College Avenue Annexation Alive Again in GA Legislature
Decatur Metro | March 7, 2012Former Avondale Mayor Pro-Tem David Millron just sent this alert out moments ago…
On Monday, March 5, state Representatives Karla Drenner and Stephanie Stuckey Benfield successfully secured the 10 required signatures to submit local legislation that, if approved, will allow the cities of Avondale Estates and Decatur to join borders at Sams Crossing.
This latest development suddenly gives Avondale Estates its best opportunity in over a decade to take direct action in protecting our property values and cleaning up this eyesore.
Success now depends on you. The small number of targeted property owners is organized, active and vocal in their opposition to annexation. Please speak out for the best interests of our City, take action and encourage your neighbors to do the same.
If you’re new to the area or were doing some quality under-rock living last year, you can catch up on past failed efforts of this annexation HERE.
Latest from Decaturish
Milliron is a former Commissioner and Mayor pro temp – he was not re-elected in 2011.
Oh boy. Big sign for College and Sams being ordered by Joe Gargiulo in 3…2…1…
LOL! I can’t wait!
Remember the one he put up after we got Bin Laden? It included a congratulation to “President Obama.”
Must have stuck in his craw like nothing ever has. He eventually replaced it with one claiming he used to be rich before “Obama took my money.” Oh, well.
Heh– I remember the “congrats-Obama” one not being up very long…even though I think he’s definitely a bit “tetched”, I gotta admit being (mostly) enormously entertained by Mr. G’s billboard proclamations.
Can somebody with a better understanding of the Georgia Legislature than I do explain how this could work? The bills don’t appear to have been read in the House at all, let alone referred to committee. Wouldn’t all of those steps have to be finished today since it’s Crossover Day? Or do local legislations like these have a different path?
Peachpundit.com says: A bill failing to pass one chamber by today is dead, though many will show up in the hectic final days as amendments attached to similar legislation.
You can follow the action in House on these bills (1218 and 1219) at these links:
http://www.house.ga.gov/Streaming/en-US/Channel/Georgia1
http://housemedia.house-press.com/
Its been a few years since I had truck with the Legislature, but as I recall it, local legislation is passed as a matter of privilege. In other words, if the members of a given county’s delegation gather sufficient signatures to bring it to the floor of the chamber, the rest of the chamber passes it as a matter of course, considering it a matter of local concern that should be passed if the delegation wishes. Also, I believe local legislation is not restricted by matters such as Crossover Day and passing the Rules Committee.
The bills have had the first reading and are with the Intragovernmental Coordination Committee. You can track the status of each bill here:
http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20112012/HB/1218
http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20112012/HB/1219
The twin bills are on the Local Legislation calendar to pass through the House today:
http://www.house.ga.gov/CLERK/en-US/HouseCalendars.aspx
Keep your fingers crossed!
Those businesses benefit from being directly adjacent to Decatur and Avondale. I’m willing to bet a large number of their customers live in Decatur and Avondale. So, it’s time they pay their fair share.
After all, would it be fair for Brick Store Pub, Cakes and Ale, McDonald’s on Commerce, Little Kroger, etc.,. to claim an exception to being in the City ? No – they benefit from Decatur, so they should pay their fair share.
A rising tide floats all boats. Time to get Sam’s Crossing fully in the boat and paddling rather than simply hanging onto the side and letting everyone else paddle.
That is a good analogy!
I don’t think the issue is that these businesses aren’t “paying their fair share.” I think the author put it right. The area is an eyesore because it’s not getting services, turning it into a business slum. Yeah, the businesspeople in that business slum don’t want to be pushed out, but corporations aren’t people, my friend, until we execute one.
Your “reasoning” is nothing short of scary. What share would be “fair”? Where do you draw the line? Decatur benefits from its proximity to Atlanta, to Emory, etc. Should Decatur residents pay taxes to them?
BTW, if the businesses get annexed, the consumers are the ones who ultimately will be negatively affected. Several business will relocate to cheaper locations. Those that stay will have no choice but to jack up their prices because their overhead just went up a minimum of $10k to $20k. So, the only people who will end up paying their “fair share” are the customers of those annexed businesses.
