DeKalb County plans to fight the latest annexation proposal being considered by the city of Brookhaven.
The county commission voted unanimously Tuesday to start the process of filing formal objections to the would-be annexation, under which Brookhaven would absorb some 27 acres at the busy intersection of North Druid Hills and Briarcliff roads.
The 11 parcels included in the area include existing retailers like Target, Chick-fil-A and QuikTrip, as well as the aging Briarcliff Station strip center — which a developer is eyeing for a new mixed-use complex with apartments and a hotel.
“We do see some zoning issues and then there are a number of other issues that we plan to raise,” Viviane Ernstes, DeKalb County’s chief legal officer, said during Tuesday’s commission meeting.
Credit: City of Brookhaven
Credit: City of Brookhaven
Commissioners were on board with raising objections to the annexation, which is scheduled to be considered by Brookhaven’s planning commission on Feb. 5. But they also raised concerns about the bigger picture issue.
DeKalb has been under siege from surrounding cities hoping to incorporate chunks of county land for years now. The city of Atlanta has annexed property that includes Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Brookhaven has continually grown since its creation in 2012; and the city of Clarkston recently announced a proposal that would double its size.
Two more new cities — Vista Grove and Greenhaven — remain under consideration.
A recently released study found that the creation of those cities would cost DeKalb County millions in tax dollars and other revenue.
“They’re leaving us with the stuff that doesn’t generate revenue,” Commissioner Larry Johnson said. “Every time we build something nice and new, all you've got to do is wait until it's finished and you can take it.”
He lamented that counties have “become second” in the annexation process, left with few options outside of formally registering their opposition and hoping for the best.
Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson commiserated.
“When you want to incorporate, you don’t get the barren land, you get the best,” she said. “And we're left with the ball to continue rolling. It's just very unfortunate.”
Commissioner Nancy Jester agreed that the piecemeal nature of recent annexations is problematic, calling it “the wild west.” But she argued that newly incorporated areas still pay “the vast majority of their county taxes.”
The commission’s Tuesday vote authorized the county attorney to draft a written objection to the annexation proposal. The objection will be served on Brookhaven officials and forwarded to Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
From there, the DCA could convene an arbitration panel to hear the case, Ernstes said.
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