Making Cities in DeKalb Gets Messy
Only one of DeKalb County’s three cityhood bills still stands a chance of passing the Georgia legislature this year.Broadcast Version
No one seems happy with the process, and there is plenty of finger-pointing going on. Among the barbs being tossed:
“Behind closed doors” is the accusation from Allen Venet, head of the City of Briarcliff Initiative.
“An illusion of confusion” is what Lakeside City Alliance Mary Kay Woodworth accuses legislators of creating.
“It’s secretive; it’s not very transparent.” That is the comment from DeKalb County Interim CEO Lee May when asked about the process.
Just to update the scorecard: Briarcliff’s efforts to become a city are dead for this session. Lakeside says it struck a compromise with Tucker late Tuesday night, which leaves only Lakeside’s bill still in play for this year, and Tucker having to wait until 2015.
However, Lakeside’s bill was tabled, so DeKalb CEO Lee May hopes that means he will get the one-year cooling off period he wants, saying, “I think that we probably will have a fully incorporated DeKalb County with every parcel being in one city or another. But that needs to be a substantive process.”
As for that Tucker/Lakeside deal, the line in the sand, if you will, was drawn right down Lavista Road. Lakeside gets the north side, and Tucker gets the south side, so Lakeside takes what seems to be the prize in all of this: Northlake Mall.
Only two legislative days to go to see if the Lakeside bill gets a second wind before sine die.
Click here to see the map of Lakeside as of March 13, 2014.
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