Monday, December 17, 2012
With no referendum likely, the annexation issue moves to the General Assembly and faces an uncertain reception.
The Decatur City Commission voted Monday night to move ahead with annexing two heavily commercial areas, despite opposition from business owners and residents who might be brought into the city. The city will next ask the DeKalb County legislative delegation to pass a bill in the upcoming General Assembly authorizing the annexation. The city attorney has said no referendum is necessary because so few people reside in the targeted areas. Commissioner Patti Garrrett noted that assage on the state level is not a certainty, saying "If we vote today to annex, that doesn't mean it will happen." Mayor Bill Floyd said that the General Assembly might still require the city to hold a referendum. The meeting started at 7:30 p.m. but the commission …
Friday, December 14, 2012
The Clairmont Heights Civic Association and Medlock Area Neighborhood Association have both come out against the annexation proposal.
Two neighborhood groups have taken positions against the possible annexation of land by the City of Decatur. The Clairmont Heights Civic Association and Medlock Area Neighborhood Association started online petitions asking the City Commission to not annex two heavily commercial areas. Those areas contain the Emory Commons Shopping Center and Suburban Plaza along with about 500 residents. The petitions say: The inevitable tax increases will undoubtedly be a hardship for the tenants and owners of these properties, which are owned by families and individuals who have been long-time owners of their centers and have served our community well. To rip them out of the unincorporated area in order to enrich the Decatur city coffers seems …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Vote in the Patch Poll. Do you think the annexation will go through?
The Decatur city attorney does not think a referendum is necessary to proceed with the most recent annexation proposal, City Manager Peggy Merriss said Wednesday. Merriss sent Patch this email: [City Attorney] Bryan Downs responded this afternoon that after reviewing the relevant sections of OCGA, he did not believe that a referendum would be required if the properties annexed by local Act of the General Assembly were less than 50% residential. The Decatur City Commission meets Monday, Dec. 17, and will decide whether to move ahead with annexation. Merriss recommended Decatur annex the two heavily commercial areas on the northeast and northwest corners of the city limits. Even if the commission votes yes, there will be many more steps in …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Forty-two of them would be age 16 and under.
Decatur City Manager Peggy Merriss didn't have a headcount Monday night when she offered an annexation recommendation. She just sent the numbers to Patch. Her plan would bring 511 new residents into the city, with 42 of those residents age 16 and under--that is to say, possible City Schools of Decatur students. It breaks down like this: Merriss recommended Monday night that four heavily residential areas not be annexed right now. If all six areas had been annexed, more than 2,000 new residents would have been added to the city, according to city government estimates. The city thought the six areas would add 228 new city school students, but the school system estimated the number at 276. A power point of Merriss's presentation to the city …
Monday, November 26, 2012
Some people want to create a city out of DeKalb County's unincorporated land.
State senators from DeKalb County will meet this week to talk about possibly forming a "City of DeKalb." The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Nov. 29 in room 450 at the State Capitol, CrossroadNews.com reported. A City of DeKalb has been talked about for decades but the idea has gained new urgency because more cities are forming in DeKalb County, like Brookhaven. Those cities reduce the county government's property tax revenue. In the CrossRoads.com article, county officials said:
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The mayor says people are talking about turning all unincorporated areas of DeKalb County into a municipality.
A nonexistent "City of DeKalb" may become a factor as Decatur's leaders decide whether to annex land into the city. A City of DeKalb would incorporate the all unincorporated areas that are left in DeKalb County. If it happened, Decatur couldn't grow because there wouldn't be any land left to annex. It's not just talk. Last February, state Rep. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain) introduced a bill to create a City of DeKalb. According to the Crossroad News, Mitchell said a City of DeKalb would have 600,000 residents. The bill didn't go anywhere because fellow DeKalb legislators weren't comfortable with the idea. State Rep. Michelle Henson was quoted as saying the idea has been talked about for at least two decades. Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
The city may take in Suburban Plaza, the Publix shopping center and the United Methodist Children's Home.
Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd said he wanted to annex Suburban Plaza during his state of the city speech a few months ago. Now the city commission and staff are taking steps to do more than that. As first reported on Decatur Metro, the city has taken the first real steps to annex that property, along with the Publix-anchored shopping center on the north side of town and the United Methodist Children's Home. A colorized map showing the land under consideration has been posted on the City of Decatur website, along with frequently asked questions about annexation. The commission plans a public work session at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 20 to talk about the possible annexation. Decatur Metro asked City Manager Peggy Merriss why these areas were considered for …
Henry Batten
8:28 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Please stay on topic........ more ›