Decatur & Avondale’s College Avenue Annexaton Legislation Passes House
Decatur Metro | March 13, 2012Though no one is making much noise about it this year, two pieces of local legislation, which would annex the unincorporated strip along College Avenue into the cities of Decatur and Avondale, has been passed by Georgia’s House of Representatives and now goes onto the Senate, according to commenter “spreak”.
I believe this is the furthest these bills have ever gotten in the Georgia legislature.
I’m not clear how many more steps there are before these twin bills would finalized, but hopefully someone can clarify for us in the comments!
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My understanding is that these are the next steps, if all goes smoothly:
(i) obtain the signatures of a majority of the Senate members of the Dekalb Delegation – there are seven members, so a minimum of four signatures are needed to move these Bills to the floor of the Senate for a full vote.
(ii) if the HBs make it to the floor of the Senate and are passed, the Bills go to the Governor for signature.
Hopefully, someone who is a Georgia legislature process geek can amend/correct my summary!
Can’t wait to see how Joe “Annexation=Legalized Theft/Obama Took All My Money” Garguilo’s sign will address this issue with substance and nuance…
+100 (must see rubber necking)
He might want to start saving money for taxes.
Avondale lowered taxes last year. DeKalb County taxes keeping rising.
DeKalb County taxes keep rising because excellence isn’t cheap and they know you can’t move because you’re underwater
Fixed it for you…
“DeKalb County taxes keep rising because corruption isn’t cheap and they know you can’t move because you’re underwater.
“
My house is not under water, but values have gone down some. I had a reevaluation done last year, and the county went down a tiny bit. But, they raised the taxes, so I am now paying more than before the reevaluation, UGH!!!!!
Just drove down college through no man’s land. All traffic lights are out. I saw one car accident and lots of angry drivers honking and screaming at each other. Drove back by a half hour later and there were no emergency vehicles, no police directing traffic, no sign of help. It was a mess!
This part of E. College is the biggest eyesore in the area. Keeping my fingers crossed that this goes through. What is up with the Waffle House Museum? I’ve never seen seen it open. What a waste that was. This area desperately needs to be annexed.
They said at the beginning that the museum would open from time to time but not on a regular basis, and it has been open in the past for the public – just keep watching. I don’t understand how it constitutes a “waste”. It was all done with private money.
Perfect timing- it’s open this Saturday from noon to 3pm! For anyone with youngsters who like to play “restaurant,” this will be their idea of heaven! They can get behind the counter and either take the orders or man the grill–it’s fully stocked with play food!
http://wafflehouse.com/our-story/waffle-house-museum
“It’s fully stocked with play food!”
So are real Waffle Houses.
What are you, a breakfast snob? I love Waffle House.
+10
Waffle House rules.
A huge company’s first store has enormous PR potential, which WH clearly recognizes. My take as to why they’re not open very often is because the surrounding environment makes such a poor impression. Why open themselves up to unmet expectations?
In the event that Avondale annexes, does infrastructure investments, and establishes a culture friendly to redevelopment, I have not doubt WH will revise their current staffing and hours.
If Decatur annexes up to Sam’s Crossing, it would get it’s first liquor store inside city limits – the JJ Packge Store!
+1
Lets hope the rules for selling package liquor in conjunction w beer/wine get revised a bit in city of Decatur or they issue them a variance — laws made it tough to make the economics work to start a liquor store in CoD limits
Please if you support this, let your Senators know! The opposition to this effort is really vocal and gets a lot of attention.
It took me all of 15 minutes to send a separate email to each Senator. You need to state that you support both House Bills 1218 and 1219 which would bring the commercial properties along this stretch into the City of Decatur and Avondale Estates.
To make it super easy for you, here are the Senate members of the DeKalb Legislative Delegation. Please contact them and encourage them to get behind the local legislation and why. .
Senator Curt Thompson
Capitol: (404) 463-1318
Senator Emanuel Jones
District: (770) 964-8888
Capitol: (404) 656-0502
Senator Fran Millar
Capitol: (404) 463-2260
Senator Gloria Butler
District: (770) 469-3260
Capitol: (404) 656-0075
Senator Jason Carter
Capitol: (404) 463-1376
Senator Ronald B. Ramsey Sr.
District: (404) 281-9948
Capitol: (404) 463-2598
Senator Steve Henson
District: (404) 243-5107
Capitol: (404) 656-0085
Thank you for the useful information Jodi!
Thanks, Jodi. I will make sure to do that, and I hope many others do, as well.
Thanks, Jodi, but now I’m afraid my 15 minutes is going to cancel yours out. Sorry about that.
What is the entire area of annexation being proposed? How far south of College ?
Don’ worry about your schools, my neighborhood south of College won’t be included. Actually, I heard it was all the way to Memorial Drive. Just kidding.
Is it the liberal way to annex someone’s property if they don’t want to be annexed? Pay higher taxes so the wanna bes can feel better about themselves, what happened to live and let live.
I don’t think that’s a very balanced statement. Sandy Springs did plenty of annexation, with no discernible liberal faction living in the township. “Live and let live” has many meanings. The Conservative movement certainly is prone to telling people what is correct and appropriate ways to live one’s life or raise children.
Preach it, ww! Can’t even get drunk and scr*w in this state without someone telling you when to do it and who to do it with!
The driver of this annexation is economic development, typically a more conservative pursuit.
Last I checked, oldandntheway, the state legislature is not only infested with, but run by, some of the most conservative creatures the world has ever known (that may, or may not, be hyperbole). And that is where this action is taking place.
A friend in the know in Avondale told me the two mayors have enough senate votes to make this a reality this year! Combined with the T-Splost project for this area, it could make a real difference to this visually blighted area.
Hope this is true -
Once again, it’s 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.