Brookhaven Annexes Century Center Amid Legal Battle
Highwoods Properties
The Brookhaven City Council voted to annex about 100 acres of the Century Center office complex into its borders yesterday. But the land doesn’t automatically go to Brookhaven because of a court fight over the property with the city of Chamblee. Both cities want the office park because it’s attractive to their tax base.
The move by Brookhaven council members comes after the Georgia Supreme Court told the council it was okay to take the vote. In the meantime, the lawsuit over the property continues. Brookhaven City Council member Rebecca Chase Williams could not discuss the pending legal action. But she explains why Brookhaven decided to annex the property in the first place.
“The owners of Century Center came to Brookhaven and applied for the annexation, so they actually came to us. We had not solicited their annexation.”
But Chamblee has argued Brookhaven should not have been allowed to vote on the matter. That’s because the land is also included in a November referendum approved by the Georgia Legislature. The referendum will allow approximately 3,700 voters in unincorporated DeKalb County to decide whether the property and nearby land should be annexed into Chamblee. Elmer Veith is a member of Citizens for Chamblee, a group working to get the property and surrounding residential areas annexed into Chamblee.
“All this action really does is muddy the waters and throw more confusion for voters into things this fall as to what’s really on the ballot.”
A DeKalb County Superior Court judge could soon issue an order on the matter or the case could be heard before the court later this month. Ultimately, the case could be decided by the Georgia Supreme Court.
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