Medlock Neighborhood Association Backs City of Briarcliff Study

The Medlock Area Neighborhood Association has backed a proposal for a City of Briarcliff and donated $1,000 to the organization that created it.

The associated announced the donation plus a promise to match up to $500 more in donations from its residents in a Wednesday post on its blog.

From the post:

Many of us have opposed the creation of a city including our part of the county, preferring to remain in DeKalb County, but events have made it necessary to reconsider that opposition.  Momentum and political power seem to be on the side of a creation of a Lakeside City. This proposed city does not include the Medlock or Clairmont Heights areas and would isolate us politically from much of the rest of the northern and central section of the county. We do not know how that would affect our property values, levels of service, or taxes.

In an accompanying graphic, the association offerred three reasons it supports the Briarcliff proposal: "Makes practical sense and rejects awkwardly drawn boundaries"; "Respects high school attendance areas"; "Reflects residents' living and shopping habits and sense of place". 

The City of Briarcliff's current map went public in March and was created by The North Druid Hills Study Group, headed by Don Broussard, a local resident and a former member of the DeKalb County Planning Commission. The proposed map differs from a rival map created by the Lakeside City Alliance. The alliance's map excludes the Medlock community – and most points south of North Druid Hills Road – and includes a chunk of northern Tucker.

The City of Briarcliff map would exclude any parts of Tucker and stretch farther south to include much of the Emory University area, Druid Hills and Scottdale – all the way to the borders of Atlanta and the city of Decatur.

Both groups are raising money to pay for a state-mandated city feasibility study that could be done either by the University of Georgia or Georgia State University per state law. It costs about $30,000. Lakeside City Alliance organizers have said they're very near that mark and held their most recent fundraiser in Oak Grove on Monday night.

More stories and information regarding cityhood in our community.

What do you think of the Medlock association's contribution and support? Tell us in the comments section below.