Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Bruce McGregor, past president of the Druid Hills Civic Association, spoke at Monday night's legislative town hall meeting.
At a meeting that seemed to be designed to slow the on-rushing train of cityhood, Democrats in DeKalb’s legislative delegation urged residents to consider a variety of issues before deciding to incorporate. “You all have gotten our attention in a very substantial way; we hear you,” said state Sen. Jason Carter (D-42) told the several hundred people in attendance. “I’m not sold on the idea of creating new cities, but the fact that we have so many people here tonight is a good sign.” The meeting was held this past Monday at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church, and was hosted by state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur). Oliver has been an outspoken opponent of the way that cities are created in Georgia, most recently during the debate over …
Monday, May 6, 2013
Members of the county legislative delegation invite the public to Clairmont Hills Baptist Church at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Members of DeKalb County's legislative delegation will hold a town hall meeting on growing cityhood efforts countywide Monday night. The meeting will be held at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., according to state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), who sent an email to supporters. The meeting will cover the process of creating new cities, associated tax implications and alternatives to cityhood, Oliver said. As it stands, bills have been filed to potentially support new cities in Tucker, the Lakeside High School area, the Druid Hills-Briarcliff area and Stonecrest. In her email, Oliver listed all the related bills filed this year: HB 22---Primary Sponsor Mary Margaret Oliver. HB 22 sets out additional …
Monday, April 8, 2013
The Dunwoody state senator said other cityhood bills in DeKalb County will likely fall to the wayside.
The only bill out of DeKalb County with any chance of moving toward the creation of a new municipality is the Lakeside City Alliance's bill, state Sen. Fran Millar said last week. The Dunwoody legislator told Reporter Newspapers that bills that have led to new cities in the metro Atlanta area over the last several years have been mostly Republican-led, and the alliance's bill is likely to be the only serious cityhood contender. From the Reporter Newspapers story published Friday: Millar, who sponsored the Lakeside bill, said he doesn’t expect any serious cityhood efforts will come out of the flurry of last-minute placeholder bills. “Do I think some of these bills are going to be going anywhere? Absolutely not,” Millar said. “I think the …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Yet another placeholder bill is filed for a proposed municipality in unincorporated DeKalb County.
Decatur state Sen. Jason Carter filed a bill in the legislature Thursday that would set up a proposed City of Lavista Hills. The 45-page "placeholder" bill lays out the city's structure in detail except for its boundaries. (A small part of the proposed city would need to be part of Carter's district, however.) Much of the bill seems to mirror another "placeholder" cityhood bill filed by Dunwoody state Sen. Fran Millar on behalf of the Lakeside City Alliance last month. It is not clear how Carter's bill would conflict or coordinate with other cityhood bills in the area, including one from Decatur state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver that would include the Druid Hills and Briarcliff areas. Catch up on cityhood news: Oliver Files Cityhood Bill for…
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Replay Patch's live coverage of Monday night's community meeting on a proposed city that could include sections of North Druid Hills.
Hundreds of people attended an standing-room-only meeting on Monday night, as attendees learned more about a proposed city of Lakeside. The meeting, sponsored by DeKalb Commissioner Elaine Boyer, was held at Tucker Middle School. Patch was live at the event, providing continuous blogging and updates throughout the evening. You can replay the coverage by clicking on the window above. See Also: Lakeside Alliance Files Cityhood Bill Oliver Files Cityhood Bill for Druid Hills, Briarcliff Residents Don't Allow Tucker Land Grab Tucker Civic Association Issues Statement on Lakeside Cityhood New Map Shows Lakeside Land Grab
Monday, March 25, 2013
The bill, which does not include a map, would allow for discussion among Mary Margaret Oliver's constituents, the state representative said.
State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver filed a bill in the state legislature Monday that she said allows residents in the Druid Hills and Briarcliff areas to discuss and study cityhood over the next year – the first official step toward creating a new city. Oliver's bill, HB 665, does not include a map of a proposed city, and it's short – about two sentences. It does not name a specific area, including Druid Hills, and says it intends only to create a city in DeKalb County. Oliver, D-Decatur, said she did not want to specify an area because she didn't want to limit options. She has been a critic of cityhood movements and new incorporation, particularly in nearby Brookhaven, but said she didn't want her constituents to be "buffaloed into a new …
The state representative said she would file the bill Monday so residents could spend the next year considering it.
State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver said she will file a "placeholder" bill Monday on behalf of Druid Hills and other communities so they can decide over the next year whether to pursue cityhood. In a legislative newsletter to constituents over the weekend, Oliver, D-Decatur, did not say what other neighborhoods would be included in the bill or what the boundaries for the proposed city would be. From the newsletter: On Monday March 25, MMO will file a “place holder” bill to allow residents of Druid Hills and other neighborhoods the opportunity to decide whether they wish to be consider a new DeKalb County City in the 2014 Session. We anticipate other groups in the Lakeside and Tucker areas will also file similar bills in order to have ongoing …
Sunday, March 24, 2013
The alliance said Tuesday it planned to have the bill filed by Friday. A separate proposal would include the Emory University area and much of Druid Hills.
A bill that would officially start the two-year process of creating a new city around the Lakeside High School area has been delayed, the Lakeside City Alliance said Friday. Mary Kay Woodworth, the alliance's chairman, said Tuesday the placeholder bill was to be filed with the state legislature by Dunwoody state Sen. Fran Millar by the end of the week. But the filing has been delayed, Woodworth said Friday in an email to Patch. She said she wasn't sure about the reasons for the delay because the bill has been handled by former state Rep. Kevin Levitas, another member of the alliance's organizing committee. Levitas and Millar could not be reached for comment. The placeholder bill, if filed by the end of this year's legislative session, …
Friday, March 22, 2013
An alternate proposal for a city of Briarcliff would include the Emory University area and part of Druid Hills.
A bill that would officially start the two-year process of creating a new city around the Lakeside High School area will be filed this week, the Lakeside City Alliance says. The bill, to be filed by Dunwoody state Sen. Fran Millar, will act as a "placeholder" bill and could not be considered by the legislature until next year, said Mary Kay Woodworth, chairman of the alliance, which is studying the creation of a new city of 60,000 residents that would reach from North Druid Hills to western Tucker. The bill could be changed over the next year as the alliance, local officials and other groups debate the merits of cityhood. The process mandated by state law would include a study by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Much of Druid Hills and the Emory area are included in the boundaries of the proposed City of Briarcliff.
For two months, many residents in the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area have been considering a cityhood proposal from the Lakeside City Alliance, which begins in North Druid Hills between I-285 and I-85, runs north to the Mercer University area and east to parts of western Tucker across the Perimeter. But a second group, The North Druid Hills Study Group, has released a second map proposal, now dubbed the "City of Briarcliff" that would include much of the Emory University area and Druid Hills – all the way to the borders of Atlanta and the city of Decatur. The City of Briarcliff proposal would not include any parts of Tucker. [See the attached map for details.] Druid Hills and Emory area residents - what do you think? Do you support …
Ralph
9:10 pm on Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Leaders in Tucker should wake up and realize it is time oi incorporate, either by joining the purposed city or forming another one. Forming a separate city will result in at least a two year delay with a vote taken in 2016 instead of 2014. A lot can happen in that two years. Time to wake up and make some realistic decisions before matters are tken out of your hands and made for you. You may … more ›