Whether or not Decatur’s original annexation plan gets revived likely depends upon LaVista Hills’ cityhood receiving voter approval Nov. 3 according to Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, who represents Decatur.
“If [Lavista Hills passes] I want [Decatur] to re-survey its citizens and the surrounding neighborhoods to see where they stand,” Parent told the AJC. “To me that’s the first step.”
By the close of last year’s legislature Decatur’s map not only died in the Senate, it was severely amputated, excluding the long-coveted Suburban Plaza and the four commercial centers at North Decatur Road and Clairemont Avenue.
This was mostly due to vigorous opposition from Clairmont Heights, Medlock and McLendon, nearby residential neighborhoods not included in Decatur’s plan. Parent said that during next year’s legislature she could re-submit an amended map to the senate—one that includes these major commercial centers—but not until she knows “what the citizens think.”
If LaVista Hills fails, Parent believes the annexation scenario becomes even more complicated.
“In that case,” she said, “we start all over again. Or we do nothing for awhile.”
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