As to my last point, the higher prices might not necessarily be a bad thing. As a community, we might collectively be willing to pay more in exchange for a nicer (or, at least, not declining) commercial district within out city. But, my point is, it isn’t the business owners who will be paying more.
+1
I don’t usually agree with DawgFan. But em’s right on this one.
I would add, regarding paying one’s fair share, when the businesses in the non-annexed section chose to set up shop there, they did so under the assumption that they wouldn’t have to pay city taxes. They’ve paid their start up costs, renovated their stores, advertised to get a loyal base of customers to that location, etc. If they get annexed now against their will, they’ve got three choices: pay up, move, or shut down. So I think that there are fairness considerations on both sides of the equation.
Re: “Fair Share”
By that argument, shouldn’t Emory pay Decatur for providing a well-educated, close workforce and city services for many of its employees and students ? Shouldn’t X pay Y for being adjacent to it ? We could keep playing network effect arguments ad infinitum, but Emory et al. are nonsequiturs to the subject at hand – Sam’s Crossing.
Re: “Consumers ultimately pay”
I thought that was obvious that higher taxes may lead to higher prices. However, your point misses something even more important. Businesses have already optimized profits on the price/demand curve. So, raising their prices will likely lower their profits, even in the face of increased costs. Cost is not directly to price. There is profit to be considered.
But, that’s my whole point. Those businesses will definitely pay more, yet consumers may pay more. It’s more about the businesses than the consumers, IMHO, because the consumers can choose to go elsewhere far easier than the businesses can.
Re: “the higher prices might not necessarily be a bad thing”
On this, I completely agree. Decatur is a community that is not on a race to the bottom in terms of taxes, services (esp. education), or overall community quality.
Does this bill only impact Sam’s Crossing or are other areas bordering Decatur involved?
ya know, Avondale – the whole strip is pretty much of a slum. Their main street is a pitiful mishmash of vacancies and second hand stores. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but the reality is that Avondale needs to learn how to manage its own home before “taking” the property belonging to others.
Y’all understand this is a “legislative annexation” that means, in spite of the fact that 90% of ALL the affected property owners do NOT want to be annexed, their property can be annexed anyway. Overstuffed government flexing its muscle, not a pretty thing. Just remember, today it may be them, tomorrow it may be you
Long overdue. This area has remained untouched by any county services for the 12 years I’ve lived in Avondale Estates. After last year’s failed attempt, the County promised it would do something about the blight. It did nothing.
The county can’t even be bothered to build a sidewalk so that people who want to want to MARTA don’t have to cross unkept parking areas. All property owners have to anser to some governmental entity. I’m confident those that have property in this area prefer DeKalb County’s lax attitude towards this area. The fact is, the dismissal state of this corridor contributes to Avondale Estates’ problems, it doesn’t help them at all. The businesses that are there, can remain. They’ll get more attention from the two City’s than they currently get from the County.
I’d actually like to see these areas along College Avenue annexed into both Decatur and Avondale Estates, but I think this is going about it the wrong way. By focusing solely on these properties, the County is easily able to portray as an attempt by the cities to grab commercial property and expand their tax base.
I think if the cities agreed to take in some of the surrounding residential areas, they could avoid taking the legislative route to annexation altogether. I understand that this option is unpopular to a lot of Decatur residents due to to potential impacts to the school system, but sometimes you have to give a little to get a little.
Long-term, my preferred solution to all of this would be for Avondale Estates to be absorbed by Decatur, and for CSD to take over Forrest Hills Elementary and Avondale High.
The Museum School already took over the Forrest Hills Elementary property.
I am not sure how Decatur would take over Avondale Elementary unless the City of Decatur annexes or absorbs the whole city of Avondale Estates (which is only 1.1 sq miles). That will never happen.
