DeKalb commissioners: Let’s stop new cities to study their effect

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution Nov. 15 to study the impact the creation of new cities will have on the county.

The resolution will request a moratorium on the creation of new cities in DeKalb County while the state commissions a study on annexation and incorporation.

The resolution was proposed by District 2 Commissioner Jeff Rader. It was approved 5-1, with Commissioner Elaine Boyer voting in opposition.

The approval of the resolution comes shortly after the non-profit group Citizens for North DeKalb released the results of the study it commissioned on the feasibility of a city of Brookhaven.

Rader recommended that the county’s study be completed before the General Assembly convenes in January.

“Legislators could compare the two and see what the broader public interest is,” Rader said.

Rader said the Citizens for North DeKalb study, conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia, focused only on a small area that would be included in a city of Brookhaven. He said the affect of a city on the communities outside the focus area should be studied as well.

“We’re asking to look at other issues associated with incorporation and annexation,” Rader said. “We want to look at those issues and have them on the table for the legislature to consider.”