DeKalb Cityhood Movements Look To 2015 Legislative Session
Decatur Metro | June 30, 2014 | 1:25 pmWith all the recent annexation talk – big and small – this continues to be quite relevant to all DeKalb residents. From Atlanta Intown this morning…
The three cityhood movements – Briarcliff, Lakeside and Tucker – have not gone away and are actively meeting and planning for consideration during the 2015 Georgia Legislature session. All three efforts failed to gain the necessary votes to get referendums on this year’s ballot.
Supporters of the City of Briarcliff Initiative will speak Wednesday, July 2, at 6 p.m. to the DeKalb Operations Task Force at Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, in Decatur.
Hoo, lawdy! Decatur, we best get to annexin’!!!
(Sorry. Couldn’t resist poking the bear.)
“Supporters of Briarcliff annexation will hold a meeting in downtown Decatur.”
Uh….
(i understand WHY. i just find it perversely amusing.)
+1. If they can’t find a place to meet in the proposed city of Briarcliff, I have to wonder about its authenticity.
AHID, surely this wasn’t intended to come off as snotty as it reads. How can you even question the authenticity of the nearby residents’ actions to try to ensure they don’t end up as an isolated unincorporated DeKalb island with City of Decatur and the proposed cities targeting all they can grab?
At the very least, you might want to reread the blurb. City of Briarcliff is slated to speak at the meeting of the DeKalb Operations Task Force in the DeKalb County govt auditorium.
Was that part about “Supporters of the City of Briarcliff Initiative will speak Wednesday, July 2, at 6 p.m. to the DeKalb Operations Task Force at Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, in Decatur” in the original post? Either way, I missed it. So it seemed to me that folks were meeting to form a City that didn’t even have a good meeting spot for them.
I’m not feeling snooty about other cities forming, just worried that we’re devolving into some kind of tribal chaos, with no sense of the community good. Easy for me to say since City of Decatur already existed when I moved in. (Although, as a single person first-time homeowner, I had no idea what a good choice I’d made, nor did I understand the local governmental structure at all. I remember being shocked when I realized that my first preschooler wasn’t eligible to attend Kittredge Magnet School. Which shows a) how naïve I was about the schools; b) that DeKalb Schools were held in much higher regard; and c) that I assumed my child would be a gifted genius. )
In all seriousness, did Dekalb’s cityhood groups learn any lessons from the 2014 legislative session? Lakeside’s effort to re-organize the boundaries time and time again was amateur enough that they were smacked down by the majority party. There appeared to be zero cooperation amongst the three, with people choosing sides based on each group’s leadership personality as much as the vision they were presenting. For those in the know, is 2015 going to be a repeat performance, or has anyone actually put their egos in check and tried working with the other groups?
isn’t not working with other groups the whole reason to form your own city?
Good point
I wouldn’t underestimate these groups. Toward the end of this year’s session, there seemed to be a gentlemen’s agreement among existing and proposed cities over how to divide up the commercial areas evenly, which was the main point of contention. For example, Decatur gets the Publix shopping center and Suburban Plaza. Given that this topic has already resurfaced, you can bet talks / negotiations are taking place and maps being drawn to make sure they have the necessary buy-in. Expect this and the growler laws to be hot topics next year, the latter according to a brewer I know in Forsyth Co.
Gentlemen’s agreements are sexist.