The state House disagreed on whether to call a proposed new city inside I-285 Ashford or Brookhaven, but it voted to allow more than 140,000 residents in the district to vote on incorporating.
Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Atlanta, sponsored House Bill 636, which drew more than an hour of debate Friday. Jacobs said it would let residents in north DeKalb County decide whether to create a new city government. He called for Brookhaven as a name, though others are trying to change it to Ashford.
"You are voting not to create a city, but to let residents vote on whether they want to create a city," he told House members.
Democrats from DeKalb County opposed it and criticized the Republican-dominated House for imposing its will on a Democrat-controlled area.
Rep. Elly Dobbs, D-Atlanta, expressed concerns because Chamblee, a city in the district, has long-term interest in taking in some of the areas under consideration. Others styled the creation a "designer city," incorporated for the benefit of select neighborhoods rather than because of historic contiguity.
The bill passed 101 to 57 largely along party lines, though those who did not vote were more evenly divided: 11 Republicans and eight Democrats. The bill must pass a Senate vote before it can be sent to the governor to be signed into law.
If HB 636 becomes law, the issue would go before voters this July.
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