. On Wednesday, November 19th, she announced the committee members.
“At the outset, I was very hopeful that the DeKalb cityhood proponents could come together and agree upon boundaries for the proposed cities. Unfortunately, their efforts failed to result in one, unified map,” Carter said in a press release. “I am following through on the pledge to appoint a five person subcommittee of state House members to draw a map for the proposed DeKalb cities after stakeholders couldn’t come to an agreement on their own.”
The members are:
- Rep. Buzz Brockway (R-Lawrenceville), Chair
- Rep. Barry Fleming (R-Harlem)
- Rep. Mark Hamilton (R-Cumming)
- Rep. Howard Mosby (D-Atlanta)
- Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur)
The committee will be responsible for creating a map by December 31st. Fortunately, Representative Carter appointed legislators who are familiar with DeKalb County and the region; local groups are showing support for this move.
The cities of Decatur and Avondale Estates are also working on annexation plans to present to the legislature. The maps of the new aforementioned cities don’t currently intrude on Decatur or Avondale Estate’s plans and they plan on making sure it stays that way.
Druid Hills & Together in Atlanta
Druid Hills and Atlanta are also working out a possible annexation plan that would change the school districts of Druid Hills and Avondale Estates. While Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has stated that he is in favor of the proposal, City of Atlanta is not waving a flag in favor of annexation either.
The map proposed by Together in Atlanta includes the neighborhoods of Druid Hills and North Druid Hills. If their annexation proposal passes, Druid Hills High, Briar Vista Elementary, and Fernbank Elementary would move into Atlanta.
Other schools in the Druid Hills Cluster would be left out and Avondale Estates students would have to attend another high school.
The Druid Hills Civic Association surveyed their residents and found that 47% of respondents “strongly disagreed” with joining a new city.
Druid Hills was more sharply divided on annexing into Atlanta with 28% of respondents strongly agreeing with the idea and 28% strongly disagreeing.
Emory University
If Together in Atlanta’s proposal passes, Emory University would also be annexed into Atlanta. Currently, Emory is not getting involved with the annexation debate at the moment.
The Laurel Ridge Shamrock Civic Association reached out to Charlie Harmon, Emory’s VP of Government and Community affairs, for a glimpse into the thinking among Emory Officials.
Laurel Ridge website published a summary of that conversation:
The conversation was short and he reiterated these three points several times:
1. That Emory was sensitive to neighborhoods surrounding them and not pushing anyone in any direction.
2. That the cityhood movements should have maps that are transparent, along with a transparent process, so that all are able to see what is taking place.
3. Emory wants to keep all aspects of its campus together in one municipality and not in several municipalities.
Mr. Harman also said that the statement that was made at the Laurel Ridge Elementary Town Hall about Emory was inaccurate. He stated that Emory is not driving any talks for annexation, and that this was being pushed by Druid Hills. He was asked if Emory would go to Atlanta if Druid Hills decided that was the course that they wanted to take and (he said) that yes, but they would need to keep ALL aspects of their campus in one municipality.
The communities of DeKalb County will continue to discuss the issue of annexation until the State Legislature meets in January. Check back for more updates with their progress.
Below is an up to date map of the current proposed DeKalb County Annexation maps:
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=zdijzU8ixgkM.kNu1oHunGk7A&w=640&h=480]
From your Desktop: To zoom in on the map click the “plus” sign in the bottom right hand corner of the map or do a double left click on any uncolored portion of the map. To zoom out, click the “minus” sign in the bottom right hand corner of the map or double right click on any uncolored portion.
You can also zoom in and zoom out by putting your mouse pointer over the map and using the scroll wheel.
To remove all of the coloration from the map, click the tiny box in the upper left hand corner of the map that looks like a bulleted list. It display a drop down menu. When you see the menu, click on the little box that says “proposals.” This will remove the annexation and cityhood proposals from the map. To add the proposals back, simply check the box again. You can also check and uncheck boxes for individual annexation and cityhood proposals.
From your phone or mobile device: Android and iPhone users can zoom in and out by using their thumb and index finger to enlarge and reduce the map, the same process for zooming in and zooming out of photos.
[Thank you to Decaturish for publishing community news to keep us informed.]
Do you need Real Estate advice? Please contact me at NoraSells@KW.com or 404-840-2918.
– Nora Levesque
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