The border dispute between the proposed cities of LaVista Hills and Tucker will be the focus of a group of Georgia lawmakers that's meeting for the first time next week to draw a map for the area.
The DeKalb County Cityhood Subcommittee, made up of five state legislators, will begin working toward compromise boundaries during a Dec. 3 public hearing, said Rep. Buzz Brockway, the panel's chairman.
"There is no perfect solution out there. We're not going to be able to come forward with a map that makes both sides overjoyed," said Brockway, R-Lawrenceville. "We'll come up with something that can be acceptable to both sides and allow them to move forward."
The subcommittee won't consider other cityhood and annexation proposals from areas including Druid Hills, Stone Mountain, Stonecrest and South DeKalb, Brockway said. Those issues will have to be resolved separately, either through private negotiations or the regular legislative process.
"All we can do is try to deal with this border dispute between these two cities, and hopefully these other things will work themselves out, and those who want to vote a new city will have that opportunity," Brockway said.
Representatives from LaVista Hills and Tucker will be given the opportunity to give presentations to the subcommittee. Their maps currently overlap in the areas surrounding Northlake Mall and southeast of Spaghetti Junction.
"What we need to hear from them is why the lines they want drawn should be the lines -- why their map is more awesome than the other guy's maps," Brockway said.
The subcommittee is responsible for producing a map by the end of the year that the Georgia General Assembly would consider during its annual session starting in January.
The public hearing will be held at 1 p.m. on Dec. 3 in Room 506 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building.
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