Photo obtained via the city of Avondale Estates website.

The DeKalb Farmers Market is going to stay in unincorporated DeKalb County for now.

That’s the verdict on the Avondale Estates annexation bill. While it was approved by the state Senate on Thursday, it was approved with an amendment added by state Sen. Gloria Butler, SD-55, that removes DFM from the bill.

State Sen. Elena Parent, SD-42, said that has effectively doomed the bill’s chances this year. Without the commercial tax revenue the Farmers Market would provide, it would be hard for the city to provide services to residents that could be annexed into the city.

Parent said the county started lobbying heavily against keeping DFM in the bill in the last few days.

“Signatures on Avondale fell apart when the county started lobbying,” Parent said.

Avondale Estates Mayor Jonathan Elmore has put out a statement regarding the failed annexation vote.

“The Avondale Estates annexation bill has not been passed by the General Assembly. However, our annexation plan will serve as a placeholder for renewed efforts next year,” Elmore said. “I will continue to support annexation because it will enrich our community with new citizens and businesses as well as diversifying and increasing our tax base for improvements. I would like to thank our Board, City Manager Clai Brown, our City staff, and especially Representative Karla Drenner and Senator Elena Parent for all their hard work and dedication to this effort.”

The Legislature is still in session and will likely wrap up by midnight. The proposed cities of Tucker and LaVista Hills are expected to come up for a vote this evening.