Lithonia and south DeKalb County residents will have one last chance to ask city officials questions about a proposed annexation before Election Day.
The city will hold a virtual town hall from 7 to 8 p.m. next Wednesday to discuss the annexation, which will be a local referendum for Lithonia residents and those who live in the proposed annexation area. Lithonia’s leaders want the city to expand east, the last portion of unincorporated DeKalb that the city could absorb since the city is mostly surrounded by the city of Stonecrest.
If adopted, the new city limits will stretch to Turner Hill Road, Rock Chapel Road, Klondike Road and closer to I-20. Approximately 480 people live in the proposed annexation area.
Lithonia, founded in 1846, spans fewer than 600 acres and only has about 2,800 residents within its city limits. If the annexation passes, it will add nearly 300 acres to the city, which have an appraised value of about $22 million. Mayor Shameka Reynolds said the annexation would allow the city to quickly grow and attract new businesses.
Some county services, such as police and road paving, will switch over to the city’s control if the annexation passes. The city still relies on the county for many services, such as sanitation and water, so those won’t change. Lithonia’s local elections will remain fairly unaffected by the annexation, since all elected officials hold at-large seats.
According to city calculations, the residents in the proposed annexation area would see their property taxes increase roughly 5.9%, but City Administrator LaThaydra Sands said in August that estimate is likely high, since the city recently lowered its property tax rate.
Reynolds said she hopes this is the first of several successful annexations for Lithonia. This annexation is the first in a three-phase plan to eventually quadruple the acreage of the city. The other two phases would extend the city limits east of Turner Hill Road, absorbing swaths of mostly undeveloped and industrially-zoned land. About 750 people live in these areas.
Credit: City of Lithonia
Credit: City of Lithonia
Reynolds said those phases are contingent on residents supporting the first phase on Election Day, Nov. 2. The ballot referendum will need majority approval from voters to pass.
To attend Wednesday’s Zoom town hall, use meeting ID “828 3277 6521″ and passcode “637984.”
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