Voters in Peachtree Corners will go to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to incorporate, but at least three neighboring Gwinnett cities didn't want to wait on those results to figure out their future plans.
With Peachtree Corners' proposed boundaries poised to limit their potential growth, Berkeley Lake, Duluth and Norcross have moved to annex properties over the past few months to protect their borders and possible tax revenue streams.
Consider them pre-emptive strikes in a burgeoning municipal battle for hundreds of thousands of tax dollars and valuable industrial and commercial areas. Just beyond the proposed borders of Peachtree Corners, support for a new city is lukewarm.
"What matters to me is the health of the area," Berkeley Lake Mayor Lois Salter said. Peachtree Corners "is jammed up on us. And it’s up to the citizens there as to how they think they can best support the community. I'll respect whatever decision they make on Nov. 8."
The Peachtree Corners Yes! movement says it has given away more than 1,100 yard signs and points to endorsements by public officials ranging from state Rep. Tom Rice to Gwinnett County Commissioner Lynette Howard.
"The incorporation of Peachtree Corners has the full support of the county," Howard wrote in an e-mail to supporters of a new city.
Incorporating Peachtree Corners has long been discussed in Gwinnett, but the idea gathered steam in 2009 when Norcross considered annexation of the Technology Park area.
If a majority of voters approve the referendum Tuesday, Peachtree Corners would become the largest city in Gwinnett, with an estimated 38,000 residents in an area between Norcross and Berkeley Lake.
That area -- and the size of it -- is part of the simmering feud between the municipalities in west Gwinnett.
"Duluth would have greatly appreciated somebody meeting with us and discussing the boundaries before it was not possible to do anything to change them," said Duluth City Administrator Phil McLemore.
In response, Duluth successfully annexed 64 acres of an industrial park near Buford Highway and North Berkeley Lake Road. City officials estimated the industrial park would bring in about $60,000 in annual tax revenue.
Norcross managed to secure a parcel of land earlier this month at Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Holcomb Bridge Road that has been targeted for an $8 million hotel project. City officials said their annexation efforts were a response to Peachtree Corners' proposed boundaries.
"If Peachtree Corners comes through, I got nowhere to grow," said Rusty Warner, Norcross' economic development manager. "It's a major invasion for me. We're just trying to protect our borders."
And in Berkeley Lake, one of Gwinnett's smallest cities at little more than one-square-mile and 2,100 residents, officials had entertained plans to annex some of the businesses south of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.
They held off on expanding, however, until getting word in early September they would receive $3.6 million in federal funds to repair their flood-battered dam. With that expense out of the way, Berkeley Lake officials turned their attention to bringing in more commercial properties.
Later this month, Berkeley Lake's City Council will decide whether to annex 55 parcels -- more than 137 acres -- of mostly commercial properties. Salter said the move is necessary, as Berkeley Lake is mostly a residential community and needs to expand its commercial tax base.
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