Drenner: Rio a better fit for Avondale

State Representative Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) said that early last month she told representatives from Rio Circle, a 60-acre commercial district, that she would not introduce an annexation map putting them in Avondale Estates. But in an interview over the weekend Drenner said she’s now changed her mind, primarily because the city’s tax base would collapse without commercial property.

“Rio Circle is a better fit geographically for Avondale and for the growth of that city,” she said. “For Decatur to come over that far seems like urban sprawl.”

She added that Rio’s perception it will face numerous zoning changes in Avondale “is ludicrous, because [Avondale] is not going to shut down any businesses.”