City of Stonecrest passes Georgia General Assembly
Georgia lawmakers approved putting the city of Stonecrest on the map if voters in the area decide to incorporate.
The state Senate passed Senate Bill 208 on a 39-12 vote Thursday that allows a referendum to create Stonecrest, a city of about 50,000 people along Interstate 20 near Lithonia in southeast DeKalb County. The vote will be held in November if Gov. Nathan Deal signs the bill.
Stonecrest would start with a small government focused on attracting businesses to the area. The city would provide three government services: parks and recreation, code enforcement, and planning and zoning.
The proposal to form a city of Stonecrest follows the cityhood trend that has swept across the metro Atlanta area over the last decade, with eight new city governments founded.
Most recently, the city of Tucker held its first elections this month and will start doing business this summer.
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
