Lawmaker who filed Vista Grove bill says it will not move forward

Andrew Flake, a board member for Vista Grove, speaks at a rally outside the Georgia Statehouse on Monday.

Andrew Flake, a board member for Vista Grove, speaks at a rally outside the Georgia Statehouse on Monday.

Efforts to create two new cities in DeKalb County have failed in the Statehouse this year.

Lawrenceville Rep. Timothy Barr, who filed a bill in support of Vista Grove cityhood Tuesday, announced Thursday that he is removing his name from the bill and not asking for a committee hearing on it.

He said he made a “hasty decision” to sponsor the legislation, but now realizes that the issue “needs to be a discussion for DeKalb County alone.”

RELATED COVERAGE:

A bill has not been introduced to create a ballot referendum on the prospective city of Greenhaven in South DeKalb. Greenhaven has tried for the last four years to get a bill passed allowing for a ballot referendum, but this would be the first year since 2014 a bill does not get filed for Greenhaven.

Thursday is “Crossover Day,” when items must generally pass one chamber of the General Assembly to stay alive.