Community Corner

Welcome To Brookhaven

Even if Brookhaven cityhood fails on July 31, the agenda for a city will live on.

Welcome to Brookhaven.

Some of those that have served on the boards of Citizens For North DeKalb, BrookhavenYES, and other active promoters of the city of Brookhaven have already had some of their agendas met before the public vote has even come to pass. Even if the public vote on July 31 fails, their agenda will still live on.

Where have they succeeded? They have legally and successfully mapped the area known as Brookhaven to a larger set area, passed by the legislature, and signed by the governor. Before the bill was passed and signed, the area had a vague set of boundaries that was small and limited in size and growth.

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After it was mapped and the bill was passed, it became fact. If you live within the boundaries of the proposed city, you are now and forever a part of Brookhaven. The real estate professionals and developers have already gotten some of what they wanted from the new city. 

If the city does not pass and Dunwoody annexes a portion of the area in the north, it will be an extra bonus. You will live in the city of Dunwoody and also live in the area known as Brookhaven. The same can be said if Chamblee takes some parts of the proposed city.

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It will come at a price, though.

Your property values are going to increase. You are all a part of Brookhaven now. The real estate agents, developers, and DeKalb County know this. A larger area known as Brookhaven, whether it is a city or not, will mean increased valuations from the county. 

This will mean more money for DeKalb County, the city of Brookhaven, increased commissions for real estate professionals, and more opportunities for land developers. Increased taxes on the valuations will help all of the governments involved.

Buford Highway will be the ultimate battlezone for the developers. It has relatively cheap land, large parcels, and aged structures. With a city of Bookhaven, it will be effectively zoned, ordinanced, and code enforced to encourage the property owners to sell. You will see teardowns of aging multi-family replaced with much higher rent units with little or no surface parking. Effectively changing the demographics. Town Brookhaven on a grand scale.

Without a city of Brookhaven, it will take longer for Buford Highway to become a gem. The developers will still come in for the same reasons as listed above, but they won't have the speed of city ordinances, code enforcement, and zoning to pressure the owners to sell. DeKalb County will still be running the zoning and code enforcement, so by default it will take longer without a city.  

Just watch. Places like the Dunwoody YMCA will be renamed to Brookhaven YMCA sooner rather than later, and they should be. It is now more Brookhaven than Dunwoody, although the Dunwoody line is much closer than Brookhaven really is.

As far as everything else about the new city? Well, just leave that up to whoever is elected to make those decisions. All of this talk about budgets, police/public safety/parks/local control and representation is all a matter of trust and belief. If you believe and trust that everything will work out better than what you have now being unincorporated, you should definitely vote 'yes' on July 31. Don't worry about hard numbers or facts. Hard numbers and facts will only come with the city passing.

Those that are for the city for no other reason than to say you live in Brookhaven: Your wish has been granted.

Those that wanted to increase their property values: Your wish will be granted.

Those that are looking to sell once their property value has increased: Be patient, you have to wait on the market to stabilize. After that, your wish will be granted.

Welcome to Brookhaven.

Chuck Chauncer


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