The City of Norcross might ask state legislators to reconsider an annexation of nearly three square miles of unincorporated Gwinnett County land into its city limits, a move which previously failed to pass through the Georgia Senate.
At its Monday night meeting, Norcross City Council debated the feasibility of annexing the stretch of land, mostly running from Jimmy Carter Boulevard to the DeKalb County line. The move would bring hundreds of businesses and about 6,000 residents — most of whom live in apartments or extended-stay hotels — into the city limits.
The council will hold a special-called meeting Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., discussing the annexation in further detail and likely taking a vote on whether to pass a resolution for the Georgia General Assembly to consider the annexation.
City officials are in a time crunch, hoping that state legislators can still look at the potential resolution before the final day of the session. Consultants told city officials there’s a chance for legislators to still consider the annexation if they receive a resolution in the next few days. If it makes it through the Georgia General Assembly, residents in the section of land would vote on the annexation later this year.
Mayor Craig Newton and other city officials believe the proposed expansion would allow Norcross to dispatch its police officers to tackle high crime rates in the area, as well as give Norcross a new area to expand its economic development opportunities. But Councilor Andrew Hixson voiced his concerns at Monday night’s meeting that objections may prevent the city from acquiring more land.
The city faced objections from Gwinnett County officials when it tried to annex the land two years ago, with former Gwinnett County Chairwoman Charlotte Nash stressing the need for a closer look at the effects of the annexation. The area also included the proposed site for a multimodal transit hub, which county officials hoped to build if MARTA came to the county.
Between the loss of MARTA and fresh faces on the county’s Board of Commissioners, Norcross officials hope that the county will be more amenable to the annexation. At the current time, the council seems likely to pass the resolution at Wednesday’s special-called meeting, the mayor said.
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