In a matter of minutes in the Legislature’s waning days, Georgia went from possibly creating one new city this year to possibly creating two.
A deal cut Wednesday morning between backers of the proposed cities of Lakeside and Tucker would let both cities co-exist in north-central DeKalb County. It was supposed to pave the way for the House Governmental Affairs committee to recommend the full House vote on Senate Bill 270, which calls for residents to vote May to to incorporate Lakeside.
But the powerful House Rules Chairman requested and won a delay, saying he he was unfamiliar with the deal and that a vote on Lakeside alone would mean lawmakers were deciding winners and losers in the municipalization effort.
State Rep. John Meadows, R-Calhoun, said he wanted to meet with representatives from the proposed cities of Lakeside, Tucker and Briarcliff, and the committee might vote on two of those as early as Thursday.
“I don’t like the idea that I’ve got three different sets of voters who want to be cities and if I pick one right now, the others don’t stand a chance,” Meadows said. “There is still time to work this out, if we figure it out quick.” The Legislature’s 40-day session has just two days left after Thursday.
Representatives from Tucker went immediately from the committee hearing to a meeting with Meadows. Advocates from both other proposed cities lingered for talks, though discussion appeared to focus mostly on Lakeside and Tucker.
Neither Lakeside nor Tucker got all they want in the border deal that advocates for both signed off on Wednesday morning. But the agreement gives both enough commercial area to be viable, and recognizes Tucker’s complaint about cutting up its century-old community.
The final map calls for Lakeside to shrink away from Tucker in the I-285 corridor, though Lakeside will get Northlake Mall. Tucker will get to keep Midvale and Pleasantdale elementary schools, Henderson Mill Park and commercial areas around the mall.
“Everyone has something to hate and everyone has something to like, so everyone can live with it,” said Frank Auman, the former head of the DeKalb Republican Party who was involved in boundary negotiations.
The question is whether there is time to advance the Tucker cityhood bill, House Bill 677, along with the one on Lakeside.
Lawmakers said the only way would be for Tucker’s cityhood bill to pass as local legislation, then pass with expedited votes in both chambers of the Legislature.
If that doesn’t happen, legislative rules would delay a vote on Tucker cityhood until 2016.
Lakeside’s sponsor, state Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody, said he would support Tucker’s creation, regardless of when that bill moves. He also pledged to support legislation to keep Lakeside from annexing any disputed land if it is first to become a city.
“I don’t think Tucker has a chance to get to a vote this year,” Millar said. “But I want to see it happen. I don’t want to leave anybody behind.”
Even with Wednesday’s deal, some DeKalb residents who pitched cityhood are sure to miss out for another two years – if not for good.
Advocates for a city of Briarcliff have long said Lakeside’s creation will doom their effort to form a city that runs north of Decatur to I-285.
Lakeside’s borders would overlap with the would-be Briarcliff on its south end, which would encompass the retail shops and neighborhoods around Toco Hills.
That could leave the Druid Hills area and other neighborhoods more open to annexation into Atlanta, whose leaders floated that idea last year.
It also creates new challenges for a task force that interim DeKalb CEO Lee May created by executive order Tuesday. May and the county commission agreed to form the 15-member body because they were unsuccessful in stopping action on proposed cities this year, as well as on a charter review commission.
The task force, which could be seated by next week, will work on borders of would-be cities and annexations, as well as make recommendations on whether to keep DeKalb’s CEO form of government.
“Regardless of the outcome, we still need the efforts of the task force, maybe now more than ever,” said May, who attended Wednesday’s hearing. “For me, the best-case scenario is still to come forward with a map, for all of DeKalb.”
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