Peachtree Corners residents will decide in November whether the community will become Gwinnett County's 16th city.
Gov. Nathan Deal Wednesday signed legislation authorizing the vote and paving the way for incorporation of the community near Norcross. Now supporters will prepare a campaign to convince roughly 34,000 residents that incorporating Peachtree Corners makes sense.
“People are crying,” said resident Gay Shook, who watched Deal sign the legislation at the governor’s office Wednesday afternoon. “This has been a tremendous amount of work.”
Incorporation has been a longtime goal of residents who want to control growth and determine the character of their community.
In 2005 most members of the United Peachtree Corners Civic Association, a community group, rejected the idea. But an aborted 2009 effort by Norcross to annex much of the Technology Park area gave new life to the incorporation effort.
A study released last fall found that an incorporated Peachtree Corners would be financially viable. And local lawmakers pushed legislation allowing incorporation in the recently concluded session of the General Assembly.
Under the legislation, Peachtree Corners would be bounded roughly by the Chattahoochee River to the north, the city of Berkeley Lake to the east, Fulton County to the west and Buford Highway and Norcross to the south.
The city would provide limited services – planning and zoning, code enforcement and garbage collection. It would be led by a mayor and six council members. It could levy a property tax of up to 1 mill and hire a city attorney, city clerk and other employees.
UPCCA President Mike Mason said incorporation would allow Peachtree Corners to control its own future.
“Right now we’re just a part of unincorporated Gwinnett County,” Mason said. “The decisions of four or five people in Lawrenceville have a much greater influence on your property values and your quality of life than you do.”
Peachtree Corners at a glance
Population: About 34,000
History: Peachtree Corners was a rural enclave in 1968 when Georgia Tech graduate Paul A. Duke set out to create a planned community. Duke envisioned a place where residents could live, work and play. He persuaded developers to work within stringent land-use covenants to control the type and quality of growth. He also helped launch the Technology Park business center.
Incorporation: This year the General Assembly approved – and Gov. Nathan Deal on Wednesday signed – legislation authorizing the incorporation of Peachtree Corners.
What's next: Area residents will vote in November on whether to incorporate. Peachtree Corners would be Gwinnett's 16th city.
More information: Visit www.upcca.org.
About the Author
