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North Decatur city proposal is ‘dormant,’ organizers say

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North Decatur city proposal is ‘dormant,’ organizers say

A map of the proposed city of North Decatur. Image provided to Decaturish
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Greater Decatur, GA — A plan to create a city of North Decatur isn’t gaining traction, organizers say.

Sen. Sally Harrell (D-Atlanta) in March said she was preparing a proposal for a city of North Decatur. The proposal would be a rebranding of the proposed city of Vista Grove, with an expanded map that would include Scottdale, Medlock Park and neighborhoods that recently expressed an interest in joining the city of Brookhaven, according to state Sen. Elena Parent and a map of the proposed city.

But things changed between March and August, organizers said in an email published on Sunday, Aug. 14.

“After conducting several meetings, reworking maps, and discussing possible political solutions to our local issues, it is now apparent that we do not have the legislative consensus needed to move a cityhood bill in the legislature in a manner that would be conducive to the community building necessary to create a city in our proposed area,” the email says.

Legislators have not agreed to advance the bill, according to the email from the city of North Decatur organizers.

“While our legislators see the benefits of creating a city, they have not been able to convince the requisite number of fellow DeKalb legislators to move our bill forward as a local bill,” the email says. “As a result, we now view our movement as dormant. It is not dead, but the political climate necessary to move forward currently does not exist.”

But, organizers said, supporters shouldn’t give up. Things could change again with enough community support for the idea.

“We strongly encourage everybody to share their ideas of how we should move forward whether that means pursuing annexation into existing cities, staying unincorporated or biding our time until the political climate changes so that a city bill can be brought. Either way you should all tell your legislators what you think,” the email says. “Engage them, call them, email them! The backbone of our society is civic engagement.”

Here’s the full message from the city of North Decatur organizers:

We hope everybody had a great summer and for those of you with school age children we hope the school year is off to a flying start.

We wanted to give everybody an update as to where we are with our legislators and our overall cityhood initiative. After conducting several meetings, reworking maps, and discussing possible political solutions to our local issues, it is now apparent that we do not have the legislative consensus needed to move a cityhood bill in the legislature in a manner that would be conducive to the community building necessary to create a city in our proposed area.

While our legislators see the benefits of creating a city, they have not been able to convince the requisite number of fellow DeKalb legislators to move our bill forward as a local bill.  As a result, we now view our movement as dormant. It is not dead, but the political climate necessary to move forward currently does not exist. This does not mean we should give up. We strongly encourage everybody to share their ideas of how we should move forward whether that means pursuing annexation into existing cities, staying unincorporated or biding our time until the political climate changes so that a city bill can be brought. Either way you should all tell your legislators what you think. Engage them, call them, email them! The backbone of our society is civic engagement.

We will watch the political climate as we move through this election cycle and the upcoming legislative session, and revisit our mission at several points to determine what actions are appropriate for our future. We welcome discussion about the various annexation options, and your desires as residents of our area. Please copy us on any communications you have with our elected officials, and let us know what you think is best for your neighborhood. We still want to hear from you!

We know you are as disappointed as we are that we have come to an impasse. Thanks to your generous past support, we can afford to wait out this term and see if there is a shift in our direction. We remain committed to forwarding and supporting ideas that improve our local community.

Your NDCI board,

John Ayoub, Angela Barnett, Amy Parker, Allen Venet

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