Forrest Hills is going to The Museum School of Avondale Estates. It’s likely Avondale will annex the school into the city but not the neighborhoods which long have not had a connection to either City of Decatur, despite the 30030 zip, and Avondale Estates. What I would like to see is City of Decatur capture the neighborhoods in the 30030 zip to make it officially part of the city. As a resident of this forgotten – stepchild in unincorporated DeKalb – neighborhood, I wouldn’t mind paying higher taxes if it means services. Getting some patrols here would be fabulous. The blue bags would be a welcome sight as well. I just don’t know if all the neighbors would be on board.
+1
When I worked for Dekalb County government, we called that area “no mans’ land”. Sorry about that.
+1!
I am one neighbor that would not be on board. I feel no need for Decatur city services. our service from Dekalb County Police and Fire is just fine. I also don’t need Decatur’s recycling services. I take all my recycling to YDFM. I have no children so I have no need for Decatur City Schools. if I’d wanted to live within the city limits I would have bought a house there.
For Kat: I believe there may be an exemption to school taxes if you have no children in City of Decatur. Can anyone clarify – or was that an old policy?
There most definitely is NOT a tax exemption in Decatur if you have no children. There is an array of tiered exemptions for senior citizens, but they don’t kick in until you’re in your 70s.
If you have homeowner’s insurance, you pay more than you would in City since Decatur has one of the few Class 2 (out of 1 highest – 10 lowest) fire insurance ratings around. And, with last year’s 25% increase in DeKalb taxes, Decatur’s are less than 20% more.
And, as STG noted, there is no school tax exemptions for households with no children anywhere that I am aware of – certainly not in DeKalb County (oops – just “discovered” $41M shortfall)
Thank you! Finally someone who has the same point of view. I believe 75% of our county taxes went to the schools. Add another heaping on top of that for City of Decatur schools? No thanks.
If you’re in the County, you pay County school taxes. If you’re in the City, you pay City schools taxes. You don’t pay both.
an attempt! pretty much. ” Expand the tax base” is politispeak for we, in this city, are living beyond our means and we need more people to pay us more money. We want ….(fill in the blank) and we are not willing to pay any more, so, you, need to help us.
If you really follow the whole ” pay your fair share” dogma and everybody living in this area is reaping the benefits of living next to Avondale/Decatur. Couldn’t you use that same logic and say, since the metro area of Atlanta has roughly half the population of the state, then, obviously, the rest of the state should pay into Atlanta because they are reaping the benefits of living next to the city?
What I find unacceptable is the fact that, the, pleasantly named, legislative annexation, is nothing more than legally allowing the city (either one) to acknowledge that all the property owners DO NOT WANT THIS, and they are going to do it anyway.
still ranting …..
I’m with the property owners. In my opinion, a group of people (a city) does not have the authority to simply take ownership of an individual’s property without that individual’s consent. For me, this is the core issue.
Annexation does not mean the city takes ownership of an individual property. It means the property becomes included within the city’s boundary. The owner pays city tax and receives city services, and the property is subject to city ordinances. Possibly you are confusing annexation with eminent domain, in which a government entity does seize ownership of private property. That is an entirely different thing.
I’m referring to annexation. In essence, the city envelopes the property and then tells the owner that they must pay for services, adhere to zoning ordinances and pay other city taxes. If the property owner (who was perfectly fine with the services they were receiving from the county) refuses to pay, the city can legally force them to pay with the threat that they may lose their property or be unable to sell it without paying these fees and fines. To me, that amounts to taking someone’s property without their consent. Although, I realize it isn’t technically “taking ownership” of someone’s property. It feels it’s like the local crime boss is forcing the property owner to pay protection money.
I agree that it is different from eminent domain. At least in that case, the property is taken for a public use (for example, a necessary road) and the owner is given just compensation for the property.
AB,
Taxes are the price we pay for civilized society. Without taxes, it would be anarchy, literally. So, in my mind, the question is not whether citizens and businesses should pay taxes – we and they should. The question is rather – what’s everyone’s fair share ?
On that point, it’s long past due that Sam’s Crossing businesses pays their fair share.
For those who slam Avondale for not taking care of the commercial property it already has….Avondale is not the problem with much of it, it’s the property owners. They’re the ones who won’t keep their property up beyond passing inspection. I know Avondale is very business friendly to those businesses the community wants and needs. We want and need businesses that take as much interest in the aesthetic appeal of our neighborhood as we do. There are not many businesses in the run-down area that Avondale residents use — maybe Coyote’s, the gas stations, Finders Keepers, Avondale Independent. And honestly, I would be willing to pay more at any place there if it didn’t look like something out of Sanford & Son. I’m no forensic accountant, but in my 10 years in AE I’ve found the government to be fiscally responsible. My gut feeling is that we don’t need the extra tax money.Instead, I bet residents are just tired of feeling like they have to drive through a place that looks like Port Au Prince to get home every day.
Whatever happened to the proposed Publix in AE?
The developer has been in bankruptcy for several years. It bought property at the height of the bubble (and probably tried to make sweetheart deals to grease the wheels of what they were proposing) and never got anything done.
Yes indeed, the developer (Century Retail) paid way too much money for the land and the economics of the deal can no longer support the development of a shopping center and/or the surrounding residential component. They made the same mistake in Smyrna, and probably other areas as well. In short, they are way under water on the deal and have some how (possibly through protection of the bankruptcy court) been able to hold onto the property and stave off the lenders. There is a saying in commercial real estate/lending that “a rolling loan gathers no loss.” Many banks have been willing to let their large developer clients have some breathing room to try to get projects back on track rather than foreclosing. Not sure if that is factoring into this deal, but in my opinion, they are never going to be able to make the economics of that deal work and be able to convince Publix or any one else of any intelligence that they can pull off a significant retail/mixed use development there given their current debt load.
By the way, I agree with GGH that I’d be willing to pay a bit more for prices and taxes to feel like I didn’t have to live close to and drive through Fred Sanford’s section of El Segundo on my way to and from home every day (I live in unincorporated DeKalb, between Decatur and Avondale and supported annexation into Decatur several years ago before they backed off due to the recession).
Vote YES this summer for TSPLOST!
Annexation of “no man’s land”, plus yes on TSPLOT, means huge transportation improvements (more patrons for and improved accessibility to) the businesses in the Decatur-Avondale corridor in the future. Here is the project description from the Atlanta Regional Commission website:
College Avenue (US 278/SR 10) from Adair Street to North Clarendon Avenue ‐ Corridor Improvements is a cross‐jurisdictional partnership between the Cities of Avondale and Decatur and DeKalb County. The corridor, SR 10, passes through each jurisdiction and is proposed to be designed and constructed as one project. The project is in LCI areas for each City, has activity centers, Agnes Scott college and major intersections at Clarendon, Sims Crossing, Columbia/Commerce, Candler, McDonough and Adair. The corridor has an approx 19,000 VPD and acts as an east west arterial for local as well as regional traffic from primarily Atlanta/Decatur area to Covington/Memorial and 285 corridors. The project may consist of adding bike lanes, sidewalks, enhanced crossings to transit and businesses, infrastructure
improvements to shoulders and pavement, as well as traditional streetscape enhancements such as street lighting and landscaping. The project may also include intersection improvements on the east end of the project at College/Covington @ Clarendon.
Interesting how DeKalb Democrats in the state legislature line up against new cities (such as Dunwoody and Brookhaven) being formed, but are in favor of existing cities (such as Doraville, Chamblee, Avondale Estates and Decatur) annexing unincorporated land, and through legislative annexation no less.
Good news for Decatur and Avondale: the twin bills (along with a short list of other local legislation) passed through the House to the Senate this morning.
Thanks spreak! After the Senate vote, what other steps must occur before it would become official?
I’m sure this has been covered somewhere so excuse me for missing it earlier but………will this particular annexation bring any residents needing services, especially children needing schooling, to City of Decatur? Just wondering if we need to tell CSD to enlarge FAVE even more than it was already planning (according to another thread)…….
It’s commercial property only, I believe.