PROPOSED CITY OF GREENHAVEN BILL STALLS, AS SOME SEEK ATLANTA ANNEXATION written March 6, 2018 by GLORIA Tatum and With additional reporting by Matthew Charles Cardinale in an article from “Atlanta Progressive News” Full article can be read here
Here’s the highlights from citizen input.
“We have met all the criteria that other cities have met since 2000. We have worked at this for four years and we are the only people in DeKalb County that have not had one chance to vote on cityhood,” Dr. Kathryn Rice, Chair of the Concerned Citizens for Cityhood of South DeKalb, said in favor of Greenhaven.
Jean Bordeaux from Pine Lake was concerned that the care and maintenance of county road rights of way that was not included in the feasibility study of Greenhaven.
Mayor Patricia Wheeler of Stone Mountain, opposed the the bill because Greenhaven totally surrounds her city and makes it impossible to annex.
“We planned an annexation but are not ready to present it this year and Billy Mitchell knew this,” Mayor Wheeler said
“The cities in DeKalb County are working with DeKalb County leadership to fund a study with the Carl Vincent Institute to look at what further annexations or new city formations would look like and how that would impact the County,” Mayor Patti Garrett of Decatur said.
“That is something the DeKalb delegation has asked us to do and now we have the cooperation of the CEO and the DeKalb Municipal Association and the Dekalb County Commission. For this reason, I would like movement of this to be deferred until that study has taken place,” Garrett said.
Several other people also ask the Committee to delay their vote until the Carl Vincent Institute completed their study on the impact to other cities and the county of new city formations.
After a back and forth between Jenna Magnum and Chairman Rynders over how the needs of so many different neighborhoods could be met, Magnum questioned Rynders:”So you would pass any cityhood bill that meets the minimum requirements?”
“Yes,” Rynders responded.
“Scary,” Magnum said, to roars of laughter .
“Every single email I have gotten form my constituents is not in favor of this and I don’t believe there has been adequate public process to create a city this size,” State Rep. Bee Nguyen (D-Atlanta) said.
Rep. Nguyen offered up an amendment raising the threshold of the percentage of voters who must be in favor of cityhood in the impacted area from fifty percent to 57.5 percent. This is similar to the previous City of Sharon Springs legislation that the committee at that time agreed was a good threshold.
The Nguyen amendment was voted down with ten opposed and six in favor.
The final vote on HR 644 was eleven in favor and six opposed, so it then moved to Rules Committee.
However, the Rules Office told APN that HB 644 was not placed on the Rules calendar by its sponsor, Mr. Mitchell, thus making it dead for this year
David Ralston is a conservative Republican according to his Facebook Page. He represents a district in North Georgia, but could possibly determine the fate of Greenhaven. Please email and ask home not to add Greenhaven to another bill
david.ralston@house.ga.gov
Why N.A.G. Opposes Greenhaven
Greenhaven: Who is Behind the Effort? Republicans Rep Ed Rynders and Kathryn Rice
N.A.G. Neighbors Against Greenhaven 