DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The topic of incorporating most of southern DeKalb County into its own city has been discussed on and off for years. With several areas of metro Atlanta considering the formation of their own city, the proposed “City of DeKalb” has again become a topic of conversation.
The city would instantly have a population of over 200,000 people and would immediately become the second largest city in the state of Georgia.
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Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach spoke with people on both sides of the proposed cityhood issue this week. Supporters of the issue held a virtual townhall meeting on Wednesday night. The townhall was a panel discussion along with a question and answer session.
Gehlbach spoke with south DeKalb business owner Devon Hudson who is also the vice president of the cityhood movement. Hudson said now is the time to bring up the conversation again.
“In our community, we have to take control of what we want to happen,” Hudson said. “We’re trying to let them know we have land here, disposable income here and can afford goods and services every other area has.”
The city would stretch from everything south of Decatur and Avondale Estates, running up to the edge of Clarkston and surrounding Stone Mountain. The City of DeKalb would only take over some basic services such as parks, zoning and code enforcement but still rely on the county for services such as police, fire, water and roads along with schools.
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Kevin Polite, who started “Neighbors against Greenhaven” opposes the proposed city. Greenhaven was the original name of the proposal which has now been re-branded as “DeKalb”. Polite said the incorporated city idea did not work then and would not work now. He told Gehlbach the main fear is that the new city would increase taxes while bringing down property values.
“The majority of people in South DeKalb do not want this,” Polite said. “We just think it’s not a good idea. It would add another layer of government that’s not needed and not bringing any new services and not bring any new development. It would just be the same area with a different name.”
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Supporters told Gehlbach their goal is to get the proposal on the ballot for 2022′s General Election in November. However, in order for that to happen, they need sponsorship and then approval in the state legislature first.
The 2022 Georgia State Legislature meets beginning in January.
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