Efforts to create the cities of LaVista Hills and Tucker pushed ahead Wednesday as the Georgia House of Representatives gave its approval.
Now the initiatives move to the state Senate, where they’re likely to face close scrutiny. If they pass, voters in the affected areas would decide in a November referendum on whether to incorporate.
Meanwhile, the House postponed until Friday action on a similar proposal to allow South Fulton residents to vote on forming a city.
And two bills were introduced that would give residents of the Druid Hills area and parts of South Fulton County a chance to vote on whether to annex into the city of Atlanta.
Cityhood supporters say they want more local involvement in their communities, with the ability to plan development, crack down on blight and create parks.
“We want to be in control of decisions made in our community,” said Michelle Penkava of Tucker 2015. “The city of Tucker will still be part of DeKalb County, and we’ll continue to foster that relationship.”
House Bill 515 cleared the House on a 128-31 vote.
The sponsor of legislation forming LaVista Hills said the city would be better able to manage government than DeKalb County.
“That’s the motivation for a lot of the cityhood efforts right now,” said Rep. Tom Taylor, R-Dunwoody, the sponsor of the LaVista Hills bill. “People want some modicum of control over their tax dollars and the way their governance is run.”
House Bill 520 passed on a 129-37 vote.
The House also took up two new bills that could allow significant expansions of Atlanta into unincorporated DeKalb and Fulton counties. Those measures are pending in committee.
House Bill 586 would allow Druid Hills residents to vote on a proposed annexation in November. House Bill 587 would set a similar vote for Sandtown and other areas in South Fulton.
The Druid Hills annexation is motivated by a desire of residents to flee DeKalb schools and join Atlanta schools.
The legislation would expand the areas Atlanta had recently discussed incorporating, adding the area around International Community School in the Medlock neighborhood and McLendon Elementary to previously targeted communities near Druid Hills High, Briar Vista Elementary and Fernbank Elementary.
In South Fulton, Atlanta has previously discussed annexing the Sandtown and Loch Lomond neighborhoods. But the newly introduced measure would extend Atlanta west all the way to the Douglas County line.
Melissa Mullinax, senior adviser to Mayor Kasim Reed, said the new proposed boundaries in both areas “reflect areas where residents have expressed their desire to be incorporated into the city of Atlanta.”
The Druid Hills annexation would have major consequences for parents in DeKalb County.
Some current DeKalb students would go to Atlanta, while others would be left behind in what many criticize as a floundering county school district.
Some, such as Susan Anne MacKenna, with a daughter at Druid Hills High and two others at Fernbank Elementary School, are “ecstatic that we’re going to have the opportunity to voice our opinion on it.”
“If we can gain more autonomy over our schools, at the school or cluster level, I’m going to support” the annexation referendum, she said.
But James Dabbs, who has two kids at Druid Hills High, another at Fernbank and one at Druid Hills Middle School, has doubts. He wondered where his two younger children will attend school, and he has concerns about Atlanta Public Schools.
“This is slightly less horrible than staying in unincorporated DeKalb,” Dabbs said. “That’s kind of the consensus I hear.”
Advocates of a proposed city of South Fulton say Atlanta’s proposed annexation there would conflict with their own plans — laid out in House Bill 514 — which would allow residents in the area to vote on forming a new city in November.
“It would cause mass confusion,” said Rafer Johnson, chairman of the Coalition for South Fulton Now. “It’s definitely in conflict with what we’ve been working on.”
Rep. Pat Gardner, D-Atlanta, who sponsored both annexation bills, said they will let residents decide whether they want to join Atlanta.
Staff writers Ty Tagami and Katie Leslie contributed to this report
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