Lilburn drops home annexation plan

Lilburn’s proposed annexation of more than seven square miles of residential property is off the table — for now — because of economic concerns shared by residents in the affected areas, city officials said Wednesday.

“The city has heard enough from a lot of folks who say, “We think [the annexation] is a wonderful thing, but how am I going to come up with additional dollars?’” City Manager Bill Johnsa said. “There are city taxes, make no mistake. We haven’t tried to hide that fact.”

Lilburn, which announced the proposal last week, was looking to more than double its geographic size — from 6.5 square miles to 14.5 square miles — to expand its tax base and clean up its boundaries.

Most of the additional area sought was residential. The city will continue to pursue the commercial areas, which acount for 0.56 square miles of the original proposal, through a legislative annexation this year, Johnsa said.

As for the residential areas, Johnsa said a proposal to incorporate those areas could be pitched next legislative session.

“[City leaders] do agree that the timing of this may not be optimum for this because of the economy, and … the city wants the opportunity to reach out to its citizens through various workshops, initiatives and so forth and show them the benefits of being in the city.”