From David Milliron’s Avondale Estate’s “City Happenings” Facebook page…

Congratulations! The Senate just voted on and passed the Avondale Estates and Decatur annexation bills that will permit the two cities to join borders at Sams Crossing. This legislation brings 23 commercial properties into the City of Avondale Estates and 10 into the City of Decatur. The twin bills now head to the Governor for his signature. The vote tally: Yea (45), Nay (3). THANK YOU!

Former 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.

Decatur and Avondale Estates’ College Avenue annexation bid hits the front page of the AJC this morning, with a big ‘ol article on all things PROPERTY.

The article features all the reoccurring arguments and views in our ongoing debate:  the effects of gentrification, the predicted value of property after annexation, the legal right of cities to annex without property owner consent, and arguments pro (Finders Keepers’ Bonnie Kallenberg) and con (property owner Joe Gargiulo).

April Hunt’s piece gives a very good overview of the situation, but honestly doesn’t feel very timely since the bill to annex the commercial parcels along the strip is currently without a needed 10th vote from the DeKalb delegation, which is the only way to usher it onto the House floor.  But I guess since it’s made its way out of the AJC’s Metro section and onto the front page, it might be an interesting read for Cobb County residents!

“Oh Dekalb cities, you so crazy!”

A year after Decatur led a failed effort to annex a portion of College Avenue into Decatur and Avondale Estates’ city limits, Avondale Estates has now taken the lead and is making a serious effort, during the current state legislative session, to bring this strip of “blighted” land under the two cities’ jurisdiction.

In a letter to his community this morning, Avondale Estate mayor, Ed Rieker, urged Avondale residents to contact elected state and county representatives and urge them to support Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield’s effort to pass legislation that would bring College Ave land west of Sam’s Crossing into the city of Decatur and land east of the Crossing into Avondale’s city limits.

The mayor’s letter includes an attachment that summarizes Avondale’s argument to approve the annexation, which Rieker promises he “will also be distributing…to those elected officials at the state and county level that we are lobbying to help State Representative Stephanie Stuckey-Benfield pass the annexation legislation during the 2010 session that started today.”

Among the mayor’s stated reasons for annexation are to “regulate future growth and development, increase the presence of law enforcement and to beautify the gateway into our city.”  Rieker notes that the area under consideration, which consists of 23 properties belonging to nine separate owners, has become “blighted and considered by residents an area prone to criminal activity”.

Read the rest of this entry »

If my report from the city commission meeting on Tuesday didn’t do it for you, GoDeKalb also has a recap this morning.

As opposed to the misleading and sloppy AJC article from Wednesday that asserted the plan for annexation was “on hold”, Mary Swift of GoDeKalb does a good job of summing up the evening’s events as well as reporting on Avondale’s ad-hoc annexation counterstrike against Decatur’s plan.

Since this is the first real report on Avondale’s plan, let’s take a closer look at what’s going on in the Tudor city according to the GoDeKalb article.

The city appointed an ad hoc annexation committee on Jan. 15 after Decatur indicated it might attempt annexation of the property between the cities this legislative session.

Allan Kirwan, chairman of the Avondale Estates ad hoc annexation committee, told city officials at a special called work session on Jan. 23 that it appeared Decatur would not try to get annexation approved this year. Huh? Where did they get this impression? The AJC article?

“The committee finds that at this point we are not ready to annex substantial properties,” the ad hoc committee’s first report said. The committee suggested city officials develop an immediate, 2-year, 5-year and “an ultimate year” annexation plan and the city should try to assess the positions of the property owners regarding annexation. Committee members also said the zoning code should be revised to accommodate different types of properties that might be annexed.”

Don’t bite off more than you can chew Avondale. Don’t you have a revitalization plan to implement?

So the $64k question for the morning is: if you owned a commercial property on E. College, which city would you rather be annexed into? Or would you rather remain in unincorp. DeKalb limbo?

Personally I think Decatur’s Downtown Development Authority and our police force are reason enough to tip the scales in favor of Decatur, regardless of the higher property tax.

h/t: InDecatur