Three communities seeking to become cities — Tucker, Lakeside and Briarcliff — couldn’t agree this weekend on how they would share borders, meaning state lawmakers will likely step in.
The DeKalb County neighborhoods were still hoping to strike a last-minute deal Sunday, said Mary Kay Woodworth of Lakeside Yes, which has been working closely with Briarcliff on a combined cityhood proposal.
Georgia representatives had set a Saturday deadline for cityhood movements to reach a compromise on boundaries.
The Lakeside-Briarcliff group planned to unveil the name of its potential city and a map on Monday, Woodworth said.
Possible names for the Lakeside-Briarcliff city include Briarlake, Lavista, Lavista Hills, Briarton and Briar Vista.
“It really is too bad that we could not work out an agreement that all three groups could live with,” said Allen Venet of the City of Briarcliff Initiative. “We tried, but it didn’t happen.”
Tucker’s proposed map runs south and east from the intersection of I-285 and I-85, including the Northlake Mall commercial district.
The Lakeside-Briarcliff movement also has sought the Northlake Mall area for its city, which previous drafts of maps have shown would stretch from the boundaries of Druid Hills and Decatur toward the mall, sharing an eastern border with Tucker.
“We’re still hopeful that a mutually beneficial agreement on proposed city boundaries can be reached,” said Michelle Penkava of Tucker 2015.
The Georgia House Governmental Affairs Committee announced in August that it would draw borders if Tucker, Lakeside and Briarcliff couldn’t decide on a compromise by Nov. 15.
Committee Chairwoman Amy Carter, R-Valdosta, said at the time she would appoint a panel of five state lawmakers to handle the job by the end of the year.
That way, the Georgia General Assembly would have maps ready for consideration before next year’s legislative session begins.
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