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House subcommittee will hold hearing on Greenhaven bill

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House subcommittee will hold hearing on Greenhaven bill

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A map of the proposed city of Greenhaven. Photo obtained via http://www.greenhaven-ga.org/new-page/

There’s a hearing Tuesday that could either be another stop on the path to creating a new south DeKalb city of Greenhaven or the end of the road for the idea in the 2018 legislative session.

The state Government Administration Subcommittee will meet on Feb. 27 at 11 a.m. in the Coverdale Legislative Office Building, room 606. The address is 18 Capitol Square SW, Atlanta, GA 30334. One of the two items on the agenda will be a bill for a proposed city of Greenhaven.

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The Atlanta Journal Constitution said the Greenhaven bill must be approved by the House on Wednesday, or it dies this legislative session.

State Rep. Billy Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain, filed the bill to allow for a referendum to create the proposed city of Greenhaven, which has been in the works since 2014. The population of the city would be about 300,000 people. That would make it the second-largest city in Georgia behind Atlanta.

A feasibility study, which determines if the city can raise enough revenue to provide services, for the city estimates Greenhaven could operate with a $27 million surplus. The city would take over economic development functions, courts and parks. There are not any current plans for the city to provide police services, though that could change at some point.

If the bill for Greenhaven passes the Legislature this year, it would be voted on in a November referendum.

The idea has opposition. A Facebook group called Neighbors Against Greenhaven has been circulating a petition in opposition to the bill to incorporate. Other groups fighting Greenhaven are Citizen Against Cityhood in DeKalb as well as DeKalb Strong, which generally has opposed all cityhood bills.

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