If you have not been keeping up with DeKalb County’s annexation progress, please see my previous posts:

• Dekalb County Annexation – Cityhood Subcommittee Members Appointed to Create a Final Annexation Map
• 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

City of Decatur

After months of discussion, City of Decatur has released it’s final version of the Annexation Master Plan and there don’t seem to be any major changes/additions to the info/recommendations from the initial draft map (above) OR the financial analysis (net positive for the city) OR the impact on the city’s schools (most enrollment growth will come from inside the existing city limits, annexation is a net gain for CSD).

Preliminary estimates of the areas under consideration show they would deliver $5 million in tax revenue and providing services to these areas would cost $4.2 million in year five. In the first year, the annexed areas would generate $4.6 million in revenue and cost the $4 million in expenses.

The city would need to build a new fire station and hire additional firefighters to serve area B in the annexation map. Area B includes Suburban Plaza and DeKalb Medical Center.

City Manager Peggy Merriss said if the city annexes these areas it will need to hire five more police officers, one police investigator and 28 additional employees for the fire department.

The City Schools of Decatur Board of Education is expected to consider voting on a resolution to support the master plan at its meeting today. Please check back for more information.

City of Decatur’s City Manager recommends adopting a resolution that asks the General Assembly to adopt a resolution that would annex the proposed areas in the 2015 session.

To read the Report to the City of Decatur Commission, click here.

Medlock Park

City of Decatur will not annex the Medlock Park Neighborhood.

From the Medlock Area Neighborhood Association:

SUMMARY: MANA Board members met with City of Decatur officials and contacted the City of Decatur Schools Superintendent to discuss the possibility of the Medlock Park neighborhood being annexed to City of Decatur. Each party deferred to the others’ authority but as is clear in the information below, (1) annexation is the purview of the City Commission and they oppose the idea of annexing the Medlock Park neighborhood and (2) the school system is also against annexing the Medlock Park neighborhood.

Annexation to Decatur is not an option and our neighborhood should move on to considering other alternatives while continuing to oppose City of Decatur’s commercial annexation. Whether we join a city or remain unincorporated, Decatur’s unreasonable commercial annexation plan (1) negatively impacts our neighborhood going forward (i.e. zoning, traffic) and (2) undermines the County’s commercial tax base that funds our DeKalb County schools.

For more details on this meeting, click here.

Avondale Estates

On Wednesday, December 3rd, Avondale Estates Mayor Terry Geiger said that the City Commission will hold off on voting for an annexation plan until January:

“Just because of everything going on and the conversations I’ve had, it seemed very reasonable that we could get this done in January rather than December and rush it through in the holidays,” Giager said. “Our map seems to be real fluid and changing. We want to make sure all the stats and the numbers make sense. Unless something happens and we have to have a special called meeting to make it earlier, we’re going to spend more time with our residents and look at the numbers and talk with the different areas.”

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.

[Sources: Decatur Metro, Decaturish, MANA.]

Do you need Real Estate advice? Please contact me at NoraSells@KW.com or 404-840-2918.

– Nora Levesque

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