DeKalb legislators and community groups gathered at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church on May 6 to discuss municipal options for central DeKalb County.
The meeting, hosted by Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, included presentations from several organizations hoping to create new cities in the area between Brookhaven and Decatur. State representatives and senators who represent the area also shared their views on municipalization.
Several groups are interested in creating new cities out of that swath of unincorporated DeKalb, with some overlapping boundaries. Other neighborhoods are interested in being annexed by existing cities, such as Chamblee. Some others residents would like to remain in unincorporated DeKalb.
All of the speakers agreed that community involvement will be important to decide what is best for the area.
“This process should not be driven by a single legislator or former legislator or group,” said Rep. Scott Holcomb, D-Atlanta. “What each area does has impacts on everybody else. We have to talk about this as a community and as a county